 |
|
Investigating the Effects of Racial Stereotypes and Vigilance on Anxiety and Sleep
by Meghana Rao
Faculty Advisor: Aprile Benner, PhD
Chronic stress and anxiety tend to be higher in minority groups than in non-minority groups but the potential causes for this disparity remains understudied. Discrimination may be a cause, however, there are various factors that can influence an individual’s racial experience such as stereotype threat which is the pressure to confirm or deny a typical trait associated with that individual’s racial group. Additionally, the constant awareness of one’s racial group in society can lead to race-related vigilance with a modification of behavior to avoid discriminatory experiences altogether. Although negative relationships between both stereotype threat (ST) and race-related vigilance (RRV) and anxiety are well-demonstrated in research, there is a dearth of research on how this impacts other aspects of life, namely sleep quality. The current study examines the effects of stereotype threat (ST) and race-related vigilance (RRV) on college student’s anxiety and sleep quality and if these relations are mediated by the level of identification with the individual’s ethnicity. Data comes from 80 participants (M age= 20.2 , SD= 1.90). Multiple linear regressions indicated that among levels of ST and RRV in college students, ST was the strongest predictor of a composite of higher anxiety and sleep disturbance. In contrast, RRV was a strong predictor of anxiety but not sleep disturbance. Lastly, ethnic identification did not mediate the relations of anxiety and sleep disturbance to either ST or RRV.