Derrick, Jaye L.2024-01-202024-01-20August 2022023-08https://hdl.handle.net/10657/15962Racial-ethnic discrimination contributes to adverse outcomes for people of color (POC), such as poor psychological well-being, illness, and risky behaviors (e.g., sexual risk-taking). However, it is still unclear if covert discrimination—subtle and often ambiguous acts of prejudice—is as harmful to POC as overt discrimination. Furthermore, the underlying mechanisms for the association between racial-ethnic discrimination and sexual risk-taking are still not well understood. In the present study, I examined the effects of covert and overt discrimination surrounding English language use on risky behavioral intentions and sexual risk-taking using an experimental analog. The final sample was composed of 133 UH students. Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental condition. All participants completed a challenging reading comprehension task adapted from a Graduate Records Examinations (GRE) General Test. After seven minutes, the experimenter interrupted them. In the neutral control condition, the experimenter made an innocuous comment. In the overt discrimination condition, the experimenter blamed participants’ English proficiency for them taking too long. In the covert discrimination condition, the experimenter “helpfully” asked if the participant struggled with reading English. Then, participants completed self-report outcome measures and two versions of a sexual delay discounting task. Overt discrimination had a stronger negative effect on perceived acceptance (basic psychological need satisfaction and interpersonal vulnerability) than covert discrimination. Only overt discrimination had an indirect effect through basic psychological need satisfaction to risky behavioral intentions. However, experiencing either covert or overt discrimination had indirect effects through basic psychological need satisfaction on ability to delay gratification while waiting for a condom. These results link racial-ethnic discrimination to yet another negative outcome, risky sexual behavior, and demonstrate the differential effects of both covert and overt discrimination on POC’s well-being. Addressing both covert and overt racial-ethnic discrimination is crucial in reducing social disconnection and health-risk behaviors among POC.application/pdfengThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).RacismDiscrimination2024-01-20Thesisborn digital