African American College Students’ Experience of Racial Discrimination and the Role of College Hassles

The current study examines the relationship between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms. In particular, it investigated whether college hassles moderated or mediated the relationship. Participants included 194 African American students from a large, Midwestern, state university. Participants provided self-report of their experience of daily hassles related to racial discrimination and college life in addition to depressive symptoms and demographic information. Results indicated that the relationship between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms was mediated by college hassles. The results suggest that by decreasing the experience of generic college hassles, the indirect relationship between discrimination and depressive symptoms might be minimized.