Ethnic/Racial Identity, Adolescent Sleep, and Somatic Health: Coping with Ethnic/Racial Discrimination as a Mediating Mechanism

• In Event: Discrimination, Identity, and the Health of Racially Minoritized Youth

Abstract

Introduction. The formation of ethnic/racial identity (ERI) is an essential developmental task for youth of color (Umaña‐Taylor et al., 2014). Research has documented the link between ERI and adolescent development and psychosocial well-being (Rivas-Drake et al., 2014; Yip, 2018); however, associations between ERI and other health outcomes and underlying mechanisms are less clear. Addressing this gap, the present study examined the links between ERI exploration and commitment and adolescents’ sleep and somatic health. The “slope-as-mediator” (SAM) mediation modeling was conducted to address the research questions. Different from conventional mediational approaches (e.g., Baron & Kenny, 1986) using the mean value of a variable as a mediator, SAM mediation investigates the strength of relationship (or slope) between two variables as the mechanism intervening the association between predictors and outcomes (Author Citation, 2019). This study used the SAM mediation approach to examine how adolescents’ everyday processes of coping with ethnic/racial discrimination could explain the associations between ERI and health outcomes (Figure 1).

Method. The sample consists of 279 adolescents (Mage = 14.31, SD = .65; 69% female; 31% Asian, 24% Black, and 41% Latinx; 4% other ethnic/racial minorities) recruited from five public high schools in the northeastern United States. Adolescents first completed an online survey about demographics and ERI exploration and commitment (T1), then 14-day diaries about ethnic/racial discrimination and coping (i.e., rumination and problem-solving coping; daily-level). At the end of the 2 weeks, participants completed a post-survey about their sleep and somatic health over the past two weeks (T2; see Table 1 for the measures used). Multilevel structural equation modeling was employed to estimate the SAM mediation models (Figure 1) using the Bayesian estimation.

Results. Results of the SAM between discrimination and rumination (Table 1, Row A) observed a positive adjusted mean, suggesting that on days in which adolescents encountered discrimination, they reported more rumination on the same day. Adolescents’ ERI exploration at T1 exacerbated the daily-level association between discrimination and rumination (path a1). In turn, the association between discrimination and rumination positively predicted sleep quality and somatic symptoms at T2 (path b). The association between discrimination and rumination fully mediated the links between ERI exploration and both health outcomes (path c’). The pathways between ERI commitment and health were not significant.
Results of the SAM between discrimination and problem-solving coping (Table 1, Row B) observed a positive adjusted mean, indicating that on days in which adolescents encountered discrimination, they reported greater problem-solving coping on the same day. Adolescents’ ERI exploration at T1 exacerbated the association between discrimination and problem-solving (path a1), whereas adolescents’ ERI commitment buffered the association between discrimination and problem-solving (path a2). In turn, the association between discrimination and problem-solving positively predicted sleep quality and somatic symptoms at T2 (path b). The association between discrimination and problem-solving coping fully mediated the links between ERI exploration and commitment and health outcomes (path c’). The present study contributes to research on ERI and adolescent health by examining daily associations between ethnic/racial discrimination and coping as the mediating mechanism.

Authors

• Mingjun Xie, Beijing Normal University
  Presenting Author

• Zhenqiang Zhao, Fordham University

• Tiffany Yip, Fordham University

• Heining Cham, Fordham University