Depression, perceived discrimination, and racial barrier awareness as predictors of offending for Black women

Abstract

The lived experiences of Black people are often characterized by racism and race discrimination, but the experiences of Black women are uniquely intensified by multiple intersecting marginalities (i.e., race, class, gender, etc.) that collectively function as areas of discrimination. Recognizing this, the present study explores whether perceptions of discrimination and racial barrier awareness leads to offending behavior above the influence of depressive factors. Findings from this study suggest that depressive factors alone marginally account for variances in offending behavior, but when paired with racial barrier awareness, significantly account for variances in offending behavior. Perceptions of discrimination, however, did not account for any variance.