Emotion regulation and coping with racial stressors among African Americans across the lifespan

Abstract

This critical review is one of the first to take a lifespan approach to examine the emotion regulation (ER) and coping strategies used by African Americans in response to racial-related adversities (e.g., discrimination, racism, prejudice) and to discuss why African Americans may engage in these specific strategies. The current review found that African Americans continue to experience racial discrimination throughout the lifespan. The most prominent coping and ER strategies among African American in response to racial discrimination appear to be negative emotion expression suppression, avoidant coping, social support, and religion/spirituality. The review discusses various factors that may underlie these patterns (e.g., power differentials, African Americans’ history and African culture) and also limitations of current ER and coping research. By examining stability and changes across the lifespan, time, and varying situations, more inferences about patterns of coping and ER and contributing factors can be made to better determine ways to help decrease or mitigate the effects of racial stress on African Americans’ lives.