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Online Racism: Adjustment and Protective Factors Among Adolescents of Color

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Handbook of Children and Prejudice

Abstract

Recent research shows that the majority of adolescents of color perceive themselves to be the victims of racial-ethnic discrimination. A growing body of research also suggests the contexts in which discriminatory experiences occur matter and have differential impacts on child and adolescent adjustment outcomes. Given the fact that 95% of youth have access to the internet and adolescents of color spend 4.5 more hours per day than their White counterparts using various forms of media, including mobile devices (Rideout, Lauricella, & Wartella, 2011), it is important to understand discriminatory experiences in electronic formats, including widely used social network sites. This chapter will outline the research on online racial discrimination, which groups are most at risk for having these experiences as well as related mental health, behavioral, and academic outcomes. Cultural assets that may buffer youth against discrimination online will also be discussed.

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Stewart, A., Schuschke, J., Tynes, B. (2019). Online Racism: Adjustment and Protective Factors Among Adolescents of Color. In: Fitzgerald, H.E., Johnson, D.J., Qin, D.B., Villarruel, F.A., Norder, J. (eds) Handbook of Children and Prejudice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12228-7_28

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