Racial Media Microaggressions: Impact on Black Adolescent Mental and Behavioral Health

Media use is a meaningful occupation for adolescents. Black adolescents may be at risk for exposure to racial microaggressions through engagement in this occupation. Racial microaggressions are subtle forms of discrimination that negatively impact health. This study aimed to examine the impact of exposure to racial media microaggressions on mental and behavioral health outcomes among Black adolescents. A 14-day daily diary protocol was used to administer measures on racial media microaggressions, depression, anxiety, aggression, and cannabis use. Neither concurrent nor lagged-day associations between racial media microaggressions and symptoms of anxiety, depression, or cannabis use were significant. The concurrent effect of racial media microaggressions on aggression was non-significant, but the next-day lagged effect of racial media microaggressions on aggression at both the within- (estimate = 0.610, <i>SE</i> = 0.281, <i>t</i> = 2.170, <i>p</i> = .030) and between-person (estimate = -.364, <i>SE</i> = 0.182, <i>t</i> = -2.004, <i>p</i> = .046) levels was statistically significant. Findings indicated that exposure to racial media microaggressions impacted Black adolescent behavioral health.