Income as a resilience factor for the impact of discrimination and institutional unfairness on minorities’ emotional well-being

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of personal vs. institutional discrimination on the emotional well-being (EWB) of immigrant and ethnic minorities, and a possible protective mechanism of economic achievements that may buffer the negative effects of discrimination. Data were collected from the Israeli 2015 Social Survey. Immigrant minorities were those who came to Israel after 1980. Israeli Palestinians were regarded as an ethnic minority. The study showed that perceived unfairness and discrimination in public institutions, which were not necessarily directed towards individuals or their minority group, threatens EWB of minorities to an extent similar to that of personally experienced discrimination. Income moderated the effects of common and personal discrimination on EWB of immigrant and ethnic minorities, but not in the same way across the various groups. The study provides evidence that income may be a resilience factor, which buffers and compensates for the negative effect of discrimination on minorities’ EWB.