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Objectives: Despite the abundance of research aimed at quantifying the impact of racism on the mental and physical health of African Americans, results remain inconclusive largely because of challenges with operationalization, as well as conflation with the concept of racial discrimination, which may be more readily assessed. The purpose of the current study was to: (a) determine whether racial discrimination had an impact on the degree of alcohol use and binge drinking among African American emerging adults, and if so, (b) determine whether perceived stress linked to racially discriminatory experiences moderated these associations. Method: We used a series of hierarchical regressions to examine associations among racial discrimination, perceived stress, and degree of alcohol consumption in a sample of African American emerging adults in the southeast (n = 235). Results: We found that the association between racial discrimination and degree of alcohol consumption (alcohol use and binge drinking) was strongest among individuals who reported greater levels of perceived stress linked to racial discrimination experiences. This association, however, was not significant for individuals who reported lower levels of perceived stress in response to racial discrimination. Conclusions: African Americans who experience a high degree of perceived stress in response to experiences with racial discrimination may be at greater risk for problem drinking than their peers with less perceived stress. These findings highlight the need for novel intervention efforts aimed at mitigating the effects of stress and racial discrimination on health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Several studies have documented the negative impact of microaggressions on anxiety among Black individuals. However, few investigations have examined the impact of microaggressions on Black college students' worries about their future employment and potential moderating factors. We examined whether there would be an association between microaggressions and worries about future employment. Furthermore, both social support and academic achievement (measured by grade point average) were purported to moderate this association. Method: Secondary data analysis was used, with the study sample consisting of Black college students (n = 225) from a predominately White institution. Participants had a mean age of 20.43 years (SD = 1.79), with females comprising 74.80% of the sample. Results: Results revealed that social support buffered the effect of microaggressions for low-achieving students, while a buffering effect of social support was not found for high-achieving students. Conclusions: Perceived social support offers some protection against the exposure of racial microaggressions, although high-achieving Black college students (the most vulnerable to potential isolation and academic pressure) may not benefit from overall social support. Public Significance Statement: This study adds to the growing body of literature documenting the negative effects of exposure to racial microaggression on academic outcomes among Black college students. Based on our findings, exposure to racial microaggressions negatively impacted students' worry about their future employment, with social support buffering the effect of racial microaggressions for low-achieving students but not high-achieving students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]