Advisor(s)
Olivio Clay
Committee Member(s)
Bridge Kennedy
Myles Moody
School
College of Arts and Sciences
Document Type
Thesis
Department (new version)
Psychology
Date of Award
9-26-2025
Abstract
Mental health disparities among people of African descent are an important public health issue within the US. During COVID, between 2020 and 2021, anxiety symptoms among African American adults increased, which led to an overall increase in anxiety and depression rates (Vahratian et al., 2021; CDC, 2023). Despite this increase, only 39% of African Americans who experience mental health difficulties, receive treatment. The pandemic made it difficult for people to come together and there were heightened experiences of racial distress due to the events surrounding George Floyd. Prior research has shown that experiences of racism, isolation, and cultural disconnection have been shown to increase anxiety symptoms (Carter et al., 2020). Understanding social distancing among people of African descent could be a potential solution to addressing the increase in anxiety symptoms. Previous research has revealed connections between racial identity and community interactions. Racial group affinity could be a resource to help lower anxiety symptoms. However, there are gaps in the literature regarding how racial identity impact social distance and anxiety symptoms among younger people of African descent. The present study recruited up to among 174 young adults of African descent at Florida A&M University and Florida State University. The participants completed an online survey that incorporated demographics questions, the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI), the Cultural Misorientation Scale (CMS), the State Trait Y-1 and Y-2 Questionnaires, and the Revised Bogardus Social Distance Scale. Pearson correlations and multiple regression analyses with anxiety as the dependent variables were conducted to assess these relationships. The results indicated that cultural misorientation was not significantly associated with state or trait anxiety. However, social distance from white individuals was significantly associated with higher state anxiety while positive regard towards Black individuals (private regard) showed a slight trend toward lower anxiety symptoms. African and Biracial participants showed lower anxiety and cultural misorientation scores in comparison to Black Americans. These findings highlight that anxiety may not be directly associated with cultural misorientation but social proximity and other aspects of racial identity. Future research should investigate how cultural values, perceived discrimination, and group belonging may influence the expression and perception of anxiety symptoms among students of African descent.
ProQuest ID
Recommended Citation
Mixon, Veronica R., "“Who All Gon Be There”: The Relationship Between Racial Identity, Perceived Social Distance, And Anxiety Among People Of African Descent" (2025). All ETDs from UAB. 7426.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/7426
