Recent research found that Black respondents’ sense of linked fate with other Black people (i.e., Black linked fate) is not influenced by their skin tone, but their sense of shared fate with others with the same skin tone (i.e., skin tone linked fate) does vary with how dark their skin is. Both forms of linked fate were linked to greater psychological distress, even after controlling for identity, discrimination, and ingroup attitudes. The paper was published in Social Psychology Quarterly.
Black linked fate and skin tone linked fate are concepts used in social science to understand how identity and shared experiences shape people’s perceptions and well-being. Black linked fate refers to the belief among individuals identifying as Black that their personal outcomes are tied to the collective fate of Black people as a group. This idea helps explain political solidarity, voting behavior, and shared responses to discrimination.
Skin tone linked fate, on the other hand, refers to the belief that one’s outcomes are connected to the outcomes of people who share a similar shade of skin, whether lighter or darker. This concept captures the reality that skin tone itself, beyond just being Black, can influence social treatment and opportunities.
Study authors Tamunosaki Bilaye-Benibo and Matthew A. Andersson wanted to explore whether skin tone linked fate is related to the mental health of Black individuals. They also wanted to know whether linked fate in terms of race is linked to mental health and to compare these associations with how other aspects of ethnoracial identity are linked to mental health.
They analyzed data from the 2020 Collaborative Multi-racial Post-Election Survey, focusing specifically on Black or African American respondents born in the United States. This survey was fielded between April and August 2021. The dataset contained data from a total of 3,046 Black respondents.
This survey assessed psychological distress by asking participants how often they were bothered by a list of experiences indicative of psychological distress. Skin tone linked fate was assessed by asking them, “If someone said something bad about [light/medium/dark] skinned people, how likely is it that you would feel almost as if they said something bad about you?” Black linked fate was assessed by asking participants to rate how much their lives are affected by what happens to Black people.
The survey also assessed negative ingroup attitudes (e.g., “If Black people carried themselves better, White people would treat them better”), racial closeness (“How close do you feel to other Black people?”), and skin tone, racial, and relative identity saliences (“How important is your skin tone/being Black/other identities to your identity?”). Participants also reported their own skin tone, perceived discrimination based on skin tone or race, and various demographic information.
Results showed that participants with different skin tones did not differ in their perceptions of Black linked fate (i.e., how much what happens to Black people affects their lives). However, skin tone linked fate level was associated with one’s skin tone—individuals with darker skin tones tended to have a stronger sense of skin tone linked fate.
Individuals with a stronger sense of linked fate of both types (Black linked fate and skin tone linked fate) tended to report greater psychological distress. These links remained even after adjusting for other ethnoracial identities. However, these associations were all weak.
“Both facets of linked fate associate with psychological distress. Meanwhile, our results show how a sense of racial closeness might offset any pernicious mental health consequences of linked fate. All told, we submit that skin color should be considered more closely in future studies of ethnoracial identity and mental health,” study authors concluded.
The study sheds light on the links between characteristics of racial identity and mental health. However, it should be noted that the data were collected at a time of nationwide protests (after the killing of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor) in the United States, which may have made participants more sensitive to Black linked fate than to skin tone linked fate.
The paper, “Skin Tone Linked Fate and Psychological Distress,” was authored by Tamunosaki Bilaye-Benibo and Matthew A. Andersson
