Discrimination, group identity, and mental health: A comparative study of African Americans, Caribbean Americans and European Americans

The major aim of this dissertation was to investigate the mechanisms through which psychosocial factors (i.e., group identity, self-esteem, mastery, and social support) reduce the deleterious impact of discrimination on the mental health outcomes of racial and ethnic minorities. Based on the stress process model and risk/protective and protective/protective paradigms, this work explored whether and how racial and ethnic group identity (conceptualized as a psychosocial resource) helps minority group members combat the detrimental effects of perceived discrimination on mental health. For this project, data were analyzed from the National Survey of American Life (N=3,006 African Americans; 1,190 Afro-Caribbean Americans; and 491 non-Hispanic European Americans). Consistent with prior studies, the findings showed a positive relationship between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms. Additionally, results indicated that despite higher levels of discrimination and other types of disadvantages reported, racial minorities were able to maintain unexpectedly favorable mental health status, compared to their European American counterparts.; With respect to race- and ethnicity-specific findings, the mental health of Caribbean Americans was protected by self-esteem, mastery, and social support in the face of day-to-day discrimination. The pattern differed for European Americans, whose mental health was more protected by self-esteem, and African Americans, whose mental health was protected by mastery. In terms of the role of racial and ethnic group identity, reported closeness to other blacks helped Caribbean Americans to deal with day-to-day discrimination and African Americans to cope with major lifetime discrimination. Alternatively, the evaluative aspect (i.e. positive evaluation of other blacks) of group identity minimized the effect of day-to-day discrimination on depressive symptoms for both Caribbean and African Americans, while the evaluative aspect only helped Caribbean Americans in dealing with major lifetime discrimination. These racial and ethnic variations in the processes through which psychosocial resources protected mental health highlights the importance of paying closer attention to the diversity both across and within racial and ethnic groups.