Longitudinal Reciprocal Relationships Between Discrimination and Ethnic Affect or Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese American Adolescents

Abstract

Discrimination plays an important role in the development of ethnic minority adolescents. However, previous studies have often adopted a unidirectional model examining the influence of discrimination on adolescent development, thus leaving the potential reciprocal relationship between them understudied. Moreover, there is a dearth of studies on Chinese Americans in the discrimination literature. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the reciprocal relationships between discrimination and two measures of adolescent outcomes (i.e., ethnic affect and depressive symptoms) from early adolescence to emerging adulthood in Chinese Americans. Participants were 444 adolescents (54% female), followed at four-year intervals, beginning at 7th or 8th grade (Mage.wave1 = 13.03) in 2002, for a total of three waves. An examination of cross-lagged autoregressive models revealed two major findings. First, in contrast to the rejection–identification model, perceived discrimination at early adolescence negatively related to ethnic affect at middle adolescence. Conversely, ethnic affect at early adolescence also negatively related to discrimination at middle adolescence. These results held the same direction but became insignificant from middle adolescence to emerging adulthood. Second, perceived discrimination positively related to depressive symptoms across the studied developmental periods, and depressive symptoms positively related to perceived discrimination from middle adolescence to emerging adulthood. The strength of these longitudinal relationships did not change significantly across developmental periods or gender. These findings highlight the bidirectional relationship between perceived discrimination and adolescent outcomes; they also demonstrate the value of studying the discrimination experiences of Chinese Americans.

Discrimination and Ethnic–Racial Identity: Understanding Direction of Effects Using Within‐ and Between‐Person Analyses

“…However, in the lagged analyses, findings suggested that when Mexican‐origin adolescent mothers experienced increases in perceived discrimination (relative to their own average experiences), they reported decreases in ERI affirmation 1 year later. These findings are consistent with some previous empirical work indicating that adolescents’ positive sense of self suffers in the face of perceived discrimination (e.g., Hou et al., ; Seaton et al., ; Umaña‐Taylor & Guimond, ) but inconsistent with one study that reported no association between WP changes in discrimination and Latino and African American adolescents’ affirmation (Pahl & Way, ). Furthermore, findings are somewhat inconsistent with theoretical models that emphasize that discrimination may evoke coping resources (PVEST) and a greater awareness of self (rejection–identification model).…”

“…Likewise, Seaton and colleagues tested an alternate model in which positive ethnic–racial affect not only predicted subsequent discrimination among a sample of African Americans but also found that this directionality was not supported (Seaton et al., ). Finally, Hou, Kim, Wang, Shen, and Orozco‐Lapray () found that perceived discrimination not only predicted positive ethnic–racial affect in early adolescence but also found that positive ethnic–racial affect negatively predicted discrimination in middle adolescence among a sample of Chinese Americans.…”

Perceived Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Mental Health: a Review and Future Directions for Social Epidemiology

“…Longitudinal studies during adolescence found an association between increasing frequencies of racism and worse mental health [85]; these studies also found that perceiving being stereotyped as a perpetual foreigner led to increasing perceived discrimination, which in turn led to increased risk of depression over time [37]. Studies of adolescents over time also found that not only may discrimination influence depression, but there may be a feedback loop whereby depression also influences future perceptions of discrimination [35]. …”

Health and wellbeing of Māori secondary school students in New Zealand: Trends between 2001, 2007 and 2012

“…This study found that while there has been significant improvement for Māori youth over the 2001–2012 time period, they are disproportionately exposed to socioeconomic adversity compared to European students, and the impact of socioeconomic disadvantage for Māori carries more significant health burdens. Exposure to poverty is particularly damaging during the adolescence period, 39,40 particularly when coupled with discrimination 41,42 . Obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the founding document of Indigenous and settler governance in New Zealand, is testament to our ancestors’ aspirations for bicultural partnership.…”