Effects of Racism-Related Stress on Resistance against Racism in Black Americans

This study investigated the relation between racism-related stress and resistance and empowerment against racism, specifically how collective self-esteem may play a role in Black Americans’ decisions to resist racism. I used a moderated moderation model to explore these relations. Consistent with the hypothesis, results indicated that there was a significant positive association between racism-related stress and resistance and empowerment against racism and that the public aspect of collective self-esteem was a significant moderator of this relation. However, contrary to the hypothesis, the private aspect of collective self-esteem was not found to be a significant moderator of the relation between racism-related stress and resistance and empowerment against racism. Further, inconsistent with the hypothesis, the moderated moderation, or the interaction between private and public aspects of collective self-esteem, was not found to be significant. These results suggest that racism-related stress significantly impacts how much Black Americans in this study engaged in resistance and empowerment against racism. Finally, the results also suggest that the public aspect of collective self-esteem in particular plays an important role in how much Black American individuals encountering racism-related stress resist and empower themselves against racism