Poster #178 - The Buffering Effect of Adolescents’ Ethnic Identity on the Relationship Between Ethnic Discrimination and Depression

• In Event: 1-005 - Poster Session 01
  In Poster Session: PS 01 Section - Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Integrative Statement

Ethnic discrimination has negative effects on mental health and well-being (Branscombe, Schmitt & Harvey, 1999). Aspects of ethnic identity such as ethnic centrality may buffer against depressive symptoms associated with discrimination, particularly for African American adolescents (Branscombe et al., 1999). However, researchers suspect that feeling a close personal connection to one's own ethnic group (centrality) causes a more positive association to one’s own ethnicity despite ethnic discrimination (Sellers & Shelton, 2003), potentially benefiting all ethnic groups. High ethnic centrality can also buffer the effects of discrimination allowing for more positive academic outcomes, improved attitudes towards school (Rivas‐Drake et al., 2014), and possibly greater mental health outcomes. This study examines whether ethnic centrality buffers against the depressive symptoms associated with discrimination in an ethnically diverse sample of 10th graders.

Method:
Participants were 626 10th graders from three ethnically diverse west coast public high schools (30% White, 27% Latinx, 16% Asian/PI, 6% African American, 21% Multiethnic/Other; 49% girls) who were administered an in-class survey as part of a larger longitudinal study about adolescents’ daily lives. Participants responded to 10 items measuring depressive symptoms (CDI; Kovacs, 1992; e.g. I am sad once in a while, I am sad many times, or I am sad all the time, with scores ranging from 1-3, higher mean scores reflect more depressive symptoms, 𝞪 =.87), 4 items measuring ethnic discrimination (ADDI; Fisher, Wallace, & Fenton, 2000; e.g. Were you threatened by other students because of your ethnicity; 1 - never, 5 - a whole lot, 𝞪 =.76), and 5 items measuring ethnic centrality (Sellers et al., 1997; e.g., Being a part of my ethnic group is an important reflection of who I am; 1 - strongly disagree, 5 - strongly agree; 𝞪 = .74).

Results:
A hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to examine whether the depressive symptoms associated with discrimination are minimized for students with high centrality. First, discrimination and centrality accounted for a significant amount of variance in depressive symptoms, R^2 = .13, F(1,266) = 38.60, p < .001 (See Table 1). The interaction term for discrimination and centrality was added to the model and accounted for a significant additional amount of variance in depressive symptoms, △R^2 = .03, F(1,262) = 26.89, p < .001 (See Table 1). As shown in Figure 1, the association between discrimination and depressive symptoms was weaker for students with high centrality (above sample average).

Discussion:
Because stronger centrality seems to buffer the psychological effects of ethnic discrimination on depression, it may be important for schools to implement a program which facilitates the growth and maintenance of ethnic centrality for those who experience discrimination. This may be especially important for helping to reduce the well-known negative academic, health, and life outcomes associated with depression in adolescence (Quiroga, Janosz, Bisset, & Morin, 2013). Future directions should explore whether the buffering effect of centrality on the association between ethnic discrimination and depressive symptoms varies or functions similarly across ethnic groups.

Authors

• Samantha Marie Gottuso, Willamette University
  Presenting Author

• Shannon Peiffer, University of California, Davis
  Non-Presenting Author

• Melissa R. Witkow, Willamette university
  Non-Presenting Author

• Adrienne Nishina, University of California, Davis
  Non-Presenting Author