Current Directions in Psychological Science

A Post-Racial Society in Which Ethnic-Racial Discrimination Still Exists and Has Significant Consequences for Youths’ Adjustment

Abstract

Ethnic and racial minority youths in the United States are at risk for experiencing unfair treatment and other forms of marginalization based on their ethnic-racial background. The current article discusses the prevalence of perceived ethnic-racial discrimination among ethnic-racial minority children and adolescents in the United States, provides an overview of the potentially negative consequences of such experiences for youth, and explains how youths’ ethnic-racial identity may protect against the negative effects of ethnic-racial discrimination.