Weight on Our Shoulders: The Impact of Discrimination on African-American Adolescents and Emerging-Adults’ Violent Behaviors

• In Event: 1-077 - Staring Down the Gauntlet: African American Boys’ Racial Discrimination Experiences in Relation to Positive Development

Integrative Statement

In contemporary western culture, and especially in the US associating African American males with violent images and tendencies has become common place an outgrowth from an extended racialized history (Welch, 2007). Such associations have and continue to lead to grave and tragic injustices such as the history of police killings of African Americans. This stigma is often propped up as one of the main justifying elements that lead to racial discrimination toward African American males (Welch, 2007). Specifically, research has demonstrated that the frequency of racial discrimination experiences is related to psychologically distressing outcomes (Sellers & Shelton, 2003). However, an individuals’ beliefs about their own racial can serve as important protection against the negative psychological impact of racial discrimination (Sellers, Caldwell, Schmeelk-Cone, & Zimmerman, 2003).
The present study builds upon such findings, exploring the link between the negative impact of racial discrimination on the psychological well-being of adolescent and emerging adult African American males. Much of the literature has examined health outcomes, academic performance, and mental health outcomes like depressions, but we investigate violent behavior among African American males – a population stigmatized and stereotyped as aggressive and violent. We examine the connection between racial discrimination and violent behavior and the role of private (how positively or negatively one feels about African Americans and one’s membership to this group) and public regard (how one thinks society views African Americans) as moderators.
The data in this study are from data collected from the Black Youth Project – a national survey of adolescent and adult African American males. Our sample consisted of 287 African American adolescents (53.7%) and emerging adults (Mage = 18.89, SDage = 3.13) males from around the United States. The data reveal a statistically significant relationship between the variables explored in this study (R2 = .374, F(218) = 10.375, p < .001). Although our sample consisted of adolescents and emerging adults there was no significant effect of age on the findings.
Racial discrimination was confirmed as a major risk factors as it is positively related to violent behavior for the African American males in this sample (B= .140, p=.045). Other variables including racial private (B=.749, p=.017) and societal opinion/perception [public and private regard] (B=.337, p=.000) and previous violent victimization experiences (B=.670, p=.000) were all positively related to violent behaviors. Findings suggest that racial private opinion/perception moderated the relationship between perception of racial discrimination and violent behaviors (B=-.248, p=.005) such that participants who reported high private regard and high discrimination experiences reported more violent behaviors. We also noted a 3-way interaction among racial public and private regard and discrimination (B = -.063, p = .048).
These results suggest that African American males’ racial public and private regard, their experiences as the victims of violence and racial discrimination may influence violent behavior. However, further research should examine potential protective factors within the context of racial public and private regard (e.g. racial socialization, social support) that act as a buffer to violent behavior.

Authors

• Deonte Williams, Palo Alto University
  Presenting Author

• Alvin Thomas, Palo Alto University
  Non-Presenting Author