ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Human Developmental Psychology
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Power of Relationships in Human Development: From Prenatal Bonding to Attachment Across the LifespanView all 17 articles
Weathering the Storm: How Attachment and Gender Influence Coping with Racial Discrimination
Provisionally accepted
- University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, United States
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Abstract Racial Ethnic Microaggressions (REMS) are subtle forms of racial discrimination that negatively affect an individual's mental health. Black individuals often employ diverse coping strategies to navigate these experiences to mitigate the effects of sociocultural stress. However, less research has explored the role of parental influence on the link between REMS and coping strategies. Therefore, the current study examines the association between REMS and collective coping or expressive suppression using parental attachment security as a moderator. Data for this study was drawn from a cross-sectional sample of Black emerging adults (N = 230; 𝑀!"#= 19.99, 69.1% female, 73.9% immigrant-origin background) who attended universities in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Findings revealed that emerging adults with strong maternal bonds were more likely to use adaptive coping responses (i.e., collective coping), suggesting that secure mother–youth attachment can help protect against the negative effects of racial stress. However, low father–youth attachment and low mother–youth attachment strengthened the link between racial ethnic microaggressions and expressive suppression, suggesting that weak attachment bonds with both fathers and mothers may increase an individual's propensity to suppress their emotions in response to racial discrimination. Cumulatively, these findings suggest that fostering positive parent-youth attachments may be instrumental in helping youth cope effectively with race-based stress. Keywords: Black youth, attachment, discrimination, coping, parent-child relationships
Keywords: Attachment, Black youth, coping, Discrimination, parent-child relationships
Received: 20 Sep 2025; Accepted: 05 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Talton, Dunbar and Tyrell. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Reante Talton
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