About this poster

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Panel information
Panel 6. Risk, Intervention, Prevention, and Action

Abstract

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Biracial-Black girls and young women report significantly higher rates of psychological distress (e.g., depressive episodes, suicidality) than their white and monoracial-minoritized counterparts (Oh et al., 2023). Racism is a substantial determinant of mental health disparities among Biracial-Black youth – who experience anti-Black racism and unique forms of racial stress like racial identity invalidation (RII). RII is the denial of a Biracial person’s racial identity/belonging in the racial group(s) they are attached to. RII is often perpetrated by in-group members or kin, which may exacerbate the psychological pain of these interactions (Durkee et al., 2019; Franco & Franco, 2016). RII can lead to a decreased sense of belonging and social isolation, which may be internalized by Biracial-Black girls and women leading them to resent or struggle with their Multiraciality (Salahuddin & O’Brien, 2011; Thompson & Gillem, 2019) and question, alter, or hide parts of themselves to feel accepted by members of their families and communities (e.g., (in)authenticity). Independent lines of research have linked RII, racial identity challenges (RICs), and inauthenticity with psychological distress among Biracial adults. However, our understanding of how these processes independently and collectively relate to mental health of young Biracial-Black girls/women is limited. The goal of the present study to was to push this scholarship forward by exploring the associations between RII, RICs, inauthenticity, and depression among Biracial-Black girls/women. I specifically consider whether RICs and inauthenticity mediate or moderate the relationship between RII and depressive symptoms as scholars have previously hypothesized (see Figure 1).

Data for the study comes from the Biracial Adolescents and Young Adults’ Socialization Experiences Study – a national cross-sectional survey of racialized promotive and protective processes. The participants for this paper included 283 cisgender Biracial-Black females between the ages of 18 and 25 (M = 18.95, SD = 3.75). The primary analysis was a moderated path analysis using Structural Equation Modeling in STATA. This approach allowed for the simultaneous examination of direct and indirect effects (e.g., mediation) and moderation. The model fit the data sufficiently (X² = 7.30, df = 3, p=.063, TLI = .93, CFI = .98, RMSEA = .09) and accounted for 32% of the variance in depressive symptoms. Regarding direct associations, RII (β = .25**) and inauthenticity (β = .47**) were significantly and positively associated with depression symptoms. There were no significant indirect paths, but significant interactions emerged between RII and (a) RICs and (b) inauthenticity. The simple slop plots (see Figure 2) suggest that girls/women who reported fewer RICs reported higher levels of depressive symptoms in the face of high amounts of RII (β = -.12*). Comparatively, participants who reported higher amounts of inauthenticity reported higher amounts of depressive symptoms when RII was low and high (β = .07*).

The findings link RII and depressive symptoms among Biracial-Black girls and young adult women. The mediating pathways explored were not significant, but the results suggest that RICs and inauthenticity may mitigate or exacerbate the impact of RII. In particular, girls/women who struggled with their Multiraciality were less vulnerable to RII than participants who reported fewer RICs. This may be because those struggling with their racial identity have either (a) internalized RII and/or (b) invalidate themselves frequently, which in turn makes invalidation from others less salient. Comparatively, girls/women with higher levels of inauthenticity reported more depressive symptoms when facing low and high amounts of RII. Thus, authenticity appears to be an important buffer against RII for participants in this sample. Additional nuances, including developmental differences, supplementary analyses examining reverse directionality, and implications for research and practice will be integrated into the poster presentation.

**= p < .001 *= p < .05

Author information

Author	Role
McKenzie N. Green, Virginia Commonwealth University	Presenting author

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