"Easier said than done": A qualitative investigation of Black emerging adults coping with multilevel racism.

Abstract

This qualitative investigation examined how Black emerging adults cope with their worst experiences of racism at multiple levels (individual, cultural, and institutional). A sample of 189 Black emerging adults (M age = 19.34, 68.3% female) from a predominantly White institution completed an online questionnaire with an open-ended question regarding their worst experience of racism and how they coped. Responses to these questions were coded using deductive coding schemes based on established theory-Jones' (1997) tripartite model of racism and Harrell's (2000) typology of coping. Results indicated that the majority of participants utilized active and inner-directed coping strategies in response to their worst experience. More participants responded to institutional-level racism with active rather than passive coping. There were no differences in proportions of participants who responded to individual- or cultural-level racism with active rather than passive coping. Similar proportions of participants also reported inner-directed versus outer-directed coping in response to individual-, cultural-, and institutional-level experiences. Implications for practice, policy, and programming to support the mental health of Black emerging adults are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).