A new study finds that Black young adults who experience high levels of online racism are also more likely to use digital mental health tools – regardless of whether they have clinically significant levels of anxiety or depression.

“This work sheds light on both how pervasive online racism is and the extent to which young adults are taking action to protect their mental health in light of that racism,” says Vanessa Volpe, co-author of a paper on the work and an associate professor of psychology at North Carolina State University. “This can be useful both for mental health practitioners who work with Black young adults, and for developers who design online tools designed to address mental health challenges.”

Digital mental health tools, in the context of this study, are online resources designed to address mental health challenges. These resources include online social support groups, telehealth therapy sessions and wellness apps.

“We know young adults spend a lot of time online, that online racism is a problem, and that digital mental health tools are available online,” says Melissa Holland, first author of the study and a Ph.D. student at NC State. “Our goal with this work was to gain a deeper understanding of just how common exposure to online racism is for Black young adults, and whether those young adults are likely to utilize online resources designed to support their mental health.”

“We also wanted to know if there were associations between experiences with online racism and the extent to which Black young adults used digital mental health tools,” says Volpe. “What’s more, we wanted to see if any such associations differed for young adults with anxiety or depression.”

For this study, the researchers analyzed data collected from 1,005 Black young adults, ages 18-29. Study participants completed a survey designed to capture their exposure to online racism, their use of digital mental health tools, how often they engaged in online mental health communication, and symptoms of anxiety or depression.

“The vast majority of Black young adults – 88% – reported experiencing online racism within the previous six months,” says Volpe. “And there was a link between how often people experienced online racism and how likely they were to seek out and use digital mental health tools.”

“We also found that experiencing online racism was associated with greater engagement in online mental health communication,” says Holland. “This means people were more likely to share information about their own mental health or to seek out online platforms or channels where other people share information about mental health.

“We did find that those exhibiting clinically significant symptoms of anxiety or depression used digital mental health tools and engaged in online mental health communication at higher rates compared to study participants who did not exhibit clinically significant symptoms,” says Holland. “However, it’s important to note that the associations between exposure to online racism and use of digital mental health tools and engagement in online mental health communication still held true, even for individuals who were not exhibiting clinically significant symptoms of anxiety or depression. So, many Black young adults appear to be seeking mental health support in the face of online racism whether or not they are experiencing anxiety or depression.”

“Online racism appears to be an unfortunate yet common aspect of Black young adults’ online experiences,” says Volpe. “Mental health practitioners may want to ask clients about their experiences online, the online tools and resources they are currently using, and explore the costs and benefits of online spaces for their health and well-being. There may also be value in designing digital mental health tools that incorporate strategies for coping with online racism or are otherwise tailored for the unique needs of Black young adults.”

The paper, “Online Racism, Digital Mental Health Tools, and Online Mental Health Communication Among Black Young Adults With and Without Depression or Anxiety: Cross-Sectional Quantitative Study,” is published in the journal JMIR Formative Research. Corresponding author of the paper is Hans Oh, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Southern California. The paper was co-authored by Kyle Walker and Oreoluwa Badejoh, Ph.D. students at NC State; and by Brian TaeHyuk Keum of the University of California, Berkeley; and Jimi Huh of USC.

This work was done with support from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences under grant UL1TR001855 and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention under grant ECR-0-113-23.