080 - Exposure to Racial Microaggressions in the Media: Impact on Black Adolescent Mental and Behavioral Health

Publication Number: 80.4917

Maribeth Clifton, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States; Richelle L. Clifton, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, United States; Tamika Zapolski, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States

Background: Media use is a popular leisure occupation and platform for self-expression, socialization, and identity exploration for adolescents. As of 2021, rates of daily media use among adolescents aged 13 to 18 were 77% for watching online videos, 62% for social media use, 49% for watching television, and 21% for reading books, e-books, magazines, or online articles. Black adolescents report even higher levels of engagement across various media types than their White peers. Media use has been associated with poor mental and behavioral health outcomes, and can also increase exposure to negative interactions, including discrimination, bullying, and victimization. Further, evidence suggests that racial discrimination among youth of color occurs across various media-based settings and contexts and is linked with poor mental health, including depression, anxiety, substance use, and aggression. However, more research is needed examining the effects of experiencing racial discrimination in the media on health outcomes among Black adolescents.

Objective: To examine the impact of exposure to racial microaggressions, a form of racial discrimination, via the media on mental and behavioral health outcomes among Black adolescents.

Design/Methods: A daily diary protocol was used in which text messages were sent to participants’ cell phones for 14 days. Participants were Black adolescents aged 10 to 19 years (N = 48; 79.2% girls; Mage=17.13). Eligible participants had a cell phone with SMS capabilities, informed parental consent (for those under 18), and active youth assent/consent. Participants completed measures on racial media microaggressions, depression, anxiety, aggression, and cannabis use.

Results: Black adolescents reported an average of 3.22 experiences of racial media microaggressions per day across the 14-day protocol. Neither concurrent nor lagged-day associations between racial media microaggressions and symptoms of anxiety, depression, and cannabis use were significant. The concurrent effect of racial media microaggressions on aggression was non-significant, but the next-day lagged effect was significant (between-person: estimate=-0.364, SE=0.182, t=-2.004, p=0.046; within-person: estimate=0.610, SE=0.281, t=2.170, p=0.030).

Conclusion(s): This study documents the frequency of racial media microaggressions Black youth face daily and their notable impact on next-day aggression, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions.