An extensive body of literature suggests that perceived racial discrimination is related to negative well-being outcomes. However, the role that racial identity plays in this relationship is unclear. Past research has suggested three roles for racial identity in the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and well-being: racial identification mediates the relationship between perceived discrimination and well-being (Rejection Identification Model), racial identification moderates the relationship between perceived discrimination and well-being (Buffering Hypothesis), and racial identification leads to perceptions of racial discrimination, which in turn relate to higher well-being (Discounting Hypothesis). Given the mixed evidence for these theorized relationships, the aim of this study was to test and compare these three theoretical models using a sample of 3,613 children of immigrants in the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (Portes & Rumbaut, 2006). Overall, the results of this study lent the greatest support for the Rejection Identification Model and some support for the Discounting Hypothesis, but these results must be interpreted with caution given the relatively small effect sizes garnered across these analyses.
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