Black Undergraduate Flourishing: Contributions of Racial Centrality and Religiosity

Flourishing has emerged as an important concept in human thriving. Yet, limited research has examined flourishing among Black emerging adults. Ethnic and racial identity (ERI) and religiosity are critical cultural strengths that promote positive outcomes for Black emerging adults. However, their unique and concurrent contributions to flourishing remain understudied. Data from 591 African American, Black Caribbean, and Continental African Christian undergraduates in the 2020-2021 Healthy Minds Study tested hypothesized links between one domain of ERI (i.e., centrality), religiosity, and flourishing. We probed for within-group differences. Linear regression results revealed that higher levels of ERI centrality and frequency of religious social participation were positively associated with flourishing for the full sample. Ethnicity did not moderate the ERI centrality-flourishing link. Stratified model results suggest that these relationships were only significant for African Americans. Our findings underscore the importance of studying positive outcomes in Black emerging adults and probing for within-group heterogeneity.