Racial identity and changes in psychological distress using the multidimensional model of racial identity.

This study examined racial identity and its association with changes in overall psychological distress among African American college students. Method: The sample included 171 African American college students (69% female) attending a predominately White institution in the southeastern United States using 5 waves of data collected over 3 years. Results: Latent curve modeling revealed increases in racial centrality, private regard, and nationalist ideology, and decreases in public regard and assimilationist, humanist, and oppressed minority ideologies (comparative fit index range: 0.94–1.00; root-mean-square error of approximation range: .00—.07). Growth curve modeling also revealed that initial levels of racial identity predicted changes in psychological distress. Of note, higher initial levels of private regard were associated with sharper declines in psychological distress over time (β = .37, Sz E = .17, p = .027). Additionally, individuals with lower initial levels of public regard experienced greater declines in psychological distress over time as compared to individuals with higher levels of public regard (β = .60, SE = .15, p
Source: Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research