Perceiving Pervasive Discrimination Among African Americans: Implications for Group Identification and Well-Being

The processes involved in well-being maintenance among African Americans who differed in their attributions to prejudice were examined. A rejection-identification model was proposed where stable attributions to prejudice represent rejection by the dominant group. This results in a direct and negativ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality and social psychology 1999-07, Vol.77 (1), p.135-149
Main Authors: Branscombe, Nyla R, Schmitt, Michael T, Harvey, Richard D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult Attitudes
African Americans
Attribution
Biological and medical sciences
Black People
Coping Behavior
Discrimination
Ethnic Identity
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Group dynamics
Group Identity
Human
Minority Groups
Perception
Perceptions
Prejudice
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Race and Ethnic Discrimination
Racism
Rejection
Self image
Social attribution, perception and cognition
Social Perception
Social psychology
Well Being
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Summary:The processes involved in well-being maintenance among African Americans who differed in their attributions to prejudice were examined. A rejection-identification model was proposed where stable attributions to prejudice represent rejection by the dominant group. This results in a direct and negative effect on well-being. The model also predicts a positive effect on well-being that is mediated by minority group identification. In other words, the generally negative consequences of perceiving oneself as a victim of racial prejudice can be somewhat alleviated by identification with the minority group. Structural equation analyses provided support for the model and ruled out alternative theoretical possibilities. Perceiving prejudice as pervasive produces effects on well-being that are fundamentally different from those that may arise from an unstable attribution to prejudice for a single negative outcome.
ISSN:0022-3514
1939-1315
DOI:10.1037/0022-3514.77.1.135