Internalized racism and self-esteem: Do depressive symptoms matter?

Objectives: This study examines the relation between internalized racism and self-esteem in a sample of students of Color while controlling for depressive symptoms. Internalized racism has been demonstrated to contribute to negative mental health outcomes in people of Color, however the nuanced relations between these interrelated outcomes and internalized racism are unclear. Methods: Participants were 140 students of Color (83% female; mean age = 26.11, SD = 7.21) who self-identified as African American (45.7%), Asian (18.6%), Latino (16.4%), Multiracial (16.4%), Native American (1.4%), and Middle Eastern (1.4%). Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear regression. Results: Internalized racism was inversely related to self-esteem when controlling for depressive symptoms, with devaluation of one’s racial group being the largest contributor to this relation. Conclusions: Psychological responses to internalized racism can include non-pathological states such as lowered self-esteem. Given the strong contribution of devaluation, for students of Color, the promotion of racial pride could be an important intervention.