COPING WITH MULTIPLE STRESSORS: A CLOSER LOOK AT PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AMONG RACIAL MINORITIES

This study examined a comprehensive stress and coping model in a sample of 414 racial minority participants in the U.S. Specifically, this study looked at main effects: a) racism-related stress, b) financial stress, c) problem-solving coping, d) avoidance coping and interaction effects: e) racism-related stress and financial stress, f) racism-related stress and problem-solving, g) racism-related stress and avoidance coping, h) financial stress and problem-solving coping, and i) financial stress and avoidance coping in relation to psychological distress in a comprehensive model.

A latent variable path analysis of the comprehensive model and post-hoc latent variable path analyses were conducted after diving the larger model into three smaller models. The results showed that racism-related stress, financial stress, and avoidance coping were significant predictors of psychological distress. Moreover, problem-solving coping worked as a significant moderator and stress-buffer between racism-related stress and psychological distress.