Polanco-Roman Lillian, Reyes-Portillo Jazmin, Ebrahimi Chantel T, Powell Ashley, Tynes Brendesha M
The New School, Department of Psychology, 80 Fifth Avenue, Room 617, New York, NY, 10011, USA.
Department of Psychology, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, USA.
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2025 Mar 12. doi: 10.1007/s40615-025-02381-1.
Over the past decade, mental health problems have disproportionately increased among U.S. ethnoracially minoritized college students, though explanations for this disparity remain understudied. In the present study, we examined the direct and indirect associations between online racial/ethnic discrimination, suicidal ideation (SI), and alcohol misuse. We also investigated whether internalized racism helps explain the association between online racial/ethnic discrimination (i.e., individual or vicarious exposures) and SI and alcohol misuse. Lastly, we examined the moderating role of ethnic identity dimensions (i.e., exploration and commitment) in this indirect association. Participants included 494 ethnoracially minoritized college students ages 18-30 years (M = 19.62, SD = 2.08; 79% female; 60% Latine; 83% U.S.-born) from the U.S. who completed an online survey. Findings revealed that online racial/ethnic discrimination (i.e., individual and vicarious exposures) was directly associated with increased SI and alcohol misuse. The indirect association of online racial/ethnic discrimination (i.e., individual and vicarious) on SI via internalized racism was statistically significant. These indirect associations, however, were not observed with alcohol misuse. Ethnic identity commitment moderated the indirect association of vicarious, though not individual, online racial/ethnic discrimination on SI via internalized racism. These findings underscore the impact of online racial/ethnic discrimination on ethnoracially minoritized college students' mental health, identify internalized racism as a potential pathway through which this type of discrimination may confer risk for SI, as well as ethnic identity commitment as a potential protective factor that may buffer these harmful effects.
在过去十年中，美国少数族裔大学生的心理健康问题不成比例地增加，尽管对这种差异的解释仍未得到充分研究。在本研究中，我们考察了网络种族/族裔歧视、自杀意念（SI）和酒精滥用之间的直接和间接关联。我们还调查了内化种族主义是否有助于解释网络种族/族裔歧视（即个人或替代性经历）与自杀意念和酒精滥用之间的关联。最后，我们考察了种族认同维度（即探索和承诺）在这种间接关联中的调节作用。参与者包括494名年龄在18至30岁之间的少数族裔大学生（M = 19.62，标准差 = 2.08；79%为女性；60%为拉丁裔；83%在美国出生），他们完成了一项在线调查。研究结果显示，网络种族/族裔歧视（即个人和替代性经历）与自杀意念增加和酒精滥用直接相关。网络种族/族裔歧视（即个人和替代性经历）通过内化种族主义与自杀意念的间接关联具有统计学意义。然而，在酒精滥用方面未观察到这些间接关联。种族认同承诺调节了替代性（而非个人）网络种族/族裔歧视通过内化种族主义与自杀意念的间接关联。这些发现强调了网络种族/族裔歧视对少数族裔大学生心理健康的影响，确定内化种族主义是这种歧视可能导致自杀意念风险的潜在途径，以及种族认同承诺是可能缓冲这些有害影响的潜在保护因素。
