“Intoxicated” by Hate: Effects of Microblogged Racist Messages on Target Group Members’ Alcohol Use Intention

• In Event: Implications of Intergroup Communication on Health and Well-Being

Abstract

Research has suggested that racial discrimination leads target racial minority individuals to engage in health-impairing behaviors such as alcohol use. Noting that racist messages are often disseminated through microblogging platforms such as Twitter, we conducted an experiment to investigate whether exposure to microblogged racist messages increases target individuals’ alcohol use intention. In so doing, we tested mediation models involving shame and anger. Asian American adults were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: control vs. anti-Asian tweets vs. anti-Asian retweets. After the exposure, participants performed a drink-choice task disguised as a consumer survey. Participants who were exposed to the anti-Asian tweets and retweets were more likely to choose a beverage containing alcohol when compared with those exposed to the control tweets and this effect was mediated by two significant indirect pathways: (1) through anger only and (2) serially through shame and anger. Implications of the findings were discussed.

Authors

• Roselyn J. Lee-Won, Ohio State U

• Ji Young Lee, Ohio State U

• Hyunjin Song, Ohio State University

• Lorraine Borghetti, Ohio State University