Daily Association Between Racial Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms Among Ethnically Diverse Adolescents: Ethnic Identity as a Predictor and a Buffer

Objectives: The present study assessed the association between daily racial discrimination and depressive symptoms over the course of 14 consecutive days, and the predictive and buffering effects of ethnic identity commitment and exploration. Method: Participants were 96 high school juniors and seniors (Mage = 17.45, SE = 1.12) from a low-income urban county, all identifying as non-White (28 Black/African American, 31 Latinx, and 37 non-White other). Over a 14-day period, participants reported daily experiences of racial discrimination and depressive symptoms. Baseline ethnic identity was measured approximately 1 month prior to the diary study. Results: Daily discrimination was predicted by higher exploration and lower commitment at baseline. Multilevel models revealed that depressive symptoms were higher on days on which participants experienced more discrimination (within-person association), with no next-day lagged effects. Finally, baseline commitment and exploration weakened, but did not completely eliminate, the correlation between daily discrimination and depressive symptoms. Conclusions: The study underscores the need to use momentary or daily assessments of discriminatory experiences to understand the full impact of minority-related stress. The current results demonstrate that daily discriminatory experiences are not only commonplace but that ethnic identity alone may not be enough to combat the negative impact of these experiences. Implications of these findings are discussed in the unique context of adolescent development.