Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-2008

Source Publication

Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology

Abstract

This research provided the first empirical investigation of the role of positive affect in moderating the relationship between perceived racism and depressive symptoms. A sample of 215 racial and ethnic minority young adults completed measures of perceived racism, daily race–related stress, positive affect, optimism, and depressive symptoms. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that positive affect and perceived racism accounted for a significant portion of the variance in depressive symptoms. Most notably, above and beyond the effects of optimism, positive affect interacted with perceived racism to weaken its influence on depression. Implications for future research directions that build on these initial findings are discussed.

Comments

Originally published in Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, Volume 27, No. 2 (2008), 105-126, online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2008.27.2.105

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