Internalized Oppression
Having negative prejudices about your own identity
Framework for the study of internalized racism and health (James, 2023)
1.Exposure to racism
2. General stressors contribute
3. Stigma-induced identity stress response: internalized racism
4. Internalized racism leads to maladaptive coping behaviours
5. Negative health outcome
Clark & Clark (1947) Doll Experiment
Assessing the psychological effects of segregation on Black children in the US: first quantitative study on systemic racism
* Awareness of racial differences → children were able to differentiate
between “coloured” and white dolls
* Racial self-identification was not as accurate, but still evident: 1/3 of black children chose white doll as representing them
* Majority of kids assigned positive attributes to white doll and negative attributes to Black doll → stability differed based on age
Implications of Clark & Clark (1947) Doll Experiment
- Awareness of racial differences + ability to self-identify + internalized racism can be evident before age 7 (although stability varies)
- Findings were used in the Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education case to end segregation in schools
Results of recreation of doll experiment
- Children still attributing negative attributes to darker skin tone
- Preference for white doll and rejection of black doll was stronger when asked which one was the “nice” doll in mixed school
Campón & Carter (2015) Appropriated Racial Oppression Scale
Factor 1: Emotional responses
Factor 2: American standards of beauty
Factor 3: Devaluation of own group
Factor 4: Patterns of thinking
Huynh et al. (2022) meta-analysis (internalized heterosexism & substance use)
- Substance use moderated by type of substance: alcohol, tobacco, cocaine, heroin
- For women: less marijuana use
- IH had a significant relationship with substance use in gay men and lesbian women groups
- Race and ethnicity not found to be a significant moderator: possibly due to how construct was coded
Mereish & Miranda (2025): effects of vicarious exposure to heterosexism on internalized oppression-based processes
Within-subjects design with 3 conditions
* Heterosexism stress
* General stress
* Neutral
Heterosexism stress condition produced more:
* Internalized heterosexism
* Heterosexism-based rejection sensitivity
* Sexual orientation rumination
* Effects were small to medium → somewhat larger for people in states with high structural heterosexism during adolescence
* No statistically sig differences between general stress and neutral
conditions
Impacts of internalized heterosexism
Poor health outcomes and well-being even through internalization from vicarious experiences
Fuller-Rowell et al., 2021: racial discrimination and sleep
- On days participants experienced more racial discrimination than they normally do on average, they had more sleep problems that night
- Relation between daily racial discrimination and sleep problems moderated by internalized racism
High daily discrimination = more sleep problems for high internalized racism compared to low internalized racism
Internalized racism also increases harm of discrimination on…
- anxiety in Black college students (Sosoo et al., 2020)
- cardiovascular disease in Black men (Chae et al., 2010)
- psychological distress among AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) populations (Garcia et al., 2018)
Model Minority Myth
Asian Americans are seen as more industrious, intelligent and meek
Achievement orientation
Belief that AA are more successful than other racial minority groups due to their hard work and perseverance
Unrestricted mobility
Belief that AA are more successful than other racial minority groups due to their belief in fair treatment and a lack of perceived racism or
barriers at school/work
School composition impact internalization of the
MMM - Atkin et al., 2018
- Asian teens from predominately Asian school showed lower
endorsement of achievement orientation and unrestricted
mobility internalization than those from mostly White school - MMM achievement unrelated to all outcomes (depression, anxiety & stress) in both schools
- MMM mobility:
- In mostly Asian school, MMM mobility endorsement associated with more depression and anxiety
- In mostly White school, MMM mobility associated with less stress
Yi & Todd, 2021: Achievement orientation MMM
- Achievement orientation MMM related to anti-black attitudes
- Anti-black attitude from achievement orientation MMM linked to opposition to affirmative action for black Americans
- MMM achievement directly linked to belief in just world and colorblind racial ideology
MMM unrestricted mobility: Yi & Todd, 2021
- MMM unrestricted mobility directly linked to belief in just world and colorblind racial ideology
- Colorblind racial ideology from unrestricted mobility MMM leads to opposition to affirmative action for black Americans
