Date of Award
Spring 2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
Program
Clinical Psychology
First Advisor
Torres, Lucas
Second Advisor
Howard, Simon
Third Advisor
de St. Aubin, Ed.
Abstract
Rates of major depressive disorder are consistently twice as high for women of color compared to men across racial/ethnic groups. Some researchers posit that these doubled rates are due to increased life stress, such as ethnic discrimination and sexism. The current study explored the ability of ethnic and sexist discrimination to predict depression among women of color. The current study also sought to better understand underlying cognitive mechanisms, namely hopelessness and self-silencing beliefs, that explain the relationship between discrimination and depression symptoms among women of color. Furthermore, scholars suggest a call to research protective factors that buffer the relationship between discrimination and poor mental health outcomes. Aims were tested among a sample of college women of color recruited from a predominantly White university and a sample of Latinx women recruited from the community. The first aim supported that ethnic discrimination was a stronger predictor of depression for college women of color, whereas sexist discrimination was a stronger predictor of depression for Latinx women. The second and third aims tested a moderated mediational model where hopelessness and self-silencing beliefs were tested as mediators between discrimination and depression. Moreover, general self-efficacy among college women of color and family pillar beliefs among Latinx women were explored as protective factors between the link of discrimination and cognitive vulnerabilities. The second and third aims were not supported. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.