(PS10-38) Racial/ethnic Discrimination and Internalizing Symptoms in Ethno-racially Minoritized Youth: The Mediating Influence of Emotion Dysregulation

Introduction:  There is a well-established relationship between racial/ethnic discrimination and poorer mental health in ethno-racially minoritized (ERM) youth (Benner et al., 2018). However, the mechanisms by which discrimination may impact mental health in this population are understudied. Emotion regulation is one malleable psychological process that may become disrupted in youth who are exposed to stressors like racial/ethnic discrimination (Waizman et al., 2021). Difficulties with emotion regulation, or emotion dysregulation, are also implicated in many psychological disorders and, thus, may clarify the link between discrimination and mental health in ERM youth (Aldao et al., 2016). The current study evaluated emotion dysregulation as a mediator of the association between racial/ethnic discrimination and internalizing symptoms in ERM youth.

Method:  ERM youth and their caregivers from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study (n = 3,114; M_age baseline = 9.92; 50.6% female) completed questionnaires on perceived discrimination, emotion dysregulation, and internalizing symptoms. Perceived discrimination was self-reported by youth with the 7-item Measure of Perceived Discrimination. Emotion dysregulation was measured via the Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale–Parent Report. Finally, the Anxious/Depressed, Withdrawn/Depressed, and Somatic Complaints syndrome scales that comprise the Internalizing Problems scale from the parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist were used to assess internalizing symptoms. Latent growth curve models for internalizing symptoms were designed to assess relationships between (1) discrimination, emotion dysregulation, and the three subtypes of internalizing problems (i.e., Anxious/Depressed, Withdrawn/Depressed, Somatic), and (2) the indirect effect of emotion dysregulation on symptom trajectories.

Results:  The direct effect of discrimination on anxious/depressed (b = -0.01, p = 0.11) and somatic symptom trajectories (b = 0.005, p = 0.31) was not significant. However, results revealed a significant indirect effect of discrimination on anxious/depressed symptom trajectory via emotion dysregulation (b = 0.01, p = 0.03). Additionally, emotion dysregulation did not mediate the relationship between discrimination and somatic symptom trajectory (b = 0.001, p = 0.07). Poor fit indices limited interpretation of the withdrawn/depressed model.

Conclusions:  Findings provide initial evidence that emotion dysregulation partially mediates the association between racial/ethnic discrimination and anxious/depressed symptoms over time in ERM youth. However, this construct may not explain the link between discrimination and somatic symptom change in this population. Overall, the present study identified emotion dysregulation as a potential intervention target that may be beneficial in preventing the exacerbation of anxiety and depressive symptoms in ERM youth experiencing racial/ethnic discrimination over time.