Racial Discrimination, Personal Growth Initiative, and African American Men’s Depressive Symptomatology: A Moderated Mediation Model

Objectives: Mounting evidence indicates that racial discrimination is a risk factor for depression among African American men. However, the mechanisms underlying the association between racial discrimination and depressive symptomatology remain unclear. The present study investigated the mediating capacity of personal growth initiative (PGI) in the relation between racial discrimination experiences and depressive symptomatology, as well as whether the proposed mediating relation was moderated by age, education, and income. Method: Participants included 649 African American men recruited from barbershops in the North, South, West, and Midwest regions of the United States and from academic institutions– events. Results: Results revealed significant associations between racial discrimination and a combined latent factor representing depressed affect, interpersonal problems, and somatic complaints but not the latent factor representing positive affect. PGI mediated the association between racial discrimination and depressive symptomatology; however, the mediational pathway was not moderated by age, education, and income. Conclusions: Interventions designed to mitigate the mental health consequences of racial discrimination among African American men might focus on enhancing PGI.