Self-Esteem, Racial Identity, and Depression in the Long-Term Impact of Discrimination on Health among Black Americans

Racial discrimination is an important predictor of long-term health outcomes for Black Americans. However, research has not fully examined how the development of psychosocial resources and depressive symptoms throughout the life course impact the long-term relationship between discrimination and physical health. Using data from the Family and Community Health Study (N = 889 for full-information maximum likelihood; n = 520 for listwise deletion), we conducted path modeling to examine whether self-esteem, racial identity, and depressive symptomatology mediate the relationship between racial discrimination in youth and lifetime chronic disease and acute health symptoms for Black Americans. Results indicate significant indirect effects of self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and racial identity on acute health symptoms. Results also show significant indirect effects of self-esteem and depression on lifetime chronic illness. Findings point to the importance of depressive symptomatology and psychosocial resources in shaping the long-term health impacts of youth exposure to racial discrimination.