Resilience to Perceived Prejudice

University Of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by candidate): The proposed research investigates the relationship between perceived prejudice and well being among members of stigmatized groups, and processes that mediate and moderate this relationship. The studies in this proposal test a model of adjustment to perceived prejudice that integrates theory on how people adjust to stress in general (Lazarus & Folkman, 1986; Major, Richards, Cooper, Cozzarelli, & Zubek, 1998). This model contends that the personal resources stigmatized people have to draw upon in the face of prejudice (i.e., optimistic beliefs) affect their appraisals of perceived prejudice (how harmful it is and their coping expectancies), which in turn affect the coping strategies that are utilized to deal with perceived prejudice. These strategies, in turn, ultimately affect how stigmatized people adjust when faced with prejudice. The first five studies examine the relationship between optimism and adjustment to prejudice and further address whether cognitive appraisals mediate that relationship. Two surveys test the entire model of adjustment to perceived prejudice using structural equation modeling. The final two experiments examine the effects of specific coping strategies on adjustment to perceived prejudice. This research is important because it will provide insight into how stigmatized people become resilient to the stresses posed by perceptions of prejudice.