Parental Racial-Ethnic Bias Preparation, Ethnic Identity, and Psychological Distress in Latinx Young Adults

Research pertaining to parental racial-ethnic bias preparation (PRBP) and ethnic identity produces mixed results in relation to Latinx young adults' mental health. Moreover, the impact of skin tone socialization, which encompasses mechanisms that may be linked to internalized colorist ideologies, has been largely neglected in the scientific literature despite its potential influence on psychological distress. To address this gap, our study investigated how PRBP, ethnic identity search, and ethnic identity commitment are associated with psychological distress among a sample of 539 Latinx young adults. Additionally, we explored whether internalized colorist ideologies (e.g., skin tone impression formation and affiliation) mediated the association between PRBP and psychological distress. The results indicated that PRBP was significantly associated with higher psychological distress in Latinx young adults, while ethnic identity commitment was associated with lower psychological distress. Ethnic identity search did not show a significant association with psychological distress. Furthermore, internalized colorist ideologies did not mediate the association between PRBP and psychological distress. These findings offer valuable insights for tailoring mental health interventions that aim to reduce health disparities among Latinx young adults.