(PS10-24) Exploring Differences in Psychological Resilience Between Black and White Individuals with Childhood Interpersonal Trauma: Social Support as a Mediator

Psychological resilience has generally been defined as an individual’s capacity to “bounce back” after experiencing an adverse event. Previous research has shown that Black individuals report greater resilience compared to White individuals. Social support has been found to be positive predictor of psychological resilience. Although limited, previous research has observed differences in social support among different racial groups. As such, social support is one mechanism that may explain the difference in psychological resilience between Black and White individuals. Considering the limited research looking at racial differences in psychological resilience in trauma exposed populations, the aim of this study is twofold: (1) To explore whether there is a difference in self-reported psychological resilience between Black and White individuals exposed to childhood trauma and to (2) assess if social support mediates the relationship between race and self-reported psychological resilience. We hypothesized that Black individuals would report greater resilience and that there will be a significant indirect effect of race on resilience via social support.

The current study is a secondary data analysis of baseline data from a randomized controlled trial evaluating a resiliency intervention for individuals with a history of childhood interpersonal trauma. Participants (n = 28 Black, n = 24 White) completed the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) to assess self-reported resilience and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) to assess perceived social support. Black individuals reported greater resilience compared to White individuals (d = .44); this finding held after accounting for gender, education, and childhood trauma severity (R²_adj change = 0.08, β = 0.03, p < 0.05). No racial differences were found in perceived social support (t(49) = -0.54, p = 0.30), so mediation analyses were not conducted. Further research on the mechanisms underlying differences in psychological resilience between Black and White individuals exposed to childhood trauma is needed. This is particularly important considering the “depression paradox” which describes how despite Black individuals being more likely to experience negative life events like childhood trauma, they are less likely to report depression and anxiety compared to White individuals.