Date of Award

8-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Psychological Science

Department

Psychology

First Reader/Committee Chair

Michael Lewin

Abstract

Research has shown that marginalized groups experience perceived racial discrimination as traumatic, humiliating, and hurtful (Brown-Iannuzzi et al., 2014). Multiple studies have associated perceived racial discrimination with physical and mental health outcomes such as depression (Brown-Iannuzzi et al., 2014.; Shallcross & Spruill, 2017; Zapolski et al., 2018), cardiovascular problems (Watson-Singleton et al., 2019; Zapolski et al., 2018), anxiety (Zapolski et al., 2018), and stress (Graham et al., 2013; Watson-Singleton et al., 2019). Studies have also shown that mindfulness buffered/moderated the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and health outcomes (Brown-Iannuzzi et al., 2014; Graham et al., 2013; Shallcross & Spruill, 2017; Watson-Singleton et al., 2019; Zapolski et al., 2018). Given the promise of mindfulness as an intervention to help marginalized groups mitigate the deleterious health outcomes of perceived racial discrimination, there is a need for additional research on other possible psychological buffers (e.g., social support, racial/ethnic identity, and psychological flexibility). One promising potential moderator is psychological inflexibility/flexibility. Psychological inflexibility is defined as a tendency to excessively control internal experiences (e.g. thoughts, emotions, and behaviors) or avoid them altogether, impairing meaningful action toward personal values (Levin et al., 2014). For example, a person who values friendships and social relationships avoids attending or participating in social events to mitigate their social anxiety, anxious thoughts and emotions. Psychological inflexibility has been shown to be predictive of several psychological outcomes, e.g., depression, anxiety, and psychological distress and although includes mindfulness, is defined as a broader but related concept to mindfulness. The current study expanded on mindfulness as a buffer by examining the moderating influence of psychological inflexibility on the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and psychological distress. Results indicated that as hypothesized, psychological inflexibility was an exacerbating moderator of the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and psychological distress where the perceived racial discrimination and psychological distress relationship was strongest under conditions of high psychological inflexibility and weakest under conditions of low psychological inflexibility. Results are discussed within the context of the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (TMSC; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) and suggest that the avoidant coping orientation of psychological inflexibility exacerbates the psychological impact of perceived racial discrimination. Results are also discussed in terms of the potential for psychological interventions that decrease psychological inflexibility and enhance psychological flexibility, such as those in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999), to assist Black persons mitigate the deleterious effects of perceived racial discrimination upon their mental health.

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