Testing a model of minority identity achievement, identity affirmation, and psychological well-being among ethnic minority and sexual minority individuals

How is social identity related to psychological well-being among minority individuals? Drawing on developmental models of identity formation (e.g., Erikson, 1968) and on Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979), we tested a conceptual model examining links between two key aspects of social identity and psychological well-being. We proposed that the association between identity achievement (exploring and understanding the meaning of one's identity) and psychological well-being is mediated by identity affirmation (developing positive feelings and a sense of belonging to one's social group). Across three studies, including ethnic minority high school students (Study 1), ethnic minority college students (Study 2) and lesbian and gay male adults (Study 3), we found strong support for the model. Results suggest that the process of exploring and understanding one's minority identity can serve as an important basis for developing positive feelings toward and an enhanced sense of attachment to the group, which can in turn confer psychological benefits for minority individuals. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Perceptions of relative group size and group status: Effects on intergroup discrimination in negative evaluations

The positive–negative asymmetry in social discrimination proposes a threshold for ingroup favouritism within the negative domain: in contrast to comparable studies dealing with in- and outgroup evaluations on positive attributes, ingroup favouritism does not occur when negative attributes are used. The present study focuses on two aspects of this threshold: it investigates processes, which may influence the absence of ingroup favouritism in the negative domain, and it tests ‘aggravating’ variables, which seem to be suficient to elicit ingroup favouritism even in the negative domain. Results show that ingroup favouritism occurred within the negative domain when several aggravating conditions were included, namely high salience of size- and status- similarity between groups and high ingroup identification. Furthermore, subjects under minimal conditions tended to overestimate relative size as well as relative status of their ingroup. The perception of group members to belong to a high status majority is interpreted as a sufficient condition counteracting tendencies towards ingroup favouritism within the negative domain.     

少数民族青少年民族认同发展理论模型及其功能

青少年民族认同发展的三阶段理论模型和黑人民族认同发展模型的提出,为研究少数民族青少年的民族认同发展提供了一定的依据。少数民族青少年民族认同的发展与应付能力,自我效能感等因素有积极的相关,在一定程度上可以提高自尊,比如消极民族刻板印象的影响,增加心理归属感等。而且可以促发少数民族青少年亲社会态度的形成。     

Ethnic self-awareness as a function of ethnic group status,group composition,and ethnic identity orientation

This study found that ethnic self-awareness (i.e., the extent to which people are consciously aware of their ethnicity at any given moment) has different meanings for European Americans and Asian Americans and for Asian Americans with different ethnic identity orientations. The authors found main effects of ethnic group status and ethnic composition on ethnic self-awareness when comparing Asian Americans and European Americans. There was also an interaction effect between ethnic composition and ethnic identity orientation for Asian Americans when examining ethnic self-awareness. Findings are discussed in relation to theories that predict salience of ethnicity and to educators and practitioners who deal with ethnic minority group members.     

Perception of racial discrimination and psychopathology across three U.S. ethnic minority groups

To examine the association between the perception of racial discrimination and the lifetime prevalence rates of psychological disorders in the three most common ethnic minorities in the United States, we analyzed data from a sample consisting of 793 Asian Americans, 951 Hispanic Americans, and 2,795 African Americans who received the Composite International Diagnostic Interview through the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Studies. The perception of racial discrimination was associated with the endorsement of major depressive disorder, panic disorder with agoraphobia, agoraphobia without history of panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders in varying degrees among the three minority groups, independent of the socioeconomic status, level of education, age, and gender of participants. The results suggest that the perception of racial discrimination is associated with psychopathology in the three most common U.S. minority groups.     

Affective and attributional features of acculturative stress among ethnic minority college students

Little is known about the affective features of acculturative stress or its relation to attributional styles for negative events. The authors examined associations among acculturative stress, attributional style, and positive and negative affect among 96 ethnic minority college students. They hypothesized that acculturative stress would be characterized by elevated negative affect and global and stable attributions for negative events. Consistent with prediction, acculturative stress was significantly associated with negative affect and global attributions, even when controlling for other relevant predictors. Attributional style did not account for the association between negative affect and acculturative stress. Positive affect and stable and internal attributional styles were not related to acculturative stress. The authors discuss implications for reducing stress associated with acculturation.     

The process of coping among ethnic minority first-generation college freshmen: a narrative approach

Using a narrative approach, the authors explored the process of coping among ethnic minority college students. Participants were 30 freshmen, predominantly the 1st members of their families to attend college, who wrote journals once a week for 3 weeks on their ways of coping with stress. They also completed a survey of background information. Those who were more successful in coping, compared to those who were less successful, expressed a greater sense of self-efficacy and did not feel that they lacked needed social support. However, those who were more successful in coping did not differ on demographic variables, including ethnicity, gender, country of birth, and parental education. The narratives provide evidence of the complex and interactive process of coping among ethnic minority college students.     

Effects of harmonics on relative pitch discrimination in a musical context

The contribution of different harmonics to pitch salience in a musical context was examined by requiring subjects to discriminate a small (1/4 semitone) pitch change in one note of a melody that repeated in transposition. In Experiment 1, performance was superior when more harmonics were present (first five vs. fundamental alone) and when the second harmonic (of tones consisting of the first two harmonics) was in tune compared with when it was out of tune. In Experiment 2, the effects of harmonics 6 and 8, which stand in octave-equivalent simple ratios to the fundamental (2∶3 and 1∶2, respectively) were compared with harmonics 5 and 7, which stand in more complex ratios (4:5 and 4:7, respectively). When the harmonics fused into a single percept (tones consisting of harmonics 1, 2, and one of 5, 6, 7, or 8), performance was higher when harmonics 6 or 8 were present than when harmonics 5 or 7 were present. When the harmonics did not fuse into a single percept (tones consisting of the fundamental and one of 5, 6, 7, or 8), there was no effect of ratio simplicity.     

Effects of a televised smoking cessation intervention among low-income and minority smokers

In November 1985, a television smoking cessation program was broadcast for 20 days on the noon and 9 p.m. news. Smokers in West Garfield Park, an inner-city impoverished area of Chicago, were randomly assigned either to a comprehensive intervention or to a no-intervention control condition. Although 100,000 self-help manuals had been distributed throughout Chicago, none of the controls in this low-income area had obtained a manual. The intervention consisted of providing the smokers a self-help manual, the televised broadcast, weekly support meetings, and supportive phone calls. At a 4-month follow-up, 20% of treatment participants were abstinent compared to 9% of controls. The results indicated that intensive supplementary opportunities enhanced participation by low-income smokers in a media smoking cessation program.     

Self-esteem and the evaluation of ethnic identity among Turkish and Dutch adolescents in The Netherlands

A nationwide sample of Turkish and Dutch adolescents was used to answer two questions. Do Turkish youths in the Netherlands demonstrate negative effects of minority status on global self-esteem or specific components of self-esteem? What is the meaning of ethnic identity for the self-concept of these youngsters? The results showed that Turkish adolescents had a lower score for global self-esteem and a higher score for three components--academic ability, sports achievements, and evaluation of one's ethnic identity. However, in terms of the percentage of variance explained, the differences were very small. The results also showed that ethnic identity was a more salient and more important aspect of self-concept for the Turkish subjects than for the Dutch. It was not, however, a dominant component of their self-concept: The other components had a greater impact on global self-esteem. Body image was the most important component in this respect.     

Perceived racial/ethnic discrimination, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and health risk behaviors among Mexican American adolescents

Utilizing the concept of race-based traumatic stress, this study tested whether posttraumatic stress symptoms explain the process by which perceived discrimination is related to health risk behaviors among Mexican American adolescents. One hundred ten participants were recruited from a large health maintenance organization in Northern California. Mediational analyses indicated that adolescents who perceived more discrimination reported worse posttraumatic stress symptoms, controlling for covariates. In turn, adolescents who experienced heightened posttraumatic stress symptoms reported more alcohol use, more other drug use, involvement in more fights, and more sexual partners. Perceived discrimination was also directly related to involvement in more fights. Results provide support for the notion of race-based traumatic stress, specifically, that perceived discrimination may be traumatizing for Mexican American adolescents. Counseling psychologists and counselors in schools and community settings should assess Mexican American adolescents for the effects of discrimination and provide appropriate interventions to reduce its negative emotional impact.     

An exploratory examination of the associations among racial and ethnic discrimination, racial climate, and trauma-related symptoms in a college student population

In this study, we examined the association among perceptions of racial and/or ethnic discrimination, racial climate, and trauma-related symptoms among 289 racially diverse college undergraduates. Study measures included the Perceived Stress Scale, the Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version, and the Racial Climate Scale. Results of a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated that Asian and Black students reported more frequent experiences of discrimination than did White students. Additionally, the MANOVA indicated that Black students perceived the campus racial climate as being more negative than did White and Asian students. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that when controlling for generic life stress, perceptions of discrimination contributed an additional 10% of variance in trauma-related symptoms for Black students, and racial climate contributed an additional 7% of variance in trauma symptoms for Asian students.     

Conceptions of learning and approaches to studying among White and ethnic minority students in distance education

Background. The attainment of White students at UK institutions of higher education tends to be higher than that of students from other ethnic groups, but the causes of this are unclear. Aims. This study compared White students and students from other ethnic groups in their conceptions of learning, their approaches to studying, and their academic attainment. Sample. A stratified sample of 1,146 White students and 1,146 students from other ethnic groups taking courses by distance learning with the UK Open University. Methods. The Mental Models section of the Inventory of Learning Styles and the Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory were administered in a postal survey. Results. The students' questionnaire scores were contaminated by response bias, which varied across different ethnic groups. When adjusted to control for response bias, the scores on the two questionnaires shared 37.2% of their variance and made a significant contribution to predicting the students' attainment. White students were more likely to exhibit a meaning‐directed learning pattern, whereas Asian and Black students were more likely to exhibit a reproduction‐directed learning pattern. However, the variation in attainment across different ethnic groups remained significant when their questionnaire scores and prior qualifications were taken into account. Conclusions. There is a strong relationship between students' conceptions of learning and their approaches to studying, and variations in conceptions of learning in different ethnic groups give rise to variations in approaches to studying. However, factors other than prior qualifications and conceptions of learning are responsible for variation in attainment across different ethnic groups.     

The relationship of microaggressions with alcohol use and anxiety among ethnic minority college students in a historically White institution

Little is known about how microaggressions may impact the health and mental health of college students of color attending historically White universities. In this study, students provided self-report of the number of racial and ethnic microaggressions they had experienced over the previous month, as well as data on anxiety symptoms (Beck Anxiety Inventory), alcohol consumption (Daily Drinking Questionnaire) and consequences (Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index), and self-efficacy to cope with daily hassles (General Self-efficacy Scale) and with high risk drinking situations (Situational Confidence Questionnaire). As expected, students of color reported significantly more microaggressions than their European American counterparts. Microaggressions and self-efficacy were significantly associated with anxiety (Full Model R2 = .20; p < .001), microaggressions and self-efficacy were significantly associated with binge drinking (Full Model R2 = .10; p < .01), and microaggressions, binge drinking events, self-efficacy, and microaggressions × self-efficacy interaction were significantly associated with alcohol related consequences (Full Model R2 = .28; p < .001) among the students of color. Results suggest that microaggressions may represent a health and mental health risk to students of color. Implications of study results and future research directions are discussed.     

The relative efficacy of different forms of knowledge of results for the learning of a new relative timing pattern

The goal of the present study was to determine the relative efficacy of verbal and auditory knowledge of results for promoting learning of a new constrained relative timing pattern. In a series of four experiments we compared the efficiency of verbal knowledge of results to that of auditory knowledge of results. The results of all four experiments revealed that verbal knowledge of result is a very effective source of information to promote learning of a new imposed relative timing pattern. Auditory knowledge of results favoured learning of a new relative timing pattern in a very limited set of circumstances. In the present study, this was only the case when movement velocity remained constant from one segment of the task to the next and if it resulted in an unfamiliar temporal pattern. The results of all four experiments also provided evidence that movement parameterization and relative timing are independent processes that can be developed in parallel.     

Group identity and peer relations: A longitudinal study of group identity,perceived peer acceptance,and friendships amongst ethnic minority English children

This research examined whether peer relationships amongst ethnic minority status children reflect the social groups to which children belong and the degree to which they identify with these groups. A longitudinal study was conducted to investigate the influence of group identities (i.e., ethnic and national) on children's perceived peer acceptance and preference for same‐ethnic friendships. Measures of ethnic and English identification, perceived peer acceptance, and friendship choice were administered to 207 south‐Asian English children, aged between 5 and 11, at two time points 6 months apart. In line with predictions, longitudinal analysis showed that bicultural identification (i.e., higher ethnic and English identity) was related to higher perceived peer acceptance and less preference for same‐ethnic friendships. Importantly, as hypothesized, this finding was limited to the older children with more advanced social‐cognitive abilities. The results suggest that older children who adopted a bicultural identity were able to strategically ‘flag’ their multiple group identities, within their multicultural peer groups, to obtain acceptance amongst the maximum number of peers and show less preference for same‐ethnic friendships. This study extends previous peer relations research, which has typically focused on individual social deficits or classroom norms, by showing that group identities influence peer relationships amongst ethnic minority status children.     

Effect of ethnic group membership on ethnic identity,race-related stress,and quality of life

This study examined the effect of ethnic group membership on ethnic identity, race-related stress, and quality of life (QOL). The Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure, the Index of Race Related Stress--Brief Version, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life--Brief Version were administered to 160 male and female participants from 3 ethnic groups (African American, Asian American, and Latino American). Results indicated that African American participants had significantly higher race-related stress, ethnic identity, and psychological QOL scores than did Asian and Latino American participants. A stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that ethnic identity and cultural racism were significant predictors of QOL and accounted for 16% of the total variance for the entire sample.     

A daily diary investigation of Latino ethnic identity, discrimination, and depression

The objectives of the current study were to document the effects of discrimination on Latino mental health and to identify the circumstances by which ethnic identity serves a protective function. Instances of discrimination and depressive symptoms were measured every day for 13 days in a sample of Latino adults (N = 91). Multilevel random coefficient modeling showed a 1-day lagged effect in which increases in depression were observed the day following a discriminatory event. The findings also revealed differential effects of ethnic identity exploration and commitment. Whereas ethnic identity exploration was found to exacerbate the influence of daily discrimination on next-day depression, ethnic identity commitment operated as a stress buffer, influencing the intensity of and recovery from daily discrimination. The findings are discussed within a stress and coping perspective that identifies appropriate cultural resources for decreasing the psychological consequences associated with daily discrimination.