What is the Power of Identity? Examining the Moderating Role of Racial Identity Latent Profiles on the Relationship between Race-Related Stress and Trauma Symptomatology among African American Women

Abstract

The current study investigated the relationship between race-related stress and trauma symptomatology, and the potential for racial identity profiles to mitigate or exacerbate this relationship in a nontreatment-seeking sample of trauma-exposed African American women (N = 222). Bivariate correlation analyses revealed race-related stress was significantly and positively correlated with total PTSD symptoms, hyperarousal symptoms, avoidance symptoms, and reexperiencing symptoms. Racial identity profiles emerged from latent profile analyses and supported a 3-class solution: Undifferentiated, Detached, and Nationalist. The Nationalist profile group experienced significantly higher race-related stress compared to the Detached and Undifferentiated profiles. Moderation analyses revealed racial identity profile type significantly moderated the relationship between race-related stress and total PTSD symptoms and each symptom group, and that the Nationalist profile group buffered the effects of race-related stress on PTSD symptoms. This study illustrates the ways stress from racial discrimination influences PTSD symptomatology and how racial identity may mitigate this relationship