1-123 - Racial Discrimination among Urban Youth: Experiences and Contexts

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Amidst the growing diversity of the US population, youth continue to be exposed to racial discrimination. The experience of racial discrimination can have deleterious short- and long-term effects on youth across their development. Thus, to improve the well-being of youth, it is critical to further advance understanding of the multiple forms of racial discrimination, the contexts in which it occurs, the impacts on child and adolescent functioning, and the factors that may attenuate or exacerbate effects on youth. This symposium examines experiences of racial discrimination among urban youth. The first paper describes themes from qualitative interviews of racial discrimination experiences of ethnically diverse youth. Youth endorse several types of racial discrimination experiences which are particularly relevant at the transition to high school and for specific racial groups. The second paper explores the impact of racism and a family protective factor on internalizing symptoms and behavioral problems among a high risk sample of African American youth of mothers with depression. The effects of racism on youth functioning are evident even with family support and despite maternal racial discrimination experiences. The third paper examines neighborhood social processes as moderators of the impact of racial discrimination on depression symptoms and aggressive behavior among African American adolescents. Neighborhood social cohesion attenuated the negative effect of racial discrimination on depressive symptoms. The discussion will focus on the contexts in which youth experience racial discrimination. Implications for individual, family, school, and neighborhood intervention strategies will be addressed.

Sub Unit

• Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Chairs

• Rhonda Cherie Boyd, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

• Sharon Lambert, George Washington Univ

Individual Presentations

• Reports of Racial Discrimination by a Diverse Sample of Low-Income, Urban Youth - Presenting Author: Theressa LaBarrie, DePaul University; Kathryn E Grant, DePaul Univ

• Exposure to Racial Discrimination and its Emotional Effects Among Urban African American Children of Mothers with Depression - Presenting Author: Rhonda Cherie Boyd, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Shadiya Moss, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia

• Neighborhood Social Processes as Moderators between Racial Discrimination and the Mental Health of African American Adolescents - Presenting Author: Farzana Tabitha Saleem, George Washington University; Danielle ReNay Busby, George Washington University; Sharon Lambert, George Washington Univ