Does Racial Identity Moderate Psychological Effects of Racial Discrimination? Converging Results from Experimental and Survey Data

Psychological distress that stems from racial discrimination experiences may depend on how strongly individuals identify with their race. Existing findings across survey research and a small body of experimental research are equivocal on whether and how racial identity factors exacerbate or buffer the negative psychological effects of racial discrimination. This study included experimental and survey data to characterize the moderating roles of racial identity centrality, private regard, and public regard in the associations between racial discrimination and psychological distress. Participants were 240 young adults of color (Mage=23.27; 50.8% women; 37.5% Asian American, 35.4% Hispanic/Latino, 15.8% Black/African American; 56.7% college students). Findings generally converged across experimental and survey methods. Simulated racial discrimination predicted acute psychological distress and measured lifetime racial discrimination predicted general psychological distress, but racial identity factors did not moderate these associations. Considerations for these null results and future research directions are discussed.