![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
The research examined (a) girls’ responses to personal experiences of gender and/or ethnic/racial discrimination, (b) social support from parents and friends following the discrimination, and (c) the relationship between girls’ reported coping strategies to the discrimination and their self-esteem. Participants were 74 adolescent girls (M = 16.3 years) from diverse ethnic backgrounds in California. Each girl completed an online survey that included open-ended questions about a personal experience of discrimination and self-reported coping strategies, as well as a questionnaire measure of self-esteem. Results indicate that girls’ reported coping strategies were varied. Avoidance strategies such as ignoring the situation were most common, but many girls also reported use of approach strategies such as confronting the discrimination. Social support from family and friends was related to self-esteem. The study highlights ways in which family and friends may help or hinder girls as they cope with different kinds of discrimination.
Keywords discrimination, social support, coping, self-esteem, narratives
References
Section:
|
Aapola, S., Kangas, I. (1996). School smart? Observations from Finland on how young women cope with sexism in educational institutions. Women’s Studies International Forum, 19, 409-417. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Ajrouch, K., Reisine, S., Lim, S., Sohn, W., Ismail, A. (2010). Perceived everyday discrimination and psychological distress: Does social support matter? Ethnicity & Health, 15, 417-434. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
American Association of University Women . (2011). Crossing the line: Sexual harassment at school. Washington, DC: American Association of University Women. Google Scholar | |
|
American Association of University Women . (2001). Hostile hallways: Bullying, teasing, and sexual harassment in school. Washington, DC: American Association of University Women. Google Scholar | |
|
Ayres, M. M., Friedman, C. K., Leaper, C. (2009). Individual and situational factors related to young women’s likelihood of confronting sexism in their everyday lives. Sex Roles, 61, 449-460. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Bakeman, R., Quera, V., McArthur, D., Robinson, B. F. (1997). Detecting sequential patterns and determining their reliability with fallible observers. Psychological Methods, 2, 357-370. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Benner, A. D., Kim, S. Y. (2009). Experiences of discrimination among Chinese American adolescents and the consequences for socioemotional and academic development. Developmental Psychology, 45, 1682-1694. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Berndt, T. J. (1989). Obtaining support from friends in childhood and adolescence. In Belle, D. (Ed.), Children’s social networks and social supports (pp.308-331). New York, NY: Wiley. Google Scholar | |
|
Bigler, R. S. (1999). The use of multicultural curricula and material to counter racism in children. Journal of Social Issues, 55, 687-705. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Brinkman, B. G., Garcia, K., Rickard, K. M. (2011). “What I wanted to do was . . .”: Discrepancies between college women’s desired and reported responses to gender prejudice. Sex Roles, 65, 344-355. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Bowleg, L. (2008). When Black + lesbian + woman ≠ Black lesbian woman: The methodological challenges of qualitative and quantitative intersectionality research. Sex Roles, 59, 312-325. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Brown, C. S. (2008, March). Perceptions of ethnic discrimination among Latino early adolescents: Frequency, themes, and moderators. Paper presented at the biennial meeting for the Society for Research on Adolescents, Chicago, IL. Google Scholar | |
|
Brown, C. S., Bigler, R. S. (2005). Children’s perceptions of discrimination: A developmental model. Child Development, 76, 533-553. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Buchanan, N. T., Ormerod, A. J. (2002). Racialized sexual harassment in the lives of African American women. Women & Therapy, 25, 107-124. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Cobb, S. (1976). Social support as a moderator of life stress. Psychosomatic Medicine, 38, 300-314. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Coker, T. R., Elliott, M. N., Kanouse, D. E., Grunbaum, J. A., Schwebel, D. C., Gilliland, J., . . .Schuster, M. A. (2009). Perceived racial/ethnic discrimination among fifth-grade students and its association with mental health. American Journal of Public Health, 99, 878-884. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Cole, E. R. (2009). Intersectionality and research in psychology. American Psychologist, 64, 170-180. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Collins, P. H. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. Google Scholar | |
|
Compas, B. E., Connor-Smith, J. K., Saltzman, H., Thomsen, A. H., Wadsworth, M. E. (2001). Coping with stress during childhood and adolescence: Problems, progress, and potential in theory and research. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 87-127. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Crocker, J., Major, B. (1989). Social stigma and self-esteem: The self-protective properties of stigma. Psychological Review, 96, 608-630. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Czopp, A. M., Monteith, M. J. (2003). Confronting prejudice (literally): Reactions to confrontations of racial and gender bias. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 532-544. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Czopp, A. M., Monteith, M. J., Mark, A. Y. (2006). Standing up for a change: Reducing bias through interpersonal confrontation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 784-803. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Davenport, D. S., Yurich, J. M. (1991). Multicultural gender issues. Journal of Counseling & Development, 70, 64-71. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Demaray, M. K., Malecki, C. K., Davidson, L. M., Hodgson, K., Rebus, J. P. (2005). The relationship between social support and student adjustment: A longitudinal analysis. Psychology in the Schools, 42, 691-706. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Fischer, A. R., Shaw, C. M. (1999). African Americans’ mental health and perceptions of racist discrimination: The moderating effects of racial socialization experiences and self-esteem. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 46, 395-407. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Fisher, C. B., Wallace, S. A., Fenton, R. E. (2000). Discrimination distress during adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29, 679-695. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Fivush, R., Brotman, M. A., Buckner, J. P., Goodman, S. H. (2000). Gender differences in parent-child emotion narratives. Sex Roles, 42, 233-253. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Fleiss, J. L. (1981). Statistical methods for rates and proportions (2nd ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley. Google Scholar | |
|
Foster, M. D. (2000). Positive and negative responses to personal discrimination: Does coping make a difference? Journal of Social Psychology, 140, 93-106. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Foster, M. D., Matheson, K. (1998). Perceiving and feeling personal discrimination: Motivation or inhibition for collective action? Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 1, 165-174. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Fordham, S. (1993). “Those loud black girls”: (Black) women, silence, and gender “passing” in the academy. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 24, 3-32. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Frydenberg, E. (1997). Adolescent coping: Theoretical and research perspectives. London, UK: Routledge. Google Scholar | |
|
Gaertner, S. L., Dovidio, J. F. (2005). Understanding and addressing contemporary racism: From aversive racism to the common ingroup identity model. Journal of Social Issues, 61, 615-639. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Ginwright, S. A. (2007). Black youth activism and the role of critical social capital in black community organizations. American Behavioral Scientist, 51, 403-418. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Ginwright, S., Cammarota, J. (2002). New terrain in youth development: The promise of a social justice approach. Social Justice, 29, 82-95. Google Scholar | |
|
Graham, S., Juvonen, J. (1998). Self-blame and peer victimization in middle school: An attributional analysis. Developmental Psychology, 34, 587-599. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Hercus, C. (1999). Identity, emotion, and feminist collective action. Gender & Society, 13, 34-55. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Houlette, M. A., Gaertner, S. L., Johnson, K. M., Banker, B., Riek, B. M., Dovidio, J. F. (2004). Developing a more inclusive social identity: An elementary school intervention. Journal of Social Issues, 60, 35-55. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Hughes, D., Chen, L. (1997). When and what parents tell children about race: An examination of race related socialization among African-American families. Applied Developmental Science, 1, 200-214. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Hughes, D., Rivas, D., Foust, M., Hagelskamp, C., Gersick, S., Way, N. (2008). How to catch a moonbeam: A mixed-method approach to understanding ethnic socialization processes in ethnically diverse families. In Quintana, S. M., McKown, C. (Eds.), Handbook of race, racism, and the developing child (pp. 226-277). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. Google Scholar | |
|
Hughes, D., Rodriguez, J., Smith, E. P., Johnson, D. J., Stevenson, H. C., Spicer, P. (2006). Parents’ ethnic-racial socialization practices: A review of research and directions for future study. Developmental Psychology, 42, 747-770. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Huynh, V. W., Fuligni, A. J. (2010). Discrimination hurts: The academic, psychological, and physical well-being of adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20, 916-941. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Kessler, R. C., Mickelson, K. D., Williams, D. R. (1999). The prevalence, distribution, and mental health correlates of perceived discrimination in the United States. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 40, 208-230. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Killen, M., Lee-Kim, J., McGlothlin, H., Stangor, C. (2002). How children and adolescents evaluate gender and racial exclusion. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development (Vol. 67[4], S. No. 271). Oxford, UK: Blackwell. Google Scholar | |
|
Kim, H. S., Sherman, D. K., Taylor, S. E. (2008). Culture and social support. American Psychologist, 63, 518-526. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
King, K. R. (2003). Do you see what I see? Effects of group consciousness on African American women’s attributions to prejudice. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 27, 17-30. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Lamb, L., M., Bigler, R. S., Liben, L. S., Green, V. A. (2009). Teaching children to confront peers’ sexist remarks: Implications for theories of gender development and educational practice. Sex Roles, 61, 361-382. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Lazarus, R. S., Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York, NY: Springer. Google Scholar | |
|
Leaper, C., Brown, C. S. (2008). Perceived experiences with sexism among adolescent girls. Child Development, 79, 685-704. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Leaper, C., Robnett, R. D. (2011). Sexism. In Levesque, R. J. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of adolescence (Vol., 5, pp. 2641-2648). New York, NY: Springer. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Luft, T. M., Cairns, K. V. (1999). Responding to sexual harassment: Implications for counselling adolescent girls. Canadian Journal of Counselling, 33, 112-126. Google Scholar | |
|
Magley, V. J., Hulin, C. L., Fitzgerald, L. F., DeNardo, M. (1999). Outcomes of self-labeling sexual harassment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 390-402. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Mahaffy, K. A. (2004). Girls’ low self-esteem: How is it related to later socioeconomic achievements? Gender & Society, 18, 309-327. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Malecki, C. K., Demaray, M. K. (2003). What type of support do they need? Investigating student adjustment as related to emotional, informational, appraisal, and instrumental support. School Psychology Quarterly, 18, 231-252. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
McIntyre, A. (2006). Activist research and student agency in universities and urban communities. Urban Education, 41, 628-647. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Neff, K. D., Cooper, C. E., Woodruff, A. L. (2007). Children’s and adolescents’ developing perceptions of gender inequality. Social Development, 16, 682-699. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Neblett, E. W., White, R. L., Ford, K. R., Philip, C. L., Nguyên, H. X., Sellers, R. M. (2008). Patterns of racial socialization and psychological adjustment: Can parental communications about race reduce the impact of racial discrimination? Journal of Research on Adolescence, 18, 477-515. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Pascoe, E., A., Smart Richman, L. (2009). Perceived discrimination and health: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 531-554. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Pennebaker, J. W. (1997). Opening up: The healing power of expressing emotions. New York, NY: Guildford Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Phinney, J. S., Chavira, V. (1995). Parental ethnic socialization and adolescent coping with problems related to ethnicity. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 5, 31-53. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Richman, C. L., Kenton, L., Helfst, C., Gaggar, N. (2004). The probability of intervention: Gender X “ISMS” effects. Social Behavior and Personality, 32, 295-302. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Roscoe, B., Strouse, J. S., Goodwin, M. P. (1994). Sexual harassment: Early adolescents’ self-reports of experiences and acceptance. Adolescence, 29, 515-523. Google Scholar | Medline | |
|
Rose, A. J. (2002). Co-rumination in the friendships of girls and boys. Child Development, 73, 1830-1843. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Rosenbloom, S. R., Way, N. (2004). Experiences of discrimination among African American, Asian American, and Latino adolescents in an urban high school. Youth & Society, 35, 420-451. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Roth, S., Cohen, L. J. (1986). Approach, avoidance, and coping with stress. American Psychologist, 41, 813-819. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Schaefer, C., Coyne, J. C., Lazarus, R. S. (1981). The health-related functions of social support. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4, 381-406. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | |
|
Scott, L. D. (2003). The relation of racial identity and racial socialization to coping with discrimination among African American adolescents. Journal of Black Studies, 33, 520-538. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Scott, L. D. (2004). Correlates of coping with perceived discriminatory experiences among African American adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 27, 123-137. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Scott, L. D., House, L. E. (2005). Relationship of distress and perceived control to coping with perceived racial discrimination among black youth. Journal of Black Psychology, 31, 254-272. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Seaton, E. K., Caldwell, C. H., Sellers, R. M., Jackson, J. S. (2010). Developmental characteristics of African American and Caribbean Black adolescents’ attributions regarding discrimination. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20, 774-788. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Seiffge-Krenke, I. (1995). Stress, coping, and relationships in adolescence. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Google Scholar | |
|
Silverberg, S. B., Tennenbaum, D. L., Jacob, T. (1992). Adolescence and family interaction. In Hasselt, V. B., Vincent, B. (Eds.). Handbook of social development: A lifespan perspective (pp. 347-370). New York, NY: Plenum Press Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Stanton-Salazar, R. D., Spina, S. U. (2005). Adolescent peer networks as a context for social and emotional support. Youth & Society, 36, 379-417. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Swim, J. K., Hyers, L. L., Cohen, L. L., Ferguson, M. J. (2001). Everyday sexism: Evidence for its incidence, nature, and psychological impact from three daily diary studies. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 31-53. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Swim, J. K., Hyers, L. L., Cohen, L. L., Fitzgerald, D. C., Bylsma, W. H. (2003). African American college students’ experiences with everyday racism: Characteristics of and responses to these incidents. Journal of Black Psychology, 29, 38-67. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Tajfel, H. (1982). Social psychology of intergroup relations. Annual Review of Psychology, 33, 1-39. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Taylor, S. E., Welch, W. T., Kim, H. S., Sherman, D. K. (2007). Cultural differences in the impact of social support on psychological and biological stress responses. Psychological Science, 18, 831-837. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Terrance, C., Logan, A., Peters, D. (2004). Perceptions of peer sexual harassment among high school students. Sex Roles, 51, 479-490. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Timmerman, G. (2003). Sexual harassment of adolescents perpetrated by teachers and by peers: An exploration of the dynamics of power, culture, and gender in secondary schools. Sex Roles, 48, 231-244. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Trommsdorff, G., Friedlmeier, W. (2010). Preschool girls’ distress and mothers’ sensitivity in Japan and Germany. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 7, 350-370. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Watts, R. J., Abdul-Adil, J. K., Pratt, T. (2002). Enhancing critical consciousness in young African American men: A psychoeducational approach. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 3, 41-50. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Way, N., Hughes, D., Rivas-Drake, D., Mukherjee, P. P. (2008, March). The intersection of experiences of discrimination and ethnic identity among ethnically diverse adolescents. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, Chicago, IL. Google Scholar | |
|
Way, N., Greene, M. L. (2006). Trajectories of perceived friendship quality during adolescence: The patterns and contextual predictors. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 16, 293-320. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Woodzicka, J. A., LaFrance, M. (2001). Real versus imagined gender harassment. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 15-30. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Yoder, J. D., Aniakudo, P. (1997). “Outsider within” the firehouse: Subordination and difference in the social interactions of African American women firefighters. Gender & Society, 11, 324-341. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Youniss, J., McLellan, J. A., Yates, M. (1997). What we know about engendering civic identity. American Behavioral Scientist, 40, 620-631. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI |
