Developmental Characteristics of African American and Caribbean Black Adolescents’ Attributions Regarding Discrimination

Abstract

The present study examined discrimination attributions in the psychological well-being of Black adolescents. Findings are based on a representative sample of 810 African American and 360 Caribbean Black youth, aged 13 to 17, who participated in the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Youth completed measures of perceived discrimination, discrimination attributions, depressive symptoms, self-esteem and life satisfaction. Approximately half the youth attributed discrimination to race/ethnicity (43%), followed by age (17%), physical appearance (16.5%) and gender (7.5%) and there were no ethnic, gender or age differences regarding discrimination attributions. Key findings suggest that the association between perceived discrimination and psychological did not vary according to discrimination attribution, which implies that discrimination is harmful for Black youth regardless of the attribution.

Previous research indicates that perceptions of racial discrimination are pervasive and prevalent among adolescents of color. Perceptions of racial discrimination have been negatively linked to a variety of poor outcomes for adolescents, including decreased self-esteem (Wong, Eccles & Sameroff, 2003) and problem behaviors (Prelow, Danoff-Burg, Swenson, & Pulgiano, 2004). Although previous research suggests that race/ethnicity may be the predominant attribution for discriminatory experiences among ethnic minority adolescents (Matthews, Salomon, Kenyon & Zhou, 2005), other attributions include physical appearance (Verkuyten, Kinket & Wielen, 1997) and age (Matthews et al., 2005). Thus, not all ethnic minority youth attributed discrimination to their racial/ethnic group membership.

Perceived Discrimination and Attributions among Adolescent Populations

There is burgeoning research suggesting that perceptions of racial discrimination are prevalent among minority youth. For example, previous research indicates that the majority of African American youth reported at least one racially discriminatory incident during their lifetime (Gibbons, Gerrard, Cleveland, Wills & Brody, 2004) or in the past three months (Prelow et al., 2004). Additional research suggests that 87% of African American and Caribbean Black youth perceived at least one discriminatory incident in the past year (Seaton, Caldwell, Sellers & Jackson, 2008). Perceptions of racial discrimination have been negatively linked to diminished psychological well-being among minority youth. For example, perceived discrimination has been linked to lower life satisfaction levels, decreased self-esteem, increased depressive symptoms, increased anger and increased problem behaviors among African American and Caribbean Black youth in cross-sectional studies (Seaton et al., 2008; Rumbaut, 1994). Similarly, longitudinal research consistently suggests that perceived racial discrimination has been linked to increased depressive symptoms, decreased self-esteem and decreased levels of well-being among African American adolescents (Greene, Way & Pahl, 2006; Neblett, White, Ford, Philip, Nguyên & Sellers, 2008).

Empirical research also suggests that adolescents attribute discriminatory treatment to characteristics other than their racial/ethnic group membership. Szalacha and colleagues (2003) examined discrimination attributions among 13 and 14 year old Puerto Rican adolescents. They reported that discrimination attributions varied, but the most frequent reason given was being Hispanic or Puerto Rican, followed by physical characteristics such as dress and skin color (Szalacha et al., 2003). Similarly, Verkuyten and colleagues (1997) assessed discriminatory experiences among Dutch, Turkish, Moroccan and Surinamese pre-adolescents using qualitative methodology. The authors indicated that the predominant reason identified for discrimination was ethnic origin (73%); other attributions included skin color (12%) and personal characteristics (15%), such as behavior, height and weight (Verkuyten et al., 1997). Matthews et al. (2005) examined discrimination attributions among African American and European American youth between the ages of 14 and 16. Among African American youth, the predominant reason for perceived discrimination was race/ethnicity, followed by physical appearance, friends/peers and age (Matthews et al., 2005). It is evident that race/ethnicity may be the predominant but not exclusive attribution for Black adolescents’ perceptions of discrimination.

Despite the emerging body of research assessing the influence of discrimination on adolescent psychological well-being, it is difficult to ascertain if minority youth attribute discrimination to other demographic characteristics because previous research has used measures that inherently attribute discrimination to race/ethnicity (i.e., Prelow et al., 2004; Gibbons et al., 2004). It may be important to examine other types of discrimination attributions as they may be differentially linked to physical and mental health outcomes, particularly for adolescents. This may be especially true for discrimination attributions linked to physical appearance given the pubertal changes occurring during this developmental period. Bodily changes such as facial hair, breast development and growth spurts involving weight experienced by boys and girls may bring unwanted attention resulting in adolescent self-consciousness (Sun et al., 2005). Matthews et al. (2005) found that perceived discrimination was linked to high blood pressure for African American youth who attributed discrimination to physical appearance. However, the same relationship was not significant for discrimination attributed to race/ethnicity, friends, or age. Additionally, weight discrimination has been linked to decreased self-esteem and increased depressive symptoms among representative samples of adults (Carr & Friedman, 2005). Yet, overweight Black youth were no more likely to have mental health problems than normal weight Black youth, whereas overweight European American and Hispanic youth were more likely to suffer from mental health problems (BeLue, Francis, & Colaco, 2009). Consequently, prior research is mixed suggesting that discrimination attributed to physical appearance may or may not be negatively associated with diminished psychological well-being among Black youth.

The Present Study

This study builds on previous empirical research by examining discrimination attributions and psychological well-being among nationally representative samples of African American and Caribbean Black adolescents. We used constructs from the Integrative Model which proposed that American society stratifies individuals on the basis of social position variables, such as race, ethnicity and gender (Garcia Coll et al., 1996). Further, social positions are influenced by racial discrimination, which is embedded within society and believed to be a frequent occurrence for youth of color. Developmental pathways are expected to be negatively influenced by racial discrimination for youth of color by placing them at higher risk for adverse outcomes. Because our theoretical framework suggests that racial discrimination, i.e., discrimination based on racial/ethnic group membership, is normative and frequent for adolescents of color, we expected that the predominant attribution for perceived discrimination would be race/ethnicity among African American and Caribbean Black adolescents for our first research question. Our second research question explored differences in discrimination attributions based on ethnicity (African American vs. Caribbean Black), gender and age. Consistent with prior research examining age differences in perceived discrimination, we categorized age as early, middle and late to examine age differences in discrimination attributions. Due to a lack of research examining demographic differences in discrimination attributions, we offer no specific hypotheses in this area. The last research question investigated whether discrimination attributions moderated the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological well-being indicators (depressive symptoms, self-esteem and life satisfaction). Specifically, we wish to assess if discrimination attributions (race/ethnicity, gender, age, physical appearance or other) influence the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological well-being.

Method

Participants

The participants were African American and Caribbean Black youth who participated in the National Survey of American Life (NSAL) (Jackson et al., 2004). The sample consists of 1170 African American (n=810) and Caribbean Black (n=360) youth ranging in age from 13 to 17 who were attached to the adult households. The overall sample was equally composed of males (N=563 unweighted, 48% weighted) and females (N=605 unweighted, 52% weighted), and there was an equal gender distribution for African American and Caribbean Black youth (see Procedure section for information about weighted and unweighted data). The mean age was 15 (SD = 1.42), and the age groups were categorized as follows: early (age 13-14; N=477 unweighted, 40% weighted), middle (age 15-16; N=441 unweighted, 41% weighted), and late (age 17; N=252 unweighted, 19% weighted). Approximately 96% of the sample was still enrolled in high school and 9^th grade was the average. The median family income was $28,000 (approximately $26,000 for African Americans and approximately $32,250 for Caribbean Blacks) and household income ranged from 0 to $520,000.

Procedure

A national probability sample of households was drawn based on adult population estimates and power calculations for detecting differences among the adult samples. The specific sampling procedures for identification and recruitment of African American and Caribbean Black households have been described elsewhere (see Heeringa et al., 2004; Seaton et al., 2008). African American ancestry was defined as persons who self-identified as black but did not identify ancestral ties to the Caribbean. If an individual identified as Black and other races but did not identify ancestral ties to the Caribbean, they were classified as African American for purposes of the study. Caribbean ancestry was defined as persons who identified as black and indicated one or all of the following: 1) they were of West Indian or Caribbean descent, 2) they were from a country included on a list of Caribbean countries presented by the interviewer and/or 3) their parents or grandparents were born in a Caribbean country.

Every African American and Caribbean Black household that included an adult participant was screened for an eligible adolescent living in the household, and adolescents were selected using a random selection procedure. If more than one adolescent was eligible for the study, two adolescents were selected based on the gender of the first selected adolescent, which resulted in non-independence for some households. As such, the adolescent supplement was weighted to adjust for non-independence in selection probabilities within households, as well as non-response rates across households and individuals. The weighted data were post-stratified to approximate the national population distributions for gender (males and females) and age (13, 14, 15, 16, and 17) subgroups among African American and Caribbean Black youth. Prior to conducting the interview, informed consent was obtained from the adolescent’s legal guardian and assent was obtained from the adolescent. Most of the adolescent interviews were conducted in person using a computer-assisted instrument in their homes, but about 18% were conducted either entirely or partially by telephone. The interviews averaged 1 hour and 40 minutes for African American adolescents and 1 hour and 50 minutes for Caribbean Black adolescents. Respondents were paid $50 for their participation in the study. The overall response rate was 80.6% (80.4% for African Americans and 83.5% for Caribbean Blacks).

Measures

Demographic questions

Adolescent gender, age and ethnicity were assessed with standard questions as part of the randomized respondent selection process used in the household sampling procedure for the study.

Everyday Discrimination Scale

The Everyday Discrimination Scale assesses chronic, routine and less overt experiences of discrimination that have occurred in the prior year (Williams, Yu, Jackson & Anderson, 1997). The original measure included ten items, but three items were added to reflect perceptions of teacher discrimination, resulting in a 13-item scale. The original measure was developed and normed among adult samples; therefore, we conducted factor analyses to examine its’ psychometric properties with an adolescent sample. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on random half samples and the results indicated a one-factor structure (Eigenvalue = 4.97), which is consistent with results from adult samples (Krieger, Smith, Naishadham, Hartman & Barbeau, 2005; Williams et al., 1997). The stem question is: “In your day-to-day, life how often have any of the following things happened to you?” Sample items include: “You are followed around in stores”, “People act as if they think you are dishonest”, “You receive poorer service than other people at restaurants” and “You are called names or insulted.” The Likert response scale (α = .86) for frequencies range from 1 (never) to 6 (almost everyday). The reports of experiencing each event were counted to capture the number of discriminatory events that occurred within the previous year. Next, the responses were dichotomously coded to indicate whether an event occurred versus an event never occurring. Higher scores indicate a greater number of events that occurred in the previous year, regardless of the frequency for each event.

Discrimination Attribution

The specific question read “We’ve talked about a number of things that may have happened to you in your day-to-day life. Thinking of those things that have happened to you, overall what do you think was the main reason for this/these experiences?” The participants were instructed to choose an overall attribution for the 13 items, and selections included race/ethnicity, gender, age, physical appearance (i.e., height or weight) or other (Williams et al., 1997).

Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale

The shortened 12-item version of the CES-D assesses the frequency of depressive symptoms experienced within the past week (Radloff, 1977). Although originally developed as a 20-item measure, the CES-D has been shortened from 20 items to 12 items, with demonstrated reliability and validity among minority adolescent populations (see Roberts et al., 1999). The Likert scale (α = .68) consists of responses ranging from 0 (rarely) to 3 (most or all of the time). A sample item includes “I did not feel like eating, my appetite was poor” and higher scores were indicative of higher depressive symptoms.

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

The Rosenberg Self-esteem scale is an assessment of self-acceptance (Rosenberg, 1965). The 10-item Likert scale (α = .72) consists of rating items with responses ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). A sample item includes “I feel that I have a number of good qualities.”

General Life Satisfaction

One question was used to assess adolescent perceptions of general life satisfaction (Campbell, 1976). The item read “How satisfied with your life as a whole would you say you are these days?” The responses ranged from 1 (very satisfied) to 4 (very dissatisfied). The item was reversed so that high scores indicate higher levels of life satisfaction.

Data Analytic Strategy

As a result of the complex design, which includes design variables and a population weight, STATA 9.1 was used to estimate regression coefficients and standard errors. The initial analyses consisted of frequency counts of the discrimination attributions followed by cross tabulations to examine differences in discrimination attributions across ethnicity, gender and the three age groups (categorical age variable). An ANOVA was also conducted to assess differences in perceived discrimination for the attribution groups. The analyses were conducted in three stages and the first stage examined the influence of the demographic variables on the psychological well-being indicators (depressive symptoms, self-esteem and life satisfaction). The second stage assessed the influence of the main effects of perceived discrimination and the discrimination attributions on the psychological well-being indicators. The third stage examined the influence of the interaction terms (i.e., attribution x perceived discrimination) after controlling for the demographic variables and the main effects. The analytical techniques adjusted the standard errors to account for the complex sample design of the NSAL, which involved multiple stages, clustering and stratification. Standard errors adjusted for complex design effects are usually larger than non-adjusted standard errors. In this study, the standard errors for Caribbean Blacks were typically higher than those for African Americans because the Caribbean Black sample is significantly more clustered than the African American sample. Consequently, ethnic differences that may appear to be large may not be statistically significant.

Results

Almost half of the Black youth (43%) attributed discrimination to race/ethnicity. The second most frequent discrimination attribution was age (17%), followed by physical appearance (16.5%) and gender (7.5%). A small number of youth (10%) indicated they had not perceived any discriminatory incidents in the past year, or they chose "other" (6%) as a reason for the discrimination. The results are consistent with the initial research question that race/ethnicity would be the predominant attribution for perceptions of discrimination. In order to examine the second research question, cross tabulations in discrimination attributions for ethnicity, gender and age were conducted. The results indicated no ethnic (X² = 2.35, p > .05), gender (X² = 6.99, p > .05) or age (X² = 11.67, p > .05) differences among the attribution groups. An ANOVA was conducted to assess differences in perceived discrimination across the five attribution groups. The results suggest that the amount of discriminatory incidents did not differ for youth who attributed discrimination to race/ethnicity, physical appearance or gender. However, the results indicated significant differences for perceived discrimination, F (4, 37) = 4.86, p < .01, in that youth who attributed discrimination to race/ethnicity (M = 5.97, SE = .33) reported more discriminatory incidents than those who attributed it to age (M = 4.47, SE = .34) or other reasons (M = 3.98, SE = .57).

Multiple regression analyses were conducted to assess whether the relationship between perceived discrimination and the psychological well-being indicators (depressive symptoms, self-esteem and life satisfaction) varied across the four attribution groups. Demographic characteristics (i.e., gender, age, familial income and ethnicity) were controlled before regressing depressive symptoms, self-esteem and life satisfaction on perceived discrimination. The race/ethnicity attribution group was the reference group, whereas gender, age, physical/appearance and other reasons were included in the models. All main effects and centered two-way interactions were hierarchically assessed for the psychological well-being indicators and none of the interaction terms were significant for any of the psychological well-being indicators. The results for depressive symptoms indicated a main effect for perceived discrimination and the physical appearance attribution (see Table 1). Specifically, perceptions of discrimination were positively linked to increased depressive symptoms (B = .22, p < .01). The results regarding the physical appearance attribution indicated that adolescents who attributed discrimination to physical appearance (M = 9.61, SE = .34) had higher depressive symptoms than those who attributed discrimination to race/ethnicity (M = 8.64, SE = .30). The relationship between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms did not vary according to the discrimination attributions.

Table 1.

Means, Standard Deviations and Internal Consistency for the Study Variables

Variables	M	SE
Ethnicity	---	---
Gender	---	---
Age	15	1.42
Household Income	$28,000	---
Perceived Discrimination	5.15	.20
Depressive Symptoms	8.98	.21
Self-Esteem	3.61	.02
Life Satisfaction	3.48	.03

There was a main effect for perceived discrimination, the age attribution and the physical appearance attribution for self-esteem. As perceptions of discrimination increased, self-esteem decreased (B = −.02, p < .05). Adolescents who attributed discrimination to age had lower self-esteem (M = 3.49, SE = .05) than youth who attributed discrimination to race/ethnicity (M = 3.58, SE = .02). Additionally, adolescents who attributed discrimination to physical appearance had lower self-esteem (M = 3.51, SE = .02) than youth who attributed discrimination to race/ethnicity (M = 3.58, SE = .02). Although perceived discrimination was linked to decreased self-esteem, this relationship did not vary across the attribution groups.

There were also main effects for life satisfaction in that females (B = −.13, p < .01) and older youth (B = −.05, p < .01) had lower levels of life satisfaction. Also, perceived discrimination was linked to decreasing levels of life satisfaction (B = −.03, p < .01). Additionally, adolescents who attributed discrimination to other reasons had lower life satisfaction (M = 3.39, SE = .09) than youth who attributed discrimination to race/ethnicity (M = 3.47, SE = .04). The relationship between perceived discrimination and life satisfaction did not vary by discrimination attribution.

Discussion

The results of the present study indicate that race/ethnicity is the most frequent attribution for perceived discrimination among African American and Caribbean Black youth. This finding is consistent with prior research suggesting that minority youth primarily attribute discrimination to race/ethnicity or national origin (Szalacha et al., 2003; Matthews et al., 2005). Although the Integrative Model argues that youth of color are discriminated against because of their race/ethnicity (Garcia Coll et al., 1996), our findings suggest that many Black youth attribute discriminatory incidents to characteristics other than race/ethnicity, namely physical appearance. One explanation for physical appearance as an attribution for discrimination is the fact that pubertal changes are occurring during this stage of development, some of which manifest as external characteristics. The finding that age is a reason for perceptions of discrimination is consistent with prior research indicating that approximately 15% of African American youth attribute perceived discrimination to age (Matthews et al., 2005). One explanation for the age finding concerns the fact that adolescence is characterized by biological changes (Sun et al., 2005), cognitive changes (Keating, 2004) and social changes such as racial identity development among Black youth (Seaton, Scottham & Sellers, 2006). Consequently, the age attribution may be a proxy for “teenage status” among Black youth, regardless of whether they are early or middle aged adolescents.

The results suggest no ethnic, gender or age differences in discrimination attributions. Regardless of demographic characteristics, incidents that are perceived as discriminatory are consistently perceived as such regardless of whom the target is (i.e., an African American male or a Caribbean Black female). One explanation concerns the salience of discriminatory treatment in the lives of Black youth. Whereas prior research has suggested that race is a ubiquitous concept for youth of color (Waters, 1996; Garcia Coll et al., 1996), discriminatory treatment may be equally constant for youth of color such that there are no subgroup differences in the attributions ascribed to discriminatory treatment.

The present findings suggest that youth who attribute discrimination to physical appearance have higher levels of depressive symptoms and lower levels of self-esteem than youth who attribute discrimination to race/ethnicity. Yet, adolescents who attribute discrimination to gender, age or other reasons are not significantly different from those who attribute discrimination to race/ethnicity. Recall that physical appearance is indicative of height, weight and other aspects of appearance. One explanation may be that Black youth who attribute discrimination to physical appearance may have poorer body images due to accelerated physical maturation. As such, these youth may perceive that they are the victims of discrimination because of their physical appearance, which affects their self-esteem. Previous research indicates that African American adolescent females were more likely to have poor body images, and these images were significantly linked to depressive symptoms (Grant et al., 1999). Additionally, Black youth may feel that their skin color as an aspect of physical appearance is linked to discriminatory treatment, which is consistent with prior research among youth of color (Verkuyten et al., 1997). For example, previous research indicates that European American college students rated light-skinned African Americans as more intelligent than dark-skinned African Americans (Wade & Bielitz, 2005). Thus, some youth may have diminished psychological well-being due to their perception that they are being mistreated because of their skin color.

Since prior theoretical formulations (Garcia Coll et al., 1996) and empirical research (Wong et al., 2003) focus on racial discrimination as a prominent characteristic for adolescents of color, we were interested in examining if the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological well-being varied according to the attribution. Yet, the results indicate that perceived discrimination is negatively linked to psychological well-being regardless of the attribution. Thus, racial discrimination is no more or less negatively linked to these outcomes when compared to the other types of discrimination among African American and Caribbean Black adolescents. From the perspective of Black youth, discriminatory treatment is harmful regardless of the reason. One explanation concerns the racial socialization techniques that Black parents engage in and preparation for bias is a key component of racial socialization. Preparation for bias refers to parents’ efforts to promote their children’s awareness of discrimination and prepare them to cope with it (Hughes, Rodriguez, Smith, Johnson, Stevenson & Spicer, 2006). Previous research indicates that racial socialization was protective for perceptions of racial discrimination in that preparation for bias moderated the relationship between perceptions of racial discrimination and self-esteem among African American adolescents (Harris-Britt, Valrie, Kurtz-Costes & Rowley, 2007). Consequently, this specific racial socialization technique may be protective in the context of perceived discrimination regardless of the attribution. Though African American parents prepare their children and adolescents for racial bias, it is possible that this preparation is applied to discrimination in general and moderates perceptions for all types of discrimination.

Future research should quantitatively and qualitatively examine other discrimination attributions which may be particular to the adolescent period among Black youth. Some Black youth might attribute discrimination to their athletic status, their intellectual ability (i.e., special education or gifted classes), specific styles of dress, or to combinations of demographic characteristics. One of the primary findings of the present study is that African American and Caribbean Black youth do not solely attribute discrimination to being a member of their racial/ethnic group, which has implications for measurement. Though theoretical frameworks suggest that youth of color are discriminated against because of their racial/ethnic group membership, future research should consider that racial discrimination is not the only relevant form of discrimination that Black youth experience. A practical implication of the present findings is related to measurement among adolescent populations. The majority of measures examining perceptions of discrimination inherently attribute experiences to race, whereas this may not adequately capture discriminatory experiences among adolescent populations. Though discrimination attributions do not moderate the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological well-being, these relations may vary for physical health outcomes. Since previous research suggests that perceptions of discrimination were linked to high blood pressure for African American youth who attributed discrimination to physical appearance (Matthews et al., 2005), this relationship might be apparent for other physical health outcomes with physical appearance as a discrimination attribution. Future research should consider assessing multiple types of discrimination among adolescent populations given the present findings.

There are a few limitations in the present study that need to be considered. First, the cross-sectional nature of the study prevents causality from being inferred. The results, however, support the notion that perceived discrimination is linked to psychological well-being; the reverse relations also may be true. Yet, prior longitudinal research suggests that discrimination predicts psychological well-being among African American adolescents (Greene et al., 2006; Neblett et al., 2008). An additional limitation concerns the measurement of perceived discrimination. The instrument in the present study utilizes an annual time period. Smaller time periods and experiential sampling techniques might measure discriminatory experiences more precisely. Additionally, the use of one attribution for overall perceptions of discriminatory incidents during the specified time frame may be problematic. It is possible that some incidents may be more obvious to youth (i.e., racial epithets), but less apparent for other incidents. As such, the use of a global attribution may limit the extent to which discriminatory incidents can be categorized appropriately. Also, the use of one attribution may limit the scope of responses as some youth may attribute incidents to different reasons and the measure does not allow for reporting of multiple attributions. Another limitation concerns examination of these constructs among African American and Caribbean Black youth. We suggest that future research should examine the moderating capacity of discrimination attributions among other racial/ethnic groups to further clarify these relationships. A final limitation is the fact that the present study did not examine all theoretical constructs of the Integrative Model, which may be relevant for discrimination experiences among Black youth. For example, the Integrative Model suggests that skin color is an important physical characteristic among youth of color (Garcia Coll et al., 1996). Future research should consider the role of skin color and the other salient constructs of the Integrative Model when examining perceived discrimination among Black youth.

The present study contributes to existing discrimination literature on African American and Caribbean Black adolescents. Although race/ethnicity is the predominant attribution for perceived discrimination, approximately half of Black youth attribute discriminatory incidents to age, physical appearance and gender. Furthermore, theoretical formulations suggest that racial discrimination will be negatively linked to indicators of psychological well-being, and our results are consistent. We find that discrimination attributed to age, physical appearance and gender are similarly linked to depressive symptoms, self-esteem and life satisfaction, suggesting that racial discrimination is not the only type that has negative implications for Black youth. The current study suggests that regardless of the attribution, discriminatory treatment is maladaptive for African American and Caribbean Black youth. The results suggest the need to impart appropriate responses to perceived discriminatory treatment. For example, previous research suggests that active coping and social support strategies reduced distress due to discriminatory experiences among African American youth (Scott, 2004). Thus, it might be beneficial for parents, teachers and counselors to discuss these specific strategies with Black youth during this particular developmental period as a way to alleviate the impact on their mental health.

Table 2.

Psychological Well-being Regressed on Perceived Discrimination and Discrimination Attributions

Predictors	Depressive Symptoms		Self-Esteem		Life Satisfaction
Model 1	B	se	B	se	B	se
Ethnicitya	.36	1.13	.00	.03	−.03	.07
Genderb	.06	.44	.02	.04	−.09*	.04
Age	.19	.16	.01	.01	−.07**	.02
Family Income	.00	.00	.00	.00	.00	.00
Total R2	.01		.01		.02
Model 2
Ethnicity	.46	.99	−.01	.02	−.05	.05
Gender	.28	.46	.00	.04	−.13*	.05
Age	.15	.14	.01	.01	−.05**	.02
Family Income	.00	.00	.00	.00	.00	.00
Perceived Discrimination	.21**	.06	−.02**	.00	−.04**	.01
Gender AttributionC	.56	.67	−.03	.06	−.06	.07
Age AttributionC	1.52	.78	−.12*	.05	−.06	.07
Physical Appearance AttributionC	1.12**	.37	−.09**	.03	.05	.06
Other AttributionC	.10	.74	−.01	.04	−.16*	.07
Total R2	.04		.05		.08

^aNote. 0 = Caribbean Black, 1 = African American.

^b0 = Females, 1 = Males.

^C0 = race/ethnicity, 1 = gender, age, physical appearance or other attribution

^*p < .05;

^**p < .01.