The Enduring Effects of Discrimination: Testing the Theory of African American Offending for Intimate Partner Violence among Black and Latino/a Adults

Racial-ethnic discrimination is a type of injustice that influences the lives of Black and Latinx individuals. It can lead to a variety of negative outcomes, such as intimate partner violence (IPV). To develop a greater theoretical understanding of how discrimination may lead to IPV perpetration, we drew on the Theory of African American Offending (TAAO). This theory is useful because of the focus on racial-ethnic injustices, mediating processes, and possible buffers to negative outcomes from racial-ethnic socialization and racial-ethnic identity. To test the theory, we drew on a sample of Black and Latino/a adults across the United States collected from an opt-in research platform. We found evidence for the core pathways in the theory such that discrimination increased anger, depression, and IPV perpetration, and reduced self-control. There was some evidence of emotions and self-control acting as partial mediators. Anger was especially important. The results for racial-ethnic socialization and racial-ethnic identity were more mixed, but both of those areas suggested possible avenues of intervention. Overall, these results provided evidence of the enduring impact of discrimination, expanded the testing of TAAO, and suggested ways to ameliorate those negative impacts.