The Association of Mindfulness and Racial Socialization Messages on Approach-Oriented Coping Strategies Among African Americans

Abstract

This study investigated the association of mindfulness and racial socialization messages on approach-oriented coping strategies among African Americans. Three hundred African American college students completed measures of mindfulness, racial socialization, and coping strategy preference. The results revealed that a higher degree of mindfulness and culturally based racial socialization messages are positively associated with both planning and active coping strategies. The study also found that mindful observation was positively related to all of the minority and culturally based racial socialization messages. This research has discovered that racial socialization messages are related to mindfulness, suggesting that these two metacognitive self-regulatory strategies promote adaptive coping strategy selection and potentially buffer the negative consequences of stressors for African Americans. Stress-reduction programs that promote “cultural pride and reinforcement” as well as mindfulness techniques may be ideal for African Americans grappling with race-related stressors.