Breaking the Chains of White Supremacy: Examining the Psychological Effects of Skin-Tone Discrimination among African Americans in the United States

Abstract

Skin-tone discrimination, or the preferential and differential treatment of individuals based on their skin tone, may lead to experiences of skin-tone trauma among African American adults. Two types of skin-tone discrimination exist: interracial skin-tone discrimination and intraracial skin-tone discrimination. Interracial skin-tone discrimination, also known as colorism, is the preferential treatment of lighter-skinned African Americans as perpetrated by White individuals, while intraracial skin-tone discrimination is the preferential or differential treatment according to skin tone as perpetrated by members of their own racial group. Experiences of skin-tone discrimination may lead to skin-tone trauma, which are negative health (i.e., behavioral, mental, and physical) and interpersonal outcomes caused either directly by experiences of skin-tone discrimination or indirectly through traumatic stress. This dissertation will be presented in three chapters. Chapter 1 serves as the introduction to the dissertation. Chapter 2 is a conceptual manuscript that suggests expanding on Landor and McNeil Smith’s (2019) skin-tone trauma model to explore both the type of skin-tone discrimination experienced and protective factors when examining the psychological outcomes of skin-tone trauma. Chapter 3 is an empirical manuscript that explores the relationships between skin tone and both types of skin-tone discrimination, the effect of gender, and whether social belonging mediates the relationships between each type of skin-tone discrimination and self-esteem among African American adults in the U.S. The data for 273 African American adults were analyzed for this study. African American adults in this study reported significantly different experiences of interracial skin-tone discrimination based on their skin tone, with less self-reported experiences as skin tone lightens. Greater experiences of interracial skin-tone discrimination predicted lower self-esteem. Greater experiences of intraracial skin-tone discrimination predicted lower feelings of social belonging; social belonging in turn predicted greater self-esteem levels. Darker skin tone predicted both greater social belonging and greater self-esteem. The findings from both manuscripts have implications for providing culturally-informed clinical interventions to African American adults, such as exploring clients’ experiences of skin-tone trauma, assisting clients in labeling their specific experiences of skin-tone discrimination, providing psychoeducation on the historical and contemporary depictions of skin-tone discrimination in the U.S., and providing interventions to enhance protective factors.