Racial/ethnic discrimination and well-being during adolescence: A meta-analytic review

• Main Authors: Benner, A.D (Author), Boyle, A.E (Author), Cheng, Y.-P (Author), Polk, R. (Author), Shen, Y. (Author), Wang, Y. (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Psychological Association Inc. 2018
• Subjects: Academics; Adolescence; adolescent; Adolescent; ethnic group; Ethnic Groups; female; Female; Hispanic; Hispanic Americans; human; Humans; male; Male; mental health; Mental Health; meta analysis; peer group; Peer Group; psychology; Racial/ethnic discrimination; racism; Racism; Risky behaviors; Socioemotional well-being
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher

 This meta-analytic study systematically investigates the relations between perceived racial/ ethnic discrimination and socioemotional distress, academics, and risky health behaviors during adolescence, and potential variation in these relations. The study included 214 peer-reviewed articles, theses, and dissertations, with 489 unique effect sizes on 91,338 unique adolescents. Random-effects meta-analyses across 11 separate indicators of wellbeing identified significant detrimental effects. Greater perceptions of racial/ethnic discrimination were linked to more depressive and internalizing symptoms; greater psychological distress; poorer self-esteem; lower academic achievement and engagement; less academic motivation; greater engagement in externalizing behaviors, risky sexual behaviors, and substance use; and more associations with deviant peers. Metaregression and subgroup analyses indicated differences by race/ethnicity, Gender × Race/Ethnicity interactions, developmental stage, timing of retrospective measurement of discrimination, and country. Overall, this study highlights the pernicious effects of racial/ethnic discrimination for adolescents across developmental domains and suggests who is potentially at greater risk. © 2018 American Psychological Association.