How Ethnic Self-identification Informs the Association Between Perceived Discrimination and Depressive Symptomatology in Caribbean Children

• In Event: 1284 - Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 23. Migrant Generations

Abstract

Racial identity in the Caribbean can be a complicated matter. Each island, with their own distinct history and colonization experiences, have unique ways of assessing race. In essence, Caribbean societies speak to the in-between, acknowledging the race categories that exist between and within the “black” or “white” designations. But outside of this context and particularly in American society, individuals from the Caribbean pursue identification in a more dichotomized approach. What influences these decisions is often the occupied status of their families. What comes with these occupied statuses are different advantages and perceptions/experiences of daily stressors. Using a modified version of Pearlin’s stress process model, this paper assesses how ethnic self-identification colors perceptions of stressors such as discrimination, and how this in turn influences one’s depressive symptomatology. Using data (N=1,092) from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS) (1991-2006), this paper examines the association between perceived discrimination and depressive symptomatology among the children of Caribbean immigrants. Four identity groups are used from the study to evaluate the role that ethnic self-identification plays in perceiving discrimination. The four groups included are White Cubans, Hispanic Cubans, Black Antilleans and Non-Black Antilleans. The average age of the participants is 14 years old. The findings suggest that an increase in perceived discrimination is associated with an increase in depression levels. Moreover, variations in depression score exist among racial/ethnic groups, with those identifying as Non-Black Antilleans experiencing greater depression than the other 3 groups, and White Cubans experiencing the lowest depression levels. The association between racial/ethnic identities, perception of discrimination and development of depressive symptomatology has implications for understanding the second generation, and the relationship race and ethnicity play in the perception of discrimination among youth.

Author

• Fabrice Stanley Julien, University of Alabama-Birmingham