UC Berkeley

We examined associations between colorism and developmental outcomes among Latinx adolescents. Colorism was operationalized as adolescents’ experiences with discrimination based on skin color. Developmental outcomes included academic achievement, mental health, and substance use. Participants were Latinx adolescents (N = 703; Mage = 15.93, SDage = 1.21; 47.56% female). Anonymous cross-sectional survey data were analyzed. Results indicated that colorism was negatively associated with academic achievement and self-esteem, and positively associated with depressive symptoms and substance use. Results showed that colorism is an important correlate to academic achievement and several indicators of health and well-being for Latinx adolescents, who are a marginalized population