4 - (SYM 83) Cognitive Reappraisal, Affect, and Psychopathology Among Racial Minorities: Integrating Meta-analytic and Experimental Evidence

Existing research shows mixed findings on whether cognitive reappraisal is beneficial or harmful for racial minority participants. Whereas some studies showing the harm of cognitive reappraisal for racial minority participants exposed to oppression (Perez & Soto, 2011), other studies found cognitive reappraisal beneficial in reducing negative affect associated with discrimination memory (Duker et al., 2023). These mixed findings may result from differences in various factors, such as outcomes assessed (short-term affect versus long-term psychopathology) and reappraisal types (spontaneous versus instructed use).

In this presentation, I will present meta-analytic and experimental evidence aiming to clarify these mixed findings. First, I will present meta-analytic evidence based on 121 included studies that examine the associations among cognitive reappraisal and psychopathology in multiracial samples (predominantly from US and Canada). Findings show that cognitive reappraisal had a stronger negative association with psychopathology for samples with more racial minority participants, B = -0.30, SE = 0.09, p < .001, suggesting that cognitive reappraisal appears more adaptive among samples with a greater percentage of racial minorities. Second, I will present a recent experimental study that include 120 racial minority participants. All participants recall an autobiographical or vicarious discrimination event and report the features of discrimination (e.g., controllability, predictability), followed by random assignment to spontaneous emotion regulation or instructed cognitive reappraisal, and affect assessment. While autobiographical and vicarious discrimination memory induce similar negative affect, instructed use of cognitive reappraisal outperforms spontaneous emotion regulation especially in the context of more uncontrollable experience of discrimination.

Taken these findings together, I will highlight the importance of weighing the nuanced context of minority experience (e.g., controllability, predictability, and chronicity of discrimination) when considering the effect of cognitive reappraisal.