The Relationship Between Race, Family Dynamics, and Discrimination on Black and White

Existing literature highlights family dynamics and discrimination and its association to self-esteem and occupational performance among African American and Caucasian populations single handedly. However, this study considers how these factors are interconnected. Two quantitative cross-sectional design studies were conducted through the survey-based software called Qualtrics. Study 1 involved a White population sample of 172 participants from the Texas Christian University SONA Psychology pool. Study 2 included a population sample of 178 Black participants from Amazon MTurk and existing data from Study 1. The mediation models in both studies indicated that discrimination causes individuals to exhibit lower levels of self-esteem. Furthermore, self-esteem was positively related to greater occupational performance. Through changes in self-esteem, familial relationships are attributed to higher levels of self-esteem and occupational performance. These findings emphasize the important role of family relationships as a protective factor against adversity through discrimination and success in occupational performance as self-esteem changes.