There is limited research directly examining the process of how Mexican American college students cope with unique experiences of racial discrimination. The present study used a multiple mediation model to collectively examine the indirect effects of engagement (i.e., problem solving, cognitive restructuring, expression of emotion, and social support) and disengagement (i.e., social withdrawal, self-criticism, problem avoidance, and wishful thinking) coping strategies on the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and subjective well-being of 302 Mexican American college students. Results suggested that perceived racial discrimination was negatively correlated with subjective well-being. Moreover, of the engagement coping strategies examined, only problem solving had a significant mediating effect that was associated with elevations in subjective well-being. Specifically, perceptions of racial discrimination were positively related to problem solving, which, in turn, was positively related to subjective well-being. Of the disengagement coping strategies examined, self-criticism, wishful thinking, and social withdrawal had a significant mediating effect that was negatively associated with subjective well-being. Specifically, perceptions of racial discrimination were positively related to self-criticism, wishful thinking, and social withdrawal, which, in turn, were negatively related to subjective well-being. Ultimately, these findings highlight the indirect and complex ways in which multiple coping strategies are used to effectively, and sometimes not effectively, deal with racism experienced by Mexican Americans college students.

Scholarly interest in racial socialization is growing, but researchers' understanding of how and when racial socialization relates to well-being is underdeveloped, particularly for multiracial populations. The present study investigated moderated mediation models to understand whether the indirect relations of egalitarian socialization to subjective well-being and self-esteem through integrated multiracial identification were conditional on phenotypic racial ambiguity among 383 multiracial adults. Tests of moderated mediation in primary analyses were significant for subjective well-being and self-esteem. Consistent with the hypotheses, egalitarian socialization was linked to a stronger multiracial integrated identity, which was positively associated with subjective well-being and self-esteem for those with moderate and high phenotypic racial ambiguity. This indirect effect was not significant for those reporting low phenotypic racial ambiguity. Results suggested a positive role of egalitarian socialization in relation to integrated identity and well-being for multiracial adults. This study highlights a culturally relevant pathway through which egalitarian socialization impacts well-being through racial identification for multiracial adults and the conditions of phenotypic racial ambiguity that contextualize this indirect effect. (PsycINFO Database Record

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