The Experience and Consequences of Perceived Racial Discrimination: A Study of African Americans

Abstract

This exploratory study investigates the link between the experience of racial discrimination and personal outcomes in a sample of African Americans. Most research on discrimination and its consequences has focused on institutional discrimination. Little attention has been given to “isolate discrimination,” an individual act of discriminatory behavior by one dominant group person directed at a member of a subordinate group. In this exploratory study, with a sample of 312 Blacks, the authors examine the experience and consequences of discrimination among African Americans from Detroit, Michigan. Consistent with prior literature, the authors hypothesize that discrimination affects the sense of mastery and creates psychological distress. The authors find that experiencing discrimination leads to lower levels of mastery and higher levels of psychological distress. These results support the authors’hypotheses. The authors discuss several implications of these results.