Racial Identity and Changes in Psychological Distress Using the Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity

OBJECTIVES: Researchers have noted that racial identity-the personal significance and meaning of race (Sellers, Chavous, &amp; Cooke, 1998)-may serve as a protective factor against the impact of racism-related stress and promote psychological well-being for African American young adults. One limitation of prior research is the failure to examine how changes in racial identity may relate to changes in psychological well-being over time, specifically those racial identity beliefs that are proposed to be stable. This study examined racial identity and its association with changes in overall psychological distress among African American college students. METHOD: The sample included 171 African American college students (69% female) attending a predominately White institution in the southeastern United States using 5 waves of data collected over 3 years. RESULTS: Latent curve modeling revealed increases in racial centrality, private regard, and nationalist ideology, and decreases in public regard and assimilationist, humanist, and oppressed minority ideologies (comparative fit index range: 0.94-1.00; root-mean-square error of approximation range: .00-.07). Growth curve modeling also revealed that initial levels of racial identity predicted changes in psychological distress. Of note, higher initial levels of private regard were associated with sharper declines in psychological distress over time (&beta; = .37, <em>Sz E</em> = .17, <em>p</em> = .027). Additionally, individuals with lower initial levels of public regard experienced greater declines in psychological distress over time as compared to individuals with higher levels of public regard (&beta; = .60, <em>SE</em> = .15, <em>p</em> &lt; .001). CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that racial identity dimensions that are proposed to be stable may change over time. These results also suggest that initial levels of racial identity variables (i.e., racial regard) predict later rates of change in psychological distress.&nbsp;