The study examined the emotional response profiles of African American young adults to experiences of racial discrimination. Three main findings are: 1) Participants reported higher negative moods like anger and fear when exposed to blatant racial discrimination compared to more subtle discrimination. 2) Cluster analysis identified different patterns of emotional responses, including clusters characterized by both traditionally associated emotions like anger but also unexpected emotions like self-assuredness. 3) Dimensions of racial identity, like higher private regard, were associated with a decreased likelihood of belonging to clusters characterized by attenuated emotional responses to discrimination.

1. Emotional Response Profiles to Racial Discrimination: Does Racial Identity Predict Affective Patterns?
Shawn C.T. Jones & Enrique W. Neblett, Jr.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Introduction Results Conclusions
 Racial discrimination is a common experience for African American youth (e.g., Seaton et  On average, participants endorsed higher negative moods in the  Significant bivariate correlations among racial identity variables  Results indicated that there is more than one way in which African American young
al., 2010) with negative effects on psychological well-being (Williams and Mohammed, blatant and subtle conditions (Table 1). and between racial identity and sociodemographic variables (Table
adults respond emotionally to discrimination. The clusters included both emotions that
2009).  In particular, participants in the blatant condition endorsed 2) have been traditionally associated with discrimination (e.g., anger; Carter & Forsyth,
high levels of distressed, fearful, angry, disgusted, and tense 2010) and those that have not (e.g., self-assuredness).
 Research has identified emotional responses to discrimination as key to understanding moods.
the link between discrimination and later outcomes (e.g., Carter & Reynolds, 2011).  There were similarities, but also qualitative differences in the clusters based on the
Mood Blatant Neutral Subtle F 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 subtlety of discrimination. This further supports previous findings about the differences
 Racial identity – the significance and meaning of race – has been found to buffer the Rating
between overt and covert racism (e.g., Salvatore & Shelton, 2007).
relationship between racial discrimination and psychological adjustment (e.g., Neblett, 1. Sex -
 Subtle condition = greater expression of “tense”
Shelton, & Sellers, 2004). Pleasant M 1.79 6.49 2.60 360.55 2. Age .14 -
 Blatant condition = higher levels of “fear”
SD (1.28) (1.64) (1.56) 3. Family SES -.11 -.05 -
Distressed M 6.13 1.84 5.15 169.45  More individuals in Attenuated cluster in subtle condition
 Very few studies have specifically examined multiple emotions or the protective role of SD (2.10) (1.45) (2.30) 4. Centrality -.05 -.02 .05 -  Self-assuredness characterizes cluster in subtle condition
racial identity in the context of emotional responses to racial discrimination. Fearful M 3.95 1.38 2.45 80.52 5. Private Regard -.08 -.06 .20* .64** -
SD (2.42) (.95) (1.70)
6. Public Regard .14 -.08 .15 .06 .17 -  Racial Identity was associated with the likelihood of belonging to particular emotional
 The current study sought to investigate the association between racial discrimination and Self- M 4.75 6.48 5.43 31.17
clusters relative to others. All of these dimensions have been found to be protective in
Assured 7. Assimilationist .02 -.01 .18* .25** .32** .03 -
affective response patterns to such experiences, as well as the link between racial identity prior work (e.g., Sellers & Shelton, 2003).
SD (2.41) (1.78) (2.14) 8. Humanist .05 -.10 -.08 -.25** -.05 .18* .35** -
and those affective responses. Angry M 7.50 1.34 6.80 514.39  Private Regard associated with both high- and low- emotive clusters
SD (1.96) (1.02) (2.16) 9. Minority -.04 .09 -.12 .01 .00 .07 .02 .22* -  “Black central” dimensions (centrality and nationalist ideology) associated
Research questions Disgusted M 7.54 1.24 6.09 583.52
10. Nationalist -.12 .04 .08 .45** .36** -.10 -.06 -.40** -.07 - with decreased likelihood of Attenuated membership
SD (1.89) (.74) (2.69)
1. Does there exist more than one pattern of mood responses to blatant and subtle Happy M 1.59 6.14 2.16 268.67  Paradoxical relationship between immediate negative experiences and later
discrimination? SD (1.21) (1.88) (1.42) positive outcomes associated with aspects of racial identity
2. Do these patterns differ by the subtlety of the discrimination? Tense M 6.84 2.13 6.22 250.96  Future research should:
SD (1.93) (1.66) (2.03)
3. Which dimensions of racial identity predict emotional cluster membership for blatant  Explore a fuller variety of emotions (e.g., POMS).
and subtle discrimination?  Four clusters each for blatant (Figure 1) and subtle (Figure 2) racism  Involve younger African Americans to determine if the emotional response
patterns found in this study hold across development.
Hypotheses  Employ longitudinal methods as a means of exploring mechanisms.
 Consistent with the premise that individuals may experience multiple and varying emotions, Blatant Condition Clusters Subtle Condition Clusters  Investigate the interplay between affective and psychophysiological
we expected distinct patterns of responses to discrimination. responses to discrimination
 Given that subtle experiences with discrimination confer more ambiguity, we expected that  Implications
there might be more variation in affective response patterns to subtle discrimination.  Findings may indicate that emotions impact future health outcomes
 We expected that several dimensions of racial identity would predict membership in these  Future work may further elucidate the stress and coping processes associated
emotional clusters. with racism, identifying avenues through which to disrupt discrimination’s
deleterious impact.
Method
Participants References
 129 self-identified African American college students at a southeastern,
public university (Mean Age = 20.8 (s.d. = 1.81); 55% Female)  Carter, R. T., & Forsyth, J. (2010). Reactions to racial discrimination: Emotional stress
 Median family SES = “Middle Class” and help-seeking behaviors. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and
Policy, 2(3), 183-191.
Design and Procedures  Carter, R. T., & Reynolds, A. L. (2011). Race-related stress, racial identity status
 Two session, experimental design
attitudes, and emotional reactions of Black Americans. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic
 First session: Participants completed a sociodemographic measure and racial identity scale.
 Second session: Participants were exposed to subtle and blatant discrimination using auditory racism Minority Psychology, 17(2), 156-162.
analogues, and emotional responses to these scenarios were gauged.  Neblett, E. W., Jr., Shelton, J. N., & Sellers, R. M. (2004). The role of racial identity in
managing daily racial hassles. In G. Philogène, & G. Philogène (Eds.), Racial identity in
 Participants imagined themselves in two scenarios for each racism condition: context: The legacy of Kenneth B. Clark. (pp. 77-90). Washington, DC US: American
 Blatant racism (e.g., a police officer unjustly pulls someone over and denigrates the individual’s race)  Public and private regard predict cluster  Centrality, private regard and nationalist ideology Psychological Association.
 Subtle racism (e.g., a security guard suspiciously follows an individual around a bookstore)  Salvatore, J., & Shelton, J. N. (2007). Cognitive costs of exposure to racial
membership in blatant condition (Table 3) predict cluster membership in subtle condition
Measures prejudice. Psychological Science, 18(9), 810-815.
 Demographics. Information on age, gender, and socioeconomic status was collected.
(Table 4)  Seaton, E. K., Caldwell, C. H., Sellers, R. M., & Jackson, J. S. (2010). Developmental
 Racial Identity. The Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity – Short Form (Martin 0.50 characteristics of African American and Caribbean black adolescents' attributions
Centrality ns ns ns Centrality ns (0.25-0.99) ns
et al., 2010) assessed agreement with 27 racial identity items (1 = strongly disagree to 7 = regarding discrimination. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20(3), 774-788
strongly agree). Private 2.65
 Sellers, R. M., & Shelton, J. N. (2003). The role of racial identity in perceived racial
2.45 1.97
 Racial Centrality: Extent to which one defines himself with regard to race Regard ns (1.01-6.93) ns discrimination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(5), 1079-1092.
 “Being Black is an important reflection of who I am.” Private Regard (1.05-5.28) (1.01-3.83) ns
 Williams, D. R., & Mohammed, S. A. (2009). Discrimination and racial disparities in
0.55 Public Regard ns ns ns
health: Evidence and needed research. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 32(1), 20-47.
 Racial regard: Judgments individuals make about their race
 “I’m happy that I am Black.” (Private regard) Public Regard ns (0.32-0.92) ns
 “Overall, Blacks are considered good by others.” (Public regard) Assimilationist ns ns ns Acknowledgements
Assimilationistns ns ns We thank members of the African American Youth Wellness Lab (AAYWL) at UNC for
 Racial Ideology: Individuals’ beliefs, attitudes, and opinions about how Blacks should act Humanist ns ns ns their assistance. Funding for this project was provided by a grant from the National
 “Blacks should strive to be full members of the American political system.” (Assimilationist) Humanist ns ns ns Science Foundation (SES-0932268).
 “Blacks should judge Whites as individuals and not as members of the White race.” (Humanist) Oppressed
 “The racism Blacks have experienced is similar to that of other minority groups.” (Oppressed Minority) Oppressed Minority ns ns ns For further information
 “Whenever possible, Blacks should buy from other Black businesses.” (Nationalist) Minority ns ns ns Please contact jonessc@email.unc.edu. More information on this and related projects can
0.42 be obtained at http://www.unc.edu/~eneblett/projects.html .
 Mood Rating Scale. Eight Likert-type questions assessing participants’ self-reported Nationalist ns (0.20-0.87) ns
moods during each scenario (1 = not at all to 9 = Very). The eight moods included positive Nationalist ns ns ns Odds ratio (95% confidence interval)
(e.g., self-assured, happy, and pleasant) and negative (e.g., distress, fear, anger, disgust, and Odds ratio (95% confidence interval) Reference category: Cluster 1 ("Moderate Tense and Disgusted")
tense) moods. Reference category: Cluster 1 ("Moderate Distressed and Angry") ns , not significant
ns, not significant