In three studies conducted among the gay community and one study conducted among Black Americans, in-group identification appeared to offer a protective role against the harmful effects of discrimination. The research, published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, further explored the mechanism behind this protective function.
The mental health consequences of discrimination have been well-documented in the literature. Evidence has also emerged suggesting that reinforcing one’s group membership may offer a protective role against these harmful psychological effects.
A series of studies led by researcher David Bourguignon aimed to uncover the coping mechanisms that might help explain why group identification is linked to greater psychological well-being among members of stigmatized groups. The authors propose that while engagement strategies that involve leaning into the in-group for support should be beneficial against discrimination, disengagement strategies that involve distancing oneself from the stigmatized group should be unhelpful.
An initial three studies were conducted among three separate samples of gay men and women in Europe and North America. In all three studies, the participants completed questionnaires that assessed their perceptions of discrimination, their group identification, their use of various coping strategies, and their psychological well-being.
For Study 1, a coping strategy emerged that significantly predicted well-being — self-group distancing. Gay individuals who perceived greater personal discrimination engaged in greater self-group distancing (i.e., trying to distance themselves from the gay community) and, in turn, had lower self-esteem.
However, those who perceived more discrimination also identified more strongly with their stigmatized group, which was then associated with a reduced likelihood of engaging in self-group distancing. “Given the negative effect of self-group distancing on self-esteem,” Bourguignon and colleagues say, “these results suggest that identification as a gay person can protect personal self-esteem by preventing individuals from engaging in a dysfunctional coping strategy.”
A second study among gay men and women replicated these effects and further found that discrimination was tied to reduced life satisfaction through increased self-group distancing. Identifying with one’s group was again linked to lower self-group distancing and was additionally linked to a new coping strategy — collective action. However, self-group distancing was the only strategy that was found to predict well-being measures (life satisfaction and self-esteem).
Finally, the third and fourth studies were conducted among two different groups — a sample of gay men and women and a sample of Black Americans. Among both groups, researchers again replicated the finding that greater group identification was positively linked to the use of engagement strategies but negatively linked to disengagement strategies. However, they found that the link between coping mechanisms and well-being was different among the two groups.
Again, among the sample of gay men and women, self-group distancing was the only coping strategy that indirectly affected the beneficial link between identification and well-being. However, among Black men and women, collective action was the only strategy that appeared to boost well-being and that could explain the positive link between identification and self-esteem.
Moreover, when the researchers looked at the average preference levels for either strategy, Black participants preferred collective action while gay people were more likely to engage in self-group distancing. As the researchers say, this difference might be explained by the fact that it is easier for gay people to conceal their association with the stigmatized group to avoid discrimination. Given that race is a visible trait, it is less feasible for Black individuals to distance themselves from their group and they may turn instead to collective action to raise their low status.
The study, “On the Protective Role of Identification with a Stigmatized Identity: Promoting Engagement and Discouraging Disengagement Coping Strategies”, was authored by David Bourguignon, Catia P. Teixeira, Yasin Koc, H. Robert Outten, Klea Faniko, and Michael T. Schmitt.