The Associations Between African American Emerging Adults' Racial Discrimination And Civic Engagement Via Emotion Regulation

Objective: The current study tested direct and indirect associations between racial discrimination and civic engagement via emotion regulation strategies. Differences between males and females were also explored. Method: African American college students (76% female; M-age = 18.42) participating in a university-wide research study provided self-reports of their racial discrimination experiences, use of emotion regulation strategies, and civic engagement attitudes and beliefs. Results: Greater racial discrimination was associated with less use of reappraisal (i.e., thinking about emotions in a different way) and, in turn, use of reappraisal was associated with greater civic engagement attitudes. The same association was found for civic engagement behaviors. However, reappraisal was associated with greater civic engagement behaviors for females and less civic engagement behaviors for males. Conclusion: The current study highlights the need to consider the role of cognitive emotion regulation strategies on college students' sociopolitical development and civic engagement.