UC Santa Barbara

Using an online questionnaire-based experimental design, self-identified U.S. Latino adults (N = 947) recalled and described one of three randomly assigned types of stress events: general stress (GS), discrimination-related stress (DRS), and rejection-related stress (RRS). Participants’ emotional reactions were expected to vary by condition. They then selected a video to watch from a media menu. It was expected that their selections would affect post-viewing emotional and quality of life outcomes. Results showed that there were differences among the emotional reactions and media-based coping selection depending on the type of event that participants described.Participants recalling a DRS event reported more anger compared to the GS and RRS groups. Those recalling an RRS event reported more shame than the GS group but not the DRS group. Participants who recalled a DRS event were more likely to select eudaimonic and ingroup media compared to all other groups. Those who recalled an RRS event were more likely than those in the GS group to select hedonic media, but not those in the DRS group. Those who recalled an RRS event were more likely to select outgroup media compared to those in the DRS group but not those in the GS group. Thus, the RRS condition acted as a middle step between recalling a DRS and a GS event. These results demonstrate that the different types of stressors that U.S. Latinos face elicit specific emotions and lead to specific media-based coping strategies. Moreover, participants’ media-based coping selection affected their subsequent emotion and quality of life outcomes like increasing pride and ethnic group commitment.