NCJ Number
226020
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 38 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2009 Pages: 153-163
Date Published
February 2009
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study examined contextual influences on the relationship between racial discrimination (individual, cultural, and collective/institutional) and psychological well-being among 252 African-American adolescents (46 percent boys).
Abstract
The study found that high perceptions of collective/institutional racial discrimination were associated with lower self-esteem for African-American youth in high-diversity settings (school and neighborhood). In addition, high levels of collective/institutional discrimination were associated with lower life satisfaction for African-American youth in low-diversity settings. As school diversity increased, perceptions of cultural racism increased among African-American adolescents. There was a marginally significant finding that perceptions of individual racism among African-American adolescents increased in schools with lower percentages of African-Americans and higher percentages of non-African-American youth. The negative association between collective/institutional racism and self-esteem was strongest for adolescents in racially integrated neighborhoods and schools. This finding is consistent with prior research that indicated African-American adolescents were more likely to feel victimized by institutional discrimination compared with perceptions of individual racism. The sample, with an average age of 16, completed measures of racial discrimination, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and life satisfaction. Archival information on the racial/ethnic composition of the participants’ neighborhoods and schools was used. 3 tables, 2 figures, and 45 references