About this session

Saturday, 12:10 PM - 1:40 PM

Experiences of Racism and Traumatic Stress Reactions among Ethnoracially Minoritized Youth

Experiences of racism like racial discrimination may be a source of traumatic stress among ethnoracially minoritized individuals. Much of what we know about the psychological impact of racial discrimination, however, stems from research on adults. Thus, there is a dearth of research on the stress reactions and coping strategies that result from racial discrimination and how they may impact youth mental health. This symposium addresses this gap by presenting findings from four original research studies that examined risk and protective factors associated with racism-based traumatic stress among ethnoracially minoritized youth.

(Study 1) Using Latent Profile Analyses in a sample of Black youth-caregiver dyads, researchers examined racism-based perseverative coping strategies as mediators in the relation between parental racial discrimination and youth offspring mental health. (Study 2) A Latent Class Analysis was used to examine the association between multiple forms of experiences of racism and PTSD symptom clusters among adolescents. Findings support three classes with varying degrees of racial discrimination associated with varying degrees of other trauma exposures and PTSD symptoms. (Study 3) Researchers used a newly developed tool to examine racism-based traumatic stress symptoms (RBTSS), and its relation to suicidal behaviors among Black and Latine adolescents. After adjusting for other trauma exposures and PTSD symptoms, RBTSS was associated with greater risk for past year suicide attempts, though not suicide ideation or plans. (Study 4) Lastly, racial identity may protect against the harmful effects of RBTSS, as dimensions of affirmation and commitment buffered the relation between RBTSS and depression symptoms.

Paper #1
Title	Racial Discrimination, Perseverative Coping, and Internalizing Symptoms among Black Youth-Caregiver Dyads: A Latent Profile Analysis
Presenting author	Donte Bernard, Ph.D., USA, United States

Paper #2
Title	Identifying Typologies of Racial Discrimination, Other Trauma Exposures, and Internalizing Symptoms among Ethnoracially Minoritized Youth
Presenting author	Adrelys Mateo Santana, University of Southern California, United States

Paper #3
Title	Racism-Based Traumatic Stress Symptoms and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors among Black and Latine Adolescents
Presenting author	Lillian Polanco-Roman, USA, United States

Paper #4
Title	Racism-Based Traumatic Stress Symptoms and Depressive Symptoms: Do Racial-Ethnic Identity Beliefs Buffer This Relationship?
Presenting author	Henry A. Willis, USA, University of Maryland, College Park

View all paper details

Session chair
Lillian Polanco-Roman, The New School, United States

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