Racism and resilience in daily life: A psychosocial, cultural, and neurobiological model of daily resilience among ethnically and racially minoritized young people.

Abstract

Adolescents and emerging adults from ethnically and racially minoritized groups are at increased risk for racism and discrimination but also demonstrate remarkable strengths and resilience. Recent research has increasingly focused on understanding how resilience factors benefit these young people's well-being as they navigate daily exposure to racism, using intensive longitudinal methods like daily diaries and ecological momentary assessment methods. This article reviewed empirical evidence and proposed a theoretical model that specifies daily resilience factors across psychosocial (e.g., coping, social support), cultural (e.g., ethnic-racial identity, ethnic-racial socialization), and neurobiological (e.g., sleep) domains within the context of racism. The model delineates multiple mechanisms (direct, moderating, and mediating effects) through which daily resilience factors are associated with well-being in the context of racism. It simultaneously considers how these daily processes are situated within stable individual, developmental, contextual, and historical factors and associated with long-term developmental outcomes. Based on the empirical review, we made some conceptual and methodological recommendations to move this research forward. We also consider its unique implications for practices and programs aimed at improving resilience among ethnically and racially minoritized young people in daily life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).