Perceived discrimination and psychological distress: the role of personal and ethnic self-esteem

Citation

Cassidy C, O'Connor R, Howe CJ & Warden D (2004) Perceived discrimination and psychological distress: the role of personal and ethnic self-esteem. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51 (3), pp. 329-339. http://www.apa.org/journals/cou/; https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.51.3.329

Abstract
The current study aimed to draw on two theoretical models to examine the relationship between perceived ethnic discrimination and psychological distress in a sample of ethnic minority young people (n = 154). Analysis provided no support for the hypothesis derived from the self-esteem theory of depression that self-esteem (personal and ethnic) moderates the discrimination-distress relationship. There was, however, partial support for a mediating role of self-esteem as predicted by the transactional model of stress and coping. This mediational relationship was moderated by gender, such that both forms of self-esteem exerted a mediating role among males but not females. We consider the implications of our findings for theory and future research examining the consequences of discrimination on psychological well-being.

Keywords
discrimination; distress; self-esteem; collective self-esteem; depression; anxiety; young people; stress; Race discrimination; Minority youth; Self-esteem in adolescence

Journal
Journal of Counseling Psychology: Volume 51, Issue 3