Ethnic-racial socialization as a moderator of associations between discrimination and psychosocial well-being among African American and Caribbean Black adolescents.

Abstract

Discrimination can have debilitating effects on Black adolescents' psychosocial well-being. Ethnic-racial socialization (ERS) is crucial in helping youth manage racial discrimination and its adverse effects. However, little is known about how ERS can be beneficial against discrimination for subgroups of Black youth, despite evidence that culture and nationality may influence how adults prepare youth for discrimination. The present study examined if associations between discrimination and psychosocial well-being outcomes, and the moderating effects of ERS, varied by ethnicity for African American (AA) and Caribbean Black (CB) adolescents. Participants were 1,170 Black adolescents, 810 (AA); 360 (CB), who participated in the National Survey of American Life Adolescent supplement study. Multigroup analysis was applied to examine the moderating effects of ERS for AA and CB adolescents. For CB adolescents who reported high preparation for bias, discrimination was associated with fewer mastery beliefs, and the positive association between discrimination and perceived stress was stronger at higher levels of preparation for bias. Additionally, the negative association between discrimination and John Henryism active coping was stronger for youth who reported high egalitarian messages. Findings indicate that preparation for bias messages differentially influences the effects of discrimination on stress and mastery for AA and CB adolescents. The results highlight the importance of exploring ethnic heterogeneity of ERS. Implications for psychosocial well-being are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).