An Examination of Color-Blind Racism and Race-Related Stress Among African American Undergraduate Students

Abstract

This study examined the role of color-blind racial ideology among a sample of 152 African American undergraduate students in relation to race-related stress. We hypothesized that those who endorsed relatively higher color-blind racial attitudes would experience greater race-related stress because experiences with racism would be interpreted as more taxing without an operating framework of extant racism in the United States. Contrary to our hypothesis, after controlling for overall well-being, trait-level positive and negative affect, and racial identity, we found color-blind racial attitudes to be a negative predictor of race-related stress. This finding indicates that moderate levels of color-blind attitudes may act as a buffer against race-related stress among undergraduate students who possess an overall sense of well-being. A detailed discussion of the findings and implications for future research is provided.