Exploring the Longitudinal Effects of Racial Discrimination, Coping, and Racial Socialization on Depression Among African American Emerging Adults

Experiences of racial discrimination are particularly salient amongst African American youth (García Coll et al., 1996; Williams & Mohammed, 2009; English et. al 2014). Racial discrimination has been associated with poorer psychosocial development, including higher depressive symptoms, lower self-esteem, higher anxiety, etc, (Bank et al., 2006; Gaylord-Harden & Cunningham, 2009; English et al., 2014). Furthermore, literature provides sufficient evidence for the buffering effect of ethnic/racial socialization, in particular cultural socialization, and active coping skills on the mental health of African American youth in the context of perceived racial discrimination (Spencer et al., 1997; Wang & Benner, 2016). The current study aimed to investigate the impact of perceived racial discrimination (PRD) on depression across three years. Furthermore, this study explored the mediating role of active coping and the moderating role of cultural socialization on the the relationship between PRD and depression. These research aims were explored using the theoretical framework PVEST and theory provided by Cynthia García Coll, which consider the ecological factors that influence the development of children of color and the cultural specific coping mechanism that protect their well-being (García Coll et al., 1996; Spencer et al., 1997). The sample consisted of self-reports from 146 African American adolescents from the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study (MADICS; Eccles, 1992). Data was collected across three time points (Wave4, Wave5 and Wave6). In wave 4, participants were in their junior year of high school. Participants were reassessed when they were 1 year out of high school (Wave 5), and again three years after high school (Wave 6). During each time point, participants were assessed on their perceptions of discrimination, depressive symptoms, cultural socialization practices, and problem solving skills. Hierarchical regressions, cross-lagged analyses, and mediation and moderation models were used in the data analyses. Contrary to our hypothesis, only few paths between PRD and Discrimination were significant concurrently and longitudinally. Moreover, we found that active coping did not significantly mediate the relationship between PRD and discrimination over time. Lastly, cultural socialization did not moderate the relationship between this relationship over time.