Online Racism and Mental Health Symptomatology Among Black Adolescents: A Longitudinal Examination

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PROJECT SUMMARY Black adolescents disproportionately report severe rates of psychological distress including, depression24 and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)29 symptoms stemming from experiencing racial trauma41 in comparison to other racial peers.18 Therefore, identification and examination of the antecedents of psychological distress among Black adolescents is a pressing need.39 Online racism (e.g., racism via the media and online platforms) is increasingly becoming a public health concern, with recent studies indicating that almost 50% of Black individuals have experienced at least one online racial discriminatory act during adolescence, and the most common discriminatory act being racist images or videos.50 However, our understanding of the consequences of online racism on psychological distress among Black adolescents have methodological limitations in (1) longitudinal explorations, (2) person-centered approaches, and (3) modeling of attenuating cultural processes. The overarching goal of the proposed study is to address those limitations by providing a methodically rigorous examination of the longitudinal effects of online racism exposure on depression and PTSD symptoms, investigating the extent to which subgroups of Black adolescents differ in online racism exposure, and the extent to which cultural processes of racial protection and racial pride serve as protective factors in the face of online racism exposure. This goal aligns with NIMH Divisional of Translation Research (DTR)’s priority of understanding the impact of adverse experiences during childhood and adolescence on development and identifying periods where intervention could have optimal effects. These aims will be addressed through secondary data analysis of two different dataset including self-identified Black adolescents (i.e., ages 10 -19): (1) National Survey of Critical Digital Literacy (NSCDL) to investigate Aim 1 and Aim 2 and (2) Emotion Regulatory Flexibility among African American Adolescents Study (ERFAA) to examine the exploratory aim. The specific aims are to 1) Test for heterogeneous profiles of online racism exposure among Black adolescents, 2) Investigate the longitudinal effects of online racism exposure on symptoms of depression and PTSD among Black adolescents, and 3) To examine the attenuating effects of racial protection and racial pride on the effects of online racism exposure on depression and PTSD symptoms. Anticipated findings can inform mental health research during this critical developmental period, one of five key goals outlined in NIMH Division of Translation Research (DTR)'s current strategic plan. Moreover, the research and training outlined in this NRSA F31 predoctoral fellowship application will equip me with the skills and support needed to pursue a successful career as an independent research scientist by providing me with knowledge of relevant theoretical models of Black adolescents’ online experiences and mental health symptomatology, competencies in longitudinal and person-centered approaches, and further develop my scientific writing, grant-writing, and presentation skills.