acase@tulane.edu / 1 / Xzania W Lee

This study investigates how race-related stress affects mental health, specifically anxiety, in African Americans. Participants are 18-25 year old African American college students attending a Historically Black College in the Deep South. Race-related stress will be assessed by questionnaires measuring African Americans’ experiences of macro- and microaggressions. Participants will also complete a mental health survey to assess symptoms of anxiety. Data collection began in late October 2019 and we currently have over 350 participants. Questionnaire data will be entered into SPSS beginning in January 2020. We anticipate finding African Americans’ experiences of macro- and microaggressions will predict anxiety.

The aim of the current study was to examine variations in the impact of ambiguous versus blatant race related stressors on ego depletion in a sample of African American adults. Blatant race related stress was compared with ambiguous race related stress in regards to the relative impact on the constructs of ego depletion and perseverative cognition. Perseverative cognition was also examined as a potential mediating variable in the relationship between race related stress and ego depletion. Additionally, attributional ambiguity was hypothesized to moderate the effect of race related stress on perseverative cognition. The study implemented an experimental design, and assessed the integrity of the proposed moderated mediator model in a sample of 159 African American undergraduate students using MANCOVA and hierarchical multiple regression. Analyses failed to detect significant differences in ambiguous versus blatant race related stressors on perseverative cognition or ego depletion, and did not support the proposed model. Limitations of the study and implications for future research are discussed.

Thesis advisor: Janet E. Helms / Previous theory and research on Asian American/Pacific Islanders' (AAPI) racism experiences indicate that anti-AAPI racism is stressful and related to increased physical and psychological symptoms when the two types of symptoms have been investigated as separate constructs. However, cultural models of AAPIs' health postulate that AAPIs experience distress as interrelated physical and psychological symptoms, but no studies have explored whether racism experiences are similarly related to increases in both physical and psychological symptoms. Also, few studies of AAPI health and racism have included racial identity schemas as psychological constructs that potentially interact with experiences of self-reported anti-Asian racism and health symptoms. To better understand how racism experiences, racial identity, and physical and psychological health are related, the present study examined relationships among frequent and distressing anti-AAPI institutional, cultural, and individual racism experiences, racial identity attitudes, and physical and psychological symptoms. U.S.-born AAPIs of Chinese or Korean heritage (N =203) completed a demographic questionnaire, the People of Color Racial Identity Attitudes Scale (Helms, 2011), the Asian American Race-Related Stress Index (Liang, Li, and Kim, 2004), the Pennebaker Inventory of Limbic Languidness (Pennebaker, 1992), and the Kessler-10 (Kessler et al., 2002). Canonical correlation analyses were used to investigate relationships among the variables. Several patterns were identified. Three patterns were significantly, but not strongly related to being of male gender. They were: (a) frequent and distressing experiences of institutional, cultural, and individual racism experiences were related to increased physical and psychological symptoms; (b) institutional racism experiences were associated with increased levels of Dissonance (racial confusion) and Immersion (own-group idealization); and, (c) high levels of Dissonance and low levels of Internalization were related to more psychological and fewer physical symptoms and being of male gender. One pattern was significantly, but not strongly related to being of female gender, wherein high levels of both Dissonance and Immersion were related to increased levels of physical and psychological symptoms. Finally, one pattern was related to being of Chinese ethnicity, wherein cultural racism experiences were associated with high Conformity (White cultural orientation) and Dissonance. Results were discussed with respect to how researchers can assess racism and racial identity-related distress more accurately by using holistic health measures. Methodological limitations of the study and implications for research and practice are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology.

Thesis advisor: Janet E. Helms / African American parents engage in ethnic-racial socialization practices, which may foster their youths’ racial identity and critical consciousness development, each of which may decrease youths’ race-related stress. The few studies that have examined the relationships between African American youths’ perceived parental ethnic-racial socialization practices and their racial identity or critical consciousness have used inconsistent conceptualizations of racial identity. No studies have compared the effectiveness of different kinds of perceived parental socialization practices on critical consciousness development, nor has previous research demonstrated that critical consciousness is related to reduced stress. In the present study, the perceived parental strategies of Cultural Socialization and Preparation for Bias were investigated to determine how they were related to racial identity and critical consciousness development. Also, effects of racial identity and critical consciousness on racial stress were studied. African American youths, ages 18-24 years (N=139), completed a demographic questionnaire, perceived ethnic-racial socialization measures, a racial identity measure, critical consciousness measures and a measure of race-related stress. Multivariate multiple regression analyses revealed that parental Cultural Socialization was related to lower levels of Preencounter (conformity), Post-Encounter (confusion), and higher levels of Internalization (self-actualizing) racial identity statuses, and to critical consciousness dimensions of Critical Reflection and Political Efficacy, but lower levels of Critical Action. Parental Preparation for Bias only predicted Preencounter. Critical Reflection was related to high levels of Cultural Race-Related Stress, was negatively related to Institutional Race-Related Stress, and was not related to Individual Race-Related Stress. Each of the other critical consciousness dimensions was related to higher levels of at least one type of race-related stress, rather than lower levels. Immersion/Emersion was related to high levels of all three types of race-related stress. Implications of the findings are that (a) parental Cultural Socialization strategies may be most useful for promoting racial identity and critical consciousness, (b) parental strategies may encourage all aspects of critical consciousness except political action, and (c) with only a couple of exceptions, racial identity and critical consciousness were related to higher stress. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Thesis advisor: Janet E. Helms / The extant theory and research on race-related stress and coping has not adequately examined how internalized racial and gender socialization factors influence levels of stress and coping strategies of elderly African American women. Consequently, little is known about how to address their mental health concerns effectively. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the complex relationships among racial identity attitudes, culture and gender specific coping strategies, and race-related stressors that have been hypothesized to affect psychological distress among elderly African American women. Elderly African American women (N = 125), who were at least 65 years old, completed a demographic questionnaire and measures of Black racial identity (Helms, 2003), race-related stress (Utsey, 1999), Black women's coping strategies (Phields, 2002), and a mental health inventory (Veit & Ware, 1983). Three canonical correlation analyses were used to investigate how the women's appraisal of race-related stress, use of prototypical Black women coping strategies, and psychological distress were interrelated. Results of the analyses revealed four statistically significant patterns: (a) "Self-Reliant Internalization," women described by this pattern endorsed Internalization (transcendent identity) as a primary appraisal strategy, self-reliance as a coping strategy, and less psychological distress; (b) "High SES," women defined by this pattern used education, social class, and self-reliance as buffers against institutional race-related stress and psychological distress; (c) "Self-Reliant, Multiply Distressed," a pattern in which greater individual and cultural race-related stress, were associated with use of self-reliance as a coping strategy and greater psychological distress; and (d) "Internalized Individual Racism as Stressors," a pattern in which endorsement of the Preencounter (pro-White/anti-Black) and Immersion (pro-Black/anti-White) racial identity statuses as appraisal strategies were related to higher levels of individual race-related stress and psychological distress. Results were used to speculate about how the factors investigated might be integrated to form a model for addressing research and practice for elderly African American women. Limitations of this study and implications for research and practice, and future research are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology.

Thesis advisor: Maureen E. Kenny / The relationship between race-related stress (RRS) and negative mental health outcomes has been well documented in research (Carter, 2007; Pinterse, Carter, Evans, & Walter, 2010). Emerging adulthood is a pivotal and challenging time when college students of color enrolled in predominantly White institutions (PWI) encounter RRS in college settings that are microcosms of the larger social environment. Despite the risks associated with RRS, students of color demonstrate a multitude of psychological strengths and well-being. The current study applies developmental contextual and strength-based frameworks to better understand the factors that contribute to positive psychological outcomes despite the presence of RRS. More specifically, this study examined the contributions of social support, sense of purpose, and critical consciousness to well-being and the role of these factors in moderating the relationship between race-related stress (RRS) and well-being. A sample of 196 undergraduate students of color attending a PWI in the Northeast participated. Students completed an on-line survey assessing their subjective experiences of RRS, social support, sense of purpose, critical consciousness, depressive symptoms and self-esteem. Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that social support moderated the relationship between RRS and psychological well-being, decreasing the strength of the relationship. Lower depression and higher self-esteem were associated with sense of purpose and critical consciousness. The current study confirms the relationship between RRS and negative psychological well-being and identifies individual strengths (e.g., sense of purpose and critical consciousness) that explain well-being beyond the negative effects of RRS. This study adds to existing research with students of color in higher education by utilizing a strengths-based perspective and highlighting the strengths of students of color. Implications for theory, research, and practice in the college setting are explored. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

The purpose of this research was to identify coping mechanisms that African American men use when they perceive race-related stressors. Race-related stress derives from the occurrence of racism and discrimination that individuals, generally African Americans in the United States, experience in addition to daily life stress. Race-related stress may involve cultural racism, individual racism, or institutional racism. The coping mechanisms used by African American men when perceiving race-related stress were identified through the use of an online survey that consisted of 3 instruments: The Index of Race-Related Stress-Brief Version (IRRS-B), Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Brief COPE), and People of Color Racial Identity Attitude Scale (PRIAS). Participants were required to be African American males, ages 18 and older. Eighty-five participants completed the study. The data was analyzed through the use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) as a quantitative methodology specifically using multiple regression. Results of this study indicated that there was a moderate statistically significant correlation between race-related stress (cultural racism, institutional racism, and individual racism) and coping mechanisms (active coping, planning and religion) of African American men. This research has the potential to set the foundation for a greater understanding of racism and how it affects African American men specifically.

Race-related stress has been found to impact the mental health of African Americans in literature. Three manuscripts were developed for this dissertation. The first is a critical literature review identifying the multiple pathways by which racism can affect mental health, and the current research addressing this problem is presented. Second, a quantitative study looking at what type of coping mechanisms African Americans use when dealing with race-related stress and how racial identity statuses impact these coping mechanisms?; The third manuscript addresses the research question, among the identified coping mechanisms, is there a relationship with psychological distress? The first manuscript is a critical literature review which discusses racism, race-related stress, and coping resources. The aim of the paper is to identify the multiple pathways by which racism can affect mental health and the current research addressing this problem. Initially, views of racism and race-related stress will be identified; theories for use of stress will be examined, and how racial identity status influences the perception of racism. In addition, individual strategies for coping with racism will be discussed, as well as major approaches to coping that have received sufficient research with regard to their effectiveness for mental and physical outcomes. The purpose of the first quantitative study was to examine the relationships among race-related stress, racial identity status, and coping resources in African Americans in a sample of 294 African American adults. Results indicated that avoidance coping and seeking social support predicted higher levels of race-related stress. Problem solving coping did not predict race-related stress. In addition, racial identity status (pre-encounter and immersion-emersion) predicted avoidance coping where racial identity status (internalization) predicted more problem solving coping behavior. The findings emphasize the need to recognize how racial identity status influence styles of coping in African Americans. Implications for mental health providers are discussed. The purpose of the second study was to examine the relationships between race-related stress, coping resources, and mental health in African Americans in a sample of 294 African American adults. Results indicated they were a predictor of psychological distress and well-being in African Americans. Specifically, the avoidance coping mechanism led to participants in the study experiencing more psychological distress when using this coping resource. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the results, which confirmed our hypothesis that mal-adaptive coping strategies predicted psychological distress. The findings emphasize the need to recognize how coping styles influence mental health in African Americans. Implications for mental health providers are discussed.

The literature on identity and acculturation has discussed many aspects of the ethnic minorities‟ experience that have important implications for the mental health status of these individuals. The goal of the present study was to integrate these findings to create an encompassing picture of how these processes may interact with one another in first-generation Asian immigrants and Asian international students in Canada. Results indicated that one‟s identification to the mainstream and heritage cultures were dependent on one‟s stage in ethnic identity development. Second, it was found that ethnic identity exploration and ethnic identity achievement were differentially associated with reported levels of race-related stress. Third, bicultural conflict and vertical collectivism were negatively associated with psychological outcomes, whereas ethnic identity achievement was positively associated with well-being. Finally, strategies of self-continuity were not associated with the individualism-collectivism measures assessed in the study / Graduate