Hate as a system: Examining hate crimes and hate groups as state level moderators on the impact of online and offline racism on mental health

Abstract

The rise in race-based hate crimes and groups should not only be examined as an individual- or group-level issue but as indicators that reflect state-level norms of hate and degradation toward racial minority groups. Specifically, for racial minority individuals residing in states that yield higher rates of hate crimes and groups, this may reflect a greater hate culture, and the distress associated with racism may be exacerbated, compared to those residing in states with less of a hate culture (e.g., lower numbers of hate crimes and groups). Thus, to test these assertions, we examined whether state-level indicators of race-based hate crimes and groups would moderate the relationship between perceived racism (offline and online) and stress among racial minority individuals. Using data from 935 racial minority adults across 43 states, a multilevel analysis was conducted with online and offline racism predicting distress at level 1, and the total number of hate crimes and groups moderating this relationship at level 2 (state-level). Between hate crimes and groups, only hate groups was a significant indicator moderating this link. In states with a low number of hate groups, the link between offline racism and stress was not significant while this link was significant in states with a high number of hate groups. Online racism was significantly associated with stress, but this link was not moderated by any of the hate indicators. The findings suggest that the presence and activity of hate groups may be a significant contextual factor in understanding the salience of racial discrimination. Implications for research are discussed.