Identity As a Resource or a Demand

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Date 2025 Jan 28

PMID 39874367

Authors

Karishma K Singh

Andrew J Elliot

Elizabeth D Handley

Jeremy P Jamieson

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Individuals embody various social identities that can impact how they interface with the social environment. Stigma theories suggest that members of low-status or marginalized groups possess devalued social identities, and therefore, experience more stress. While social identities can lead to increased stress, individuals' appraisals of their identities are not necessarily perceived as harmful/demanding. Rather, social identities can also be appraised as resources or sources of strength bringing opportunities and facilitating goal attainment. Using the biopsychosocial (BPS) model of challenge and threat as a conceptual foundation, this research developed a novel measure to assess individuals' appraisals of their social identities. In Study 1 (N = 575), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) evaluated the theorized factor structure (i.e., resource and demand appraisals) and assessed the overall fit of the model. Structural equation modeling (SEM) tested for associations between the resource and demand latent factors. Individuals appraising their ethnic-racial identity as a resource exhibited improved self and intergroup outcomes, while those perceiving it as a demand reported worse self-based and intergroup outcomes, as well as more distress. Study 2 (N = 743 Black and White Americans), which was preregistered, examined group differences in appraisals of ethnic-racial identity. SEM revealed that Black participants were more likely than White participants to appraise their ethnic-racial identity as demanding, leading to worse social and intergroup outcomes. Even when Black participants perceived their ethnic-racial identity as a resource, they still reported higher levels of discrimination, intergroup anxiety, and behavioral avoidance compared to their White counterparts. Implications for theory development and application to the stress literature are discussed.

References

Kessler R, Mickelson K, Williams D . The prevalence, distribution, and mental health correlates of perceived discrimination in the United States. J Health Soc Behav. 1999; 40(3):208-30. View

Juster R, McEwen B, Lupien S . Allostatic load biomarkers of chronic stress and impact on health and cognition. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2009; 35(1):2-16. DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2009.10.002. View

Pascoe E, Richman L . Perceived discrimination and health: a meta-analytic review. Psychol Bull. 2009; 135(4):531-54. PMC: 2747726. DOI: 10.1037/a0016059. View

Rouquette A, Falissard B . Sample size requirements for the internal validation of psychiatric scales. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2011; 20(4):235-49. PMC: 7549437. DOI: 10.1002/mpr.352. View

Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R . A global measure of perceived stress. J Health Soc Behav. 1983; 24(4):385-96. View

Gibbons F, Gerrard M, Cleveland M, Wills T, Brody G . Perceived discrimination and substance use in African American parents and their children: a panel study. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2004; 86(4):517-29. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.86.4.517. View

Sellers R, Smith M, Shelton J, Rowley S, Chavous T . Multidimensional model of racial identity: a reconceptualization of African American racial identity. Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2005; 2(1):18-39. DOI: 10.1207/s15327957pspr0201_2. View

Jamieson J, Nock M, Mendes W . Mind over matter: reappraising arousal improves cardiovascular and cognitive responses to stress. J Exp Psychol Gen. 2011; 141(3):417-22. PMC: 3410434. DOI: 10.1037/a0025719. View

Kopp M, Skrabski A, Rethelyi J, Kawachi I, Adler N . Self-rated health, subjective social status, and middle-aged mortality in a changing society. Behav Med. 2005; 30(2):65-70. DOI: 10.3200/BMED.30.2.65-72. View

10.

Singh-Manoux A, Adler N, Marmot M . Subjective social status: its determinants and its association with measures of ill-health in the Whitehall II study. Soc Sci Med. 2003; 56(6):1321-33. DOI: 10.1016/s0277-9536(02)00131-4. View

11.

Haslam S, McMahon C, Cruwys T, Haslam C, Jetten J, Steffens N . Social cure, what social cure? The propensity to underestimate the importance of social factors for health. Soc Sci Med. 2017; 198:14-21. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.12.020. View

12.

Anwer S, Manzar M, Alghadir A, Salahuddin M, Hameed U . Psychometric Analysis of the Perceived Stress Scale Among Healthy University Students. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2020; 16:2389-2396. PMC: 7585521. DOI: 10.2147/NDT.S268582. View

13.

Jetten J, Branscombe N, Haslam S, Haslam C, Cruwys T, Jones J . Having a lot of a good thing: multiple important group memberships as a source of self-esteem. PLoS One. 2015; 10(5):e0124609. PMC: 4446320. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124609. View

14.

Jamieson J, Mendes W, Blackstock E, Schmader T . Turning the knots in your stomach into bows: Reappraising arousal improves performance on the GRE. J Exp Soc Psychol. 2010; 46(1):208-212. PMC: 2790291. DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2009.08.015. View

15.

Meyer I . Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychol Bull. 2003; 129(5):674-697. PMC: 2072932. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674. View

16.

Duckworth A, Peterson C, Matthews M, Kelly D . Grit: perseverance and passion for long-term goals. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2007; 92(6):1087-101. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1087. View

17.

Burgess D, Ding Y, Hargreaves M, Van Ryn M, Phelan S . The association between perceived discrimination and underutilization of needed medical and mental health care in a multi-ethnic community sample. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2008; 19(3):894-911. DOI: 10.1353/hpu.0.0063. View

18.

Cohen S, Janicki-Deverts D, Miller G . Psychological stress and disease. JAMA. 2007; 298(14):1685-7. DOI: 10.1001/jama.298.14.1685. View

19.

Jefferson A, Himali J, Beiser A, Au R, Massaro J, Seshadri S . Cardiac index is associated with brain aging: the Framingham Heart Study. Circulation. 2010; 122(7):690-7. PMC: 2929763. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.905091. View

20.

Oveis C, Gu Y, Ocampo J, Hangen E, Jamieson J . Emotion regulation contagion: Stress reappraisal promotes challenge responses in teammates. J Exp Psychol Gen. 2020; 149(11):2187-2205. DOI: 10.1037/xge0000757. View