ABSTRACT

Objectives: Although the relationship between perceived discrimination and mental health among Black youth is well-documented, the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. Drawing from the stress process model, this study examines two psychosocial mediators – self-esteem and self-efficacy – in the association between perceived discrimination and mental health among African American and Caribbean Black adolescents. This research addresses three primary research questions: First, how is perceived discrimination associated with mental health? Second, to what extent do self-esteem and self-efficacy mediate the relationship between perceived discrimination and mental health? Finally, do these relationships and processes differ between African American and Caribbean Black adolescents?

Design: Data for these analyses come from the National Survey of American Life – Adolescent Supplement. We use generalized structural equation modeling to examine relationships among perceived discrimination, psychosocial resources, and mental health.

Results: For both African American and Caribbean Black adolescents, more frequent perceptions of discriminatory events were associated with greater depressive symptoms and a higher likelihood of having an anxiety disorder diagnosis. However, the association between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms was significantly stronger for Caribbean Black adolescents. Generally, self-esteem and self-efficacy were found to be significant mediators in the association between perceived discrimination and mental health, although mechanisms varied between African American and Caribbean Black youth.

Conclusion: African American and Caribbean Black adolescents are highly susceptible to experiences of discrimination that negatively affect their mental health. Heterogeneity among Black youth populations must be considered when developing interventions to reduce exposure to and the effects of discrimination among these adolescents.

摘要

目标：尽管黑人青年中感知到的歧视与心理健康之间的关系有据可查，但这种关联背后的机制仍不清楚。本研究借鉴压力过程模型，考察了非裔美国人和加勒比黑人青少年感知歧视与心理健康之间关联的两个心理社会中介因素——自尊和自我效能。这项研究解决了三个主要研究问题：首先，感知歧视与心理健康有何关联？其次，自尊和自我效能在多大程度上在感知歧视与心理健康之间起中介作用？最后，这些关系和过程在非裔美国人和加勒比黑人青少年之间是否有所不同？

设计：这些分析的数据来自美国生活全国调查 - 青少年补充。我们使用广义结构方程模型来检查感知歧视、心理社会资源和心理健康之间的关系。

结果：对于非裔美国人和加勒比黑人青少年，对歧视性事件的更频繁感知与更大的抑郁症状和更高的焦虑症诊断可能性相关。然而，加勒比黑人青少年的感知歧视与抑郁症状之间的关联明显更强。一般来说，自尊和自我效能被认为是感知歧视与心理健康之间关联的重要中介，尽管非洲裔美国人和加勒比黑人青年之间的机制有所不同。

结论：非裔美国人和加勒比黑人青少年极易受到对其心理健康产生负面影响的歧视经历。在制定干预措施以减少对这些青少年的歧视及其影响时，必须考虑黑人青年人口的异质性。