Voices on diversity: support systems that work.

As part of our commitment to amplifying the voices of underrepresented scientists, we are publishing the insights and experiences of a panel of underrepresented scientists. In this segment, we asked about support systems-the types of support that are most helpful (and less helpful), how to find a supportive network, and how institutions can better support underrepresented scientists. These are the personal opinions of the authors and may not reflect the views of their institutions.

Examining awareness of privilege among midwestern college students: An analysis of race/ethnicity, gender, and religion.

Dominant group members often are not aware of the privileges they benefit from due to their dominant group membership. Yet individuals are members of multiple groups and may simultaneously occupy multiple categories of dominance and marginality, raising the question of how different group memberships work in concert to facilitate or inhibit awareness of multiple forms of privilege. Examining awareness of privilege is important as awareness may be linked to action to dismantle systems of privilege that maintain oppression and inequality. Grounded in intersectional scholarship, in this study we examined how occupying intersecting categories of race/ethnicity, gender, and religion corresponded to an awareness of White, male, and Christian privilege. In a sample of 2321 Midwestern college students, we demonstrated that students from marginalized groups broadly reported greater awareness of all forms of privilege than students from dominant groups, and the difference between marginalized and dominant groups was most pronounced when the specific group category (e.g., gender) aligned with the type of privilege (e.g., male privilege). We also tested interactions among race/ethnicity, gender, and religion, only finding an interaction between race/ethnicity and religion for awareness of White and male privilege. These findings helped to clarify that multiple group memberships tended to contribute to awareness as multiple main effects rather than as multiplicative. Finally, we examined mean differences among the eight intersected groups to explore similarities and differences among groups in awareness of all types of privilege. Taken together, these findings quantitatively demonstrate the ways in which group memberships work together to contribute to awareness of multiple forms of privilege. We discuss study limitations and implications for community psychology research and practice.

Increases in Risky Drinking During the COVID-19 Pandemic Assessed via Longitudinal Cohort Design: Associations With Racial Tensions, Financial Distress, Psychological Distress and Virus-Related Fears.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has created disruptions to daily life resulting in wide-spread unemployment and psychological distress. Recent studies have reported high rates of alcohol use during this time; however, longitudinal data remain scarce and factors associated with increases in high-risk drinking observed over time are unknown. AIMS: The current study examined changes in high-risk drinking patterns across four 7-day observation periods, prior to and following a university wide campus closure. Additionally, factors associated with changes in alcohol use patterns were examined including financial distress, psychological distress, impact of racial tensions and virus-related fears. METHOD: Students (N = 1001) in the Midwestern USA completed repeated assessments between March and June 2020. Each survey included a timeline follow-back measure of alcohol use. Pandemic-related distress spanning several factors was assessed at the final follow-up. RESULTS: Risky drinking patterns increased significantly over time. Overall, psychological distress and impact of racial tensions were associated with higher rates of risky drinking, whereas COVID-19-related fears were associated with lower rates. However, only financial-related distress was associated with an increase in risky drinking patterns over time. CONCLUSIONS: Increased risky drinking patterns observed in the current study may signal problems that are likely to persist even after the direct impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on daily life ends. Individuals experiencing financial distress may represent a particularly high-risk group. Interventions targeting the cross-section of job loss, financial stress and problematic alcohol use will be important to identify.

Should social scientists be distanced from or engaged with the people they study?

This commentary focuses on two important contrasts in the behavioral sciences: (i) default versus nondefault study populations, where default samples have been used disproportionately (for psychology, the default is undergraduates at major research universities), and (ii) the adoption of a distant versus close (engaged) attitude toward study samples. Previous research has shown a strong correlation between these contrasts, where default samples and distant perspectives are the norm. Distancing is sometimes seen as necessary for objectivity, and an engaged orientation is sometimes criticized as biased, advocacy research, especially if the researcher shares a social group membership with the study population (e.g., a black male researcher studying black male students). The lack of diversity in study samples has been paralleled by a lack of diversity in the researchers themselves. The salience of default samples and distancing in prior research creates potential (and presumed) risk factors for engaged research with nondefault samples. However, a distant perspective poses risks as well, and particularly so for research with nondefault populations. We suggest that engaged research can usefully encourage attention to the study context and taking the perspective of study samples, both of which are good research practices. More broadly, we argue that social and educational sciences need skepticism, interestedness, and engagement, not distancing. Fostering an engaged perspective in research may also foster a more diverse population of social scientists.

Oxytocin increases the social salience of the outgroup in potential threat contexts.

A growing body of literature suggests that OT administration may affect not only prosocial outcomes, but also regulate adversarial responses in the context of intergroup relations. However, recent reports have challenged the view of a fixed role of OT in enhancing ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation. Studying the potential effects of OT in modulating threat perception in a context characterized by racial miscegenation (Brazil) may thus afford additional clarification on the matter. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, White Brazilian participants completed a first-person shooter task to assess their responses towards potential threat from racial ingroup (White) or outgroup (Black) members. OT administration enhanced the social salience of the outgroup, by both increasing the rate at which participants refrained from shooting unarmed Black targets to levels similar to White targets, and by further increasing the rate of correct decisions to shoot armed Black targets (versus White armed targets). In summary, our results indicate that a single dose of OT may promote accurate behavioral responses to potential threat from members of a racial outgroup, thus offering support to the social salience hypothesis.

Historical Trends in Concerns About Social Issues Across Four Decades Among U.S. Adolescents.

This study examined adolescents' concerns about social issues and how these concerns have changed over historical time. Separate cohorts of U.S. high school seniors (N = 110,953; 51.1% female) reported their worries about four social issues (crime/violence, economic problems, hunger/poverty, race relations) every year from 1976 to 2015. Youth were most concerned with crime/violence, followed by economic problems, hunger/poverty, and race relations. Adolescents' social concerns varied by demographic characteristics and cohort, paralleling specific historical events and appearing responsive to the political challenges of the time. Initiatives seeking to engage youth within the political process may benefit from providing opportunities for teens to participate in civic activities aimed to address these issues.

Parallel Changes in Ethnic/Racial Discrimination and Identity in High School.

Research has yet to understand how ethnic/racial discrimination and ethnic/racial identity change simultaneously in adolescence. In a multiethnic sample of 211 adolescents (58% female; 41% Asian American, 10% Black, 24% Latinx, 22% White, 4% other), this study used latent change modeling to examine parallel changes in adolescents' discrimination experiences (frequency and distress) and ethnic/racial identity (private regard, centrality) from 9th to 11th grade. The year immediately following the transition into high school, from 9th to 10th grade, emerged as a challenging period with higher levels of discrimination and accompanying declines in adolescents' private regard. In contrast, from 10th to 11th grade, discrimination distress declined, and adolescents' private regard remained relatively stable. Across both time periods, parallel changes were observed for discrimination (frequency, distress) and adolescents' private regard. Implications for considering the importance of school transition, as well as individual differences by adolescent characteristics and school contexts, are discussed.

Bidirectional Links Between Social Rejection and Sleep.

OBJECTIVE: This set of studies examines the bidirectional links between social rejection and poor sleep, a ubiquitous and increasingly problematic health behavior. METHODS: In study 1, a multiday field experiment, 43 participants completed a neutral task just before sleep on night 1 and a social rejection task on night 2. Objective and subjective sleep, postrejection affect, and physiological responses were measured. In study 2, 338 participants reported typical sleep quality before coming to the laboratory where they received social rejection or social acceptance feedback from a stranger. Physiological and affective responses were measured throughout the session. RESULTS: In study 1, after social rejection, participants took longer going to bed (M [SD] = 38.06 [48.56] versus 11.18 [15.52], t(42) = 3.86, p < .001) and had shorter sleep durations (6:46 [1:27] versus 7:19 [1:38], t(41) = 2.92, p = .006) compared with the baseline night. Trait rumination moderated these effects, with high ruminators taking the longest to go to bed postrejection (t(38) = 2.90, p = .006). In both studies, there was (inconsistent) evidence that sleep influences reactions to rejection: some sleep measures predicted physiological reactivity during the rejection task in study 1 and greater negative affect after social rejection in study 2. CONCLUSIONS: These studies provide evidence that social rejection may affect sleep outcomes, particularly for trait ruminators, and poor sleep in turn may exacerbate affective responses to social rejection. Given the mixed findings, small sample size, and no active control condition, more work is needed to confirm and build on these findings.

Interracial couples and breastfeeding initiation in the United States.

In the past decade, the prevalence of interracial couples has steadily increased. Recent reports state that nearly one in five marriages are between spouses of different races. Interracial couples receive less social support and are more likely to separate. As a result, children born to these couples may be at an increased risk of poor health outcomes. This study aims to investigate the relationship between interracial couples and breastfeeding initiation. Data from the 2014 Vital Statistics Natality Birth database were analyzed. Data were restricted to singleton births and infants with no congenital malformations. Racial composition of parents was categorized as non-Hispanic (NH) white, NH black; Hispanic; NH white/NH black; NH white/Hispanic; and NH black/Hispanic. Breastfeeding initiation (yes; no) was categorized according to information from the child's birth certificate file. Multiple logistic regression was used to generate crude and adjusted odds ratios and 99% confidence intervals. After adjusting for confounders, all interracial couples with at least one Hispanic parent had increased odds of breastfeeding initiation. Interracial white and black parents had 18% lower odds of breastfeeding initiation. The lowest odds of breastfeeding initiation were observed among intraracial black parents, who had 43% lower odds of breastfeeding initiation compared to intraracial white parents. Breastfeeding non-initiation continues to pose the greatest risk for infants with at least one black parent. Nurses, midwives, physicians, and other medical staff should discuss potential barriers that may be unique to interracial couples and provide additional breastfeeding education and support.

Racial identity invalidation with multiracial individuals: An instrument development study.

OBJECTIVES: Racial identity invalidation, others' denial of an individual's racial identity, is a salient racial stressor with harmful effects on the mental health and well-being of Multiracial individuals. The purpose of this study was to create a psychometrically sound measure to assess racial identity invalidation for use with Multiracial individuals (N = 497). METHOD: The present sample was mostly female (75%) with a mean age of 26.52 years (SD = 9.60). The most common racial backgrounds represented were Asian/White (33.4%) and Black/White (23.7%). Participants completed several online measures via Qualtrics. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analyses revealed 3 racial identity invalidation factors: behavior invalidation, phenotype invalidation, and identity incongruent discrimination. A confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the initial factor structure. Alternative model testing indicated that the bifactor model was superior to the 3-factor model. Thus, a total score and/or 3 subscale scores can be used when administering this instrument. Support was found for the reliability and validity of the total scale and subscales. In line with the minority stress theory, challenges with racial identity mediated relationships between racial identity invalidation and mental health and well-being outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the different dimensions of racial identity invalidation and indicate their negative associations with connectedness and psychological well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record

Trajectories of Posttraumatic Stress and Depression in Police and Community Members Following the Violence during Civil Unrest in Ferguson, Missouri.

Longitudinal research following discreet traumatic events reveals distinct symptom trajectories in untreated survivors of trauma. Trajectories within communities exposed to shared, prolonged violence involving subgroups differing in perspectives, and roles during the event have not been studied. This study examined trajectories of posttraumatic stress (PTS) and depressive symptoms secondary to exposure to violence during civil unrest in citizens (n = 311) and law enforcement (n = 255) over 1.5 years following exposure. Latent class growth modeling was used to examine trajectories of PTS and depressive symptoms. Four-class quadratic solutions for both PTS and depressive symptoms demonstrated best fit. Similar patterns emerged for such that most participants were classified as resistant (57% and 67%, respectively), followed by resilience (23.8% and 17.2%), chronic (12.6% and 12.0%), and worsening (6.1% and 4.4%). When all predictors were entered in a single model, race, and membership in citizen or law enforcement groups did not distinguish trajectories of recovery. Higher income and social support emerged as consistent protective factors against PTS and depressive symptoms, while trauma history emerged as a risk factor for PTS. Women were more at risk for depressive symptoms only. Implications for improving police/civilian relations in Ferguson, Missouri, and other communities are discussed.

Toward a Social Psychology of Race and Race Relations for the Twenty-First Century.

The United States, like many nations, continues to experience rapid growth in its racial minority population and is projected to attain so-called majority-minority status by 2050. Along with these demographic changes, staggering racial disparities persist in health, wealth, and overall well-being. In this article, we review the social psychological literature on race and race relations, beginning with the seemingly simple question: What is race? Drawing on research from different fields, we forward a model of race as dynamic, malleable, and socially constructed, shifting across time, place, perceiver, and target. We then use classic theoretical perspectives on intergroup relations to frame and then consider new questions regarding contemporary racial dynamics. We next consider research on racial diversity, focusing on its effects during interpersonal encounters and for groups. We close by highlighting emerging topics that should top the research agenda for the social psychology of race and race relations in the twenty-first century.

Emotional Implications of Weight Stigma Across Middle School: The Role of Weight-Based Peer Discrimination.

This study considered the emotional consequences of weight stigmatization in early adolescence by examining the effects of weight-based peer discrimination across middle school. Sampled across 26 urban middle schools, 5,128 youth (52% girls) with complete body mass index data at sixth or 7th grade were included: 30% Latino, 21% White, 14% East/Southeast Asian, 14% Multiethnic, 12% African American/Black, and 9% from other specific ethnic groups. About one third of the sample reported at least one weight-discrimination incident at 7th grade. Controlling for sixth-grade adjustment, perceptions of weight-based peer discrimination at 7th grade were stronger predictors of body dissatisfaction, social anxiety, and loneliness (and somatic symptoms for girls but not boys) at 8th-grade than 7th-grade body mass index. Moreover, heavier body stature during the 1st year in middle school was associated with increased body dissatisfaction by the end of middle school in part due to weight-related disrespectful, exclusionary, and demeaning treatment by peers. Weight-based peer discrimination helps us understand one of the stigmatizing mechanisms underlying the relation between heavy body stature and the progression of emotional problems in early adolescence.

Economic scarcity alters the perception of race.

When the economy declines, racial minorities are hit the hardest. Although existing explanations for this effect focus on institutional causes, recent psychological findings suggest that scarcity may also alter perceptions of race in ways that exacerbate discrimination. We tested the hypothesis that economic resource scarcity causes decision makers to perceive African Americans as "Blacker" and that this visual distortion elicits disparities in the allocation of resources. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that scarcity altered perceptions of race, lowering subjects' psychophysical threshold for seeing a mixed-race face as "Black" as opposed to "White." In studies 3 and 4, scarcity led subjects to visualize African American faces as darker and more "stereotypically Black," compared with a control condition. When presented to naïve subjects, face representations produced under scarcity elicited smaller allocations than control-condition representations. Together, these findings introduce a novel perceptual account for the proliferation of racial disparities under economic scarcity.

Framing and source effects on White college students' reactions to racial inequity information.

OBJECTIVES: This study addressed: (a) Do professors' race/ethnicity and the race-related inequity information they present influence students' evaluations of the professors, acknowledgment of racial inequity, or motivation to respond without prejudice (MRWP)? (b) Do collective guilt and students' evaluations of professors mediate these relationships? METHOD: White American undergraduate students (N = 614, 66.3% females, 64.7% first year, mean age of 19.3 years [age SD = 1.5]) completed an anonymous online survey. Students imagined they were taking a racial diversity course with either a Black or a White male professor who presented either White privilege or Black disadvantage statements. Participants then completed surveys that assessed their evaluations of the professor, collective guilt, beliefs regarding racial inequity, and MRWP. RESULTS: Students evaluated White professors as having lower expertise, learning conduciveness, and warmth/intelligence but rated Black professors as more biased. Consistent with the inequality-framing model, intergroup sensitivity effect (ISE), and findings from prejudice confrontation research, White professors induced greater acknowledgment of racial inequity when they discussed White privilege rather than Black disadvantage. But, Black professors induced more external MRWP when they presented White privilege rather than Black disadvantage. Students' perceptions of the professors' warmth/intelligence determined the effectiveness of the inequity message while perceptions of the professors' expertise, judgmental, and conduciveness to learning determined students' concerns about appearing prejudiced. CONCLUSIONS: The presenters' race/ethnicity and how they frame racial inequity information affect students' evaluation of the presenters, the message effectiveness, and students' external MRWP. (PsycINFO Database Record

Affect and understanding during everyday cross-race experiences.

The present research uses an event sampling method to test whether, compared to same-race interactions, everyday cross-race contact is better characterized by the presence of negative affect or the absence of positive affect. Everyday intergroup interactions have some positive and negative aspects, so the present research independently assesses positive affect and negative affect along with felt understanding and misunderstanding. Across 3 studies (Study 1, n = 107; Study 2, n = 112; Study 3, n = 146), we find that European, Asian, and African Americans report that everyday cross-race interactions generate less positive affect and felt understanding than same-race interactions. Yet cross-race interactions entail no more negative affect than same-race interactions. This supports the idea that positive emotions are mostly reserved for and experienced with the ingroup, rather than the idea that people feel animosity toward the outgroup. Given that nearly half of racial-minority group member's everyday interactions are cross-race, their daily encounters are typically less positive than those of racial-majority group members. Feeling less well understood as a result of cross-race contact may increase the likelihood that racial-minority group members question whether they belong on a college campus.

Patterns of adult cross-racial friendships: A context for understanding contemporary race relations.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined patterns, characteristics, and predictors of cross-racial friendships as the context for understanding contemporary race relations. METHOD: A national survey included 1,055 respondents, of whom 55% were white, 32% were black, and 74% were female; ages ranged from 18 to ≥65 years. Focus groups were conducted to assess societal and personal benefits. Participants (n = 31) were racially diverse and aged 20 to 66 years. RESULTS: After accounting for multiple covariates, regression analysis revealed that Asians, Hispanics, and multiracial individuals are more likely than their white and black counterparts to have cross-racial friends. Females were less likely than males to have 8 or more cross-racial friends. Regression analysis revealed that the depth of cross-racial friendships was greater for women than men and for those who shared more life experiences. Increasing age was associated with lower cross-racial friendship depth. Qualitative analysis of open-ended questions and focus group data established the social context as directly relevant to the number and depth of friendships. Despite the level of depth in cross-racial friendships, respondents described a general reluctance to discuss any racially charged societal events, such as police shootings of unarmed black men. CONCLUSION: This study identified salient characteristics of individuals associated with cross-racial friendships and highlighted the influence of the social, historical, and political context in shaping such friendships. Our findings suggest that contemporary race relations reflect progress as well as polarization. (PsycINFO Database Record

Intergroup forgiveness of race-related offenses.

We developed a new intergroup forgiveness measure in the context of identity-related offenses, with a focus on racial conflicts. In Study 1 (N = 384), we adapted a widely used measure of interpersonal forgiveness to develop the Group Forgiveness Scale (GFS) within the context of an identity-related offense. In Study 2, we replicated the 3-factor structure of the GFS (i.e., Avoidance, Revenge, Decision to Forgive) and examined evidence for its construct validity in a sample of African American/Black university students (N = 225). As evidence of convergent validity, intergroup forgiveness correlated with appraising greater relationship value as well as appraising lower likelihood of being exploited in the future. As evidence of discriminant validity, the newly developed intergroup forgiveness scale (i.e., the GFS) correlated only moderately with interpersonal forgiveness and perceived microaggressions. In Study 3, in another sample of racial/ethnic minority individuals (N = 352), we examined the predictive validity of the scale. More specifically, we examined relations of the GFS subscales with religious commitment and racial/ethnic identity. The Decision to Forgive subscale uniquely correlated with religious commitment controlling for the Avoidance and Revenge subscales. Lower revenge correlated with stronger racial/ethnic identity. We conclude with implications of the current findings for the development of intergroup forgiveness measurement and for understanding the nature of forgiveness within marginalized groups.

Associations of racial discrimination and parental discrimination coping messages with African American adolescent racial identity.

Research links racial identity to important developmental outcomes among African American adolescents, but less is known about the contextual experiences that shape youths' racial identity. In a sample of 491 African American adolescents (48% female), associations of youth-reported experiences of racial discrimination and parental messages about preparation for racial bias with adolescents' later racial identity were examined. Cluster analysis resulted in four profiles of adolescents varying in reported frequency of racial discrimination from teachers and peers at school and frequency of parental racial discrimination coping messages during adolescents' 8th grade year. Boys were disproportionately over-represented in the cluster of youth experiencing more frequent discrimination but receiving fewer parental discrimination coping messages, relative to the overall sample. Also examined were clusters of adolescents' 11th grade racial identity attitudes about the importance of race (centrality), personal group affect (private regard), and perceptions of societal beliefs about African Americans (public regard). Girls and boys did not differ in their representation in racial identity clusters, but 8th grade discrimination/parent messages clusters were associated with 11th grade racial identity cluster membership, and these associations varied across gender groups. Boys experiencing more frequent discrimination but fewer parental coping messages were over-represented in the racial identity cluster characterized by low centrality, low private regard, and average public regard. The findings suggest that adolescents who experience racial discrimination but receive fewer parental supports for negotiating and coping with discrimination may be at heightened risk for internalizing stigmatizing experiences. Also, the findings suggest the need to consider the context of gender in adolescents' racial discrimination and parental racial socialization.

The impact of childhood experience on amygdala response to perceptually familiar black and white faces.

Given the well-documented involvement of the amygdala in race perception, the current study aimed to investigate how interracial contact during childhood shapes amygdala response to racial outgroup members in adulthood. Of particular interest was the impact of childhood experience on amygdala response to familiar, compared with novel, Black faces. Controlling for a number of well-established individual difference measures related to interracial attitudes, the results reveal that perceivers with greater childhood exposure to racial outgroup members display greater relative reduction in amygdala response to familiar Black faces. The implications of such findings are discussed in the context of previous investigations into the neural substrates of race perception and in consideration of potential mechanisms by which childhood experience may shape race perception.