Research on body image and racism has largely focused on how individual experiences of racism are associated with detrimental body image outcomes. However, research has not yet examined how resistance and empowerment against racism (REAR) - a repertoire of proactive strategies aimed at preventing or challenging racism both at the individual and collective levels - shape positive body image outcomes. Here, 236 women and 233 men who identified as belonging to racialised minority groups in the United Kingdom completed the REAR Scale - which measures REAR along four dimensions - as well as measures of body appreciation and body acceptance by others. Correlational analyses indicated significant inter-correlations between nearly all REAR domains and body image-related variables in men, whereas relationships in women were largely non-significant. Linear model analyses indicated that greater leadership for resistance against racism was significantly associated with higher body appreciation in women and men. Greater interpersonal confrontation of racism was significantly associated with both body appreciation and body acceptance by others in men, but not in women. These results suggest that REAR may play a role in shaping body image-related outcomes in people of colour, but that these effects are also be shaped by the intersection of gender and race.
We used an identities approach to examine voting intentions in the June 2016 UK referendum on membership of the European Union (EU). In April 2016, 303 British adults (58.7% women, age M = 34.73) indicated their voting intentions for the referendum and completed measures of identification with the national in-group, perceived threat from Muslim immigrants, belief in Islamophobic conspiracy narratives, Islamophobia, general conspiracist beliefs, ambiguity tolerance, and belief in a clash of civilizations. Path and mediation analyses indicated that greater belief in Islamophobic conspiracy theories mediated the link between Islamophobia and intention to vote to leave. Islamophobia and Islamophobic conspiracist beliefs also mediated the effects of perceived threat from Muslims on voting intentions. Other variables acted as antecedents of perceived threat or Islamophobic conspiracy narratives. These findings highlight the role that identity-based cognitions may have played in shaping voting intentions for the UK EU referendum.
Matched MeSH terms: Racism/psychology*; Racism/statistics & numerical data
Two studies examined correlates of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory among Malays in Malaysia, a culture in which state-directed conspiracism as a means of dealing with perceived external and internal threats is widespread. In Study 1, 368 participants from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, completed a novel measure of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory, along with measures of general conspiracist ideation, and anomie. Initial analysis showed that the novel scale factorially reduced to a single dimension. Further analysis showed that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was only significantly associated with general conspiracist ideation, but the strength of the association was weak. In Study 2, 314 participants completed the measure of belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory, along with measures of general conspiracist ideation, and ideological attitudes. Results showed that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was associated with anti-Israeli attitudes, modern racism directed at the Chinese, right-wing authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation. General conspiracist ideation did not emerge as a significant predictor once other variables had been accounted for. These results suggest that there may be specific cultural and social psychological forces that drive belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory within the Malaysian context. Specifically, belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory among Malaysian Malays appears to serve ideological needs and as a mask for anti-Chinese sentiment, which may in turn reaffirm their perceived ability to shape socio-political processes.