Zooming in on everyday ethnic-racial discrimination: A review of experiencing sampling methodology studies in adolescence

Abstract

This is the first review that takes stock of studies that have applied an experience sampling methodology (ESM) to examine the consequences of daily ethnic-racial discrimination (ERD) on youth’ psychological adjustment and academic outcomes. We summarize moderators and mediators of these associations and highlight the benefits and limitations of employing ESM to examine ERD in comparison to traditional between-person methodologies. A total of 18 studies published between 2010 and September 2022 were identified and reviewed. These studies document the negative effects of experiencing ERD on a daily basis, but also that variations exist depending on the moderators accounted for in the analyses. Although the use of ESM has great potential for the understanding of everyday ERD among adolescents, this line of research requires more evidence on contextual characteristics, mediating mechanisms, and with a wider variety of ethnic-racial groups.