The Roles of Self-Concealment and Perceived Racial and Ethnic Discrimination in General Psychological Distress among Racial and Ethnic Minority College Students in the United States

In the present cross-sectional study, we examined whether self-concealment and perceived racial and ethnic discrimination were uniquely associated with general psychological distress among racial and ethnic minority (REM) college students in the United States (U.S.), and whether these associations differed for individuals who self-identified as Black American, Asian American, Latinx American, or other REMs. Three hundred twenty-six REM college students (nwoman = 279, nman = 47; age range = 16-54 years) completed self-report measures of interest online. Results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that greater self-concealment was significantly associated with higher levels of general psychological distress in all REM groups above associations between perceived racial and ethnic discrimination and psychological distress. Importantly, results also revealed that greater perceived racial and ethnic discrimination was only significantly associated with higher levels of general psychological distress in the Black American group, and not in the Asian American, Latinx American, or other REM groups. Limitations and applied implications of these findings are discussed.