The relation between critical action and mental health in youth is unclear, despite theory suggesting that engagement in critical action may support adaptive mental health functioning for youth experiencing oppressive systems. The current study contributed to the literature in this understudied area by analyzing the relations between youth critical anti-racism action and their depressive symptoms and psychological well-being, as well as testing two potential moderators of these relations: parent critical motivation and community anti-racism. The study sample consisted of 430 13-to-17-year-old adolescents (M age = 15.3 years, 54% girls, 48% black and 52% white). The findings suggest that critical action is often associated with negative mental health outcomes; however, parent critical motivation and community anti-racism were protective in some instances and communal anti-racism action was more frequently linked to adaptive mental health outcomes than other forms of action. The findings underscore that both psychological risks and rewards are present for youth engaging in critical action for racial justice and highlight the importance of future research to identify malleable factors that are protective for these youth.

尽管理论表明，参与关键行动可能会支持经历压迫系统的青少年的适应性心理健康功能，但关键行动与青少年心理健康之间的关系尚不清楚。目前的研究通过分析青少年批判性反种族主义行动与其抑郁症状和心理健康之间的关系，以及测试这些关系的两个潜在调节因素：父母批判性动机和社区反种族主义种族主义。研究样本包括 430 名 13 至 17 岁的青少年（M年龄 = 15.3 岁，54% 的女孩，48% 的黑人和 52% 的白人）。研究结果表明，关键行动通常与负面的心理健康结果相关；然而，在某些情况下，父母的批评​​动机和社区反种族主义具有保护作用，与其他形式的行动相比，社区反种族主义行动更频繁地与适应性心理健康结果相关联。研究结果强调，参与种族正义的关键行动的青年存在心理风险和回报，并强调了未来研究确定对这些青年有保护作用的可塑性因素的重要性。