Racial discrimination, coping, life satisfaction, and self-esteem among African Americans

This article reports the results of a study that examined the coping strate gies used by African Americans in managing the stressful effects of racism. A total of 213 participants (women, n = 137; men, n = 76) completed the In dex of Race-Related Stress (S. O. Utsey & J.G. Ponterotto, 1996), the Copin g Strategy Indicator (J. H. Amirkhan, 1990), the Satisfaction With Life Sca le (E. Diener, R. A. Emmons, R. J. Larsen, & S. Griffin, 1985), and the Ros enberg Self-Esteem Scale (M. Rosenberg, 1965). Results indicated that women preferred avoidance coping for racism experienced on a personal level. For African Americans in general, seeking social support and racism condition were the best predictors of racism-related stress. Life satisfaction and se lf-esteem were best predicted by avoidance coping. Implications for the pro vision of counseling services to African Americans are discussed.