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Marginalized Identities, Trump‐Related Distress, and the Mental Health of Underrepresented College Students
Author(s) -
Albright Jamie Nicole,
Hurd Noelle M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
american journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.113
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1573-2770
pISSN - 0091-0562
DOI - 10.1002/ajcp.12407
Subject(s) - distress , presidency , mental health , health psychology , psychology , clinical psychology , public health , psychological distress , social psychology , psychiatry , medicine , political science , nursing , politics , law
The current study sought to determine whether holding targeted marginalized identities was associated with greater experiences of distress related to Trump's presidency and whether participants’ level of Trump‐related distress predicted decrements in mental health. Participants in the current longitudinal study included 338 underrepresented college students attending a predominantly White institution. Results indicated that individuals who held targeted marginalized identities reported greater Trump‐related distress compared to their non‐targeted counterparts, and that holding multiple targeted marginalized identities was associated with greater levels of Trump‐related distress. Findings also indicated that Trump‐related distress was associated with increases (relative to previous trajectories) in anxious but not depressive symptoms. Overall, our results suggest that a shift in sociopolitical circumstances that promulgates bigotry may be harmful to those who possess targeted marginalized identities.