Online Oppression, Online Violence/Trauma Exposure, and Mental Health

• Short-term chronic exposure to online racism and its impact on risky behaviors (problematic substance use, suicide ideation)

• Anticipatory stress and social costs (vigilance, isolation, loneliness) of online racism

• Online racism, ethnic-racial socialization, online support seeking, and health outcomes

*denotes student co-authors

Keum, B.T., & Choi, A.Y. (2024). Critical Social Media Literacy Buffers the Impact of Online Racism on Internalized Racism among Racially Minoritized Emerging Adults. Journal of Counseling Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000758

Verdugo, J. L., Kong, Z., Liyanage, D. S. S., Keum, B. T., Moody, M. D., & Oh, H. Y. (2024). Associations between vicarious discrimination and mental health among young adult college students: Findings from the 2020–2021 Healthy Minds Study. Journal of affective disorders, 361, 760-767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.06.082

Salas-Wright, C. P., Schwartz, S. J., Maldonado-Molina, M. M., Keum, B. T., Mejía-Trujillo, J., García, M. F., Cano, M. Á., Bates, M. M., & Pérez-Gómez, A. (2024). Online xenophobia and mental health among Venezuelan migrant youth in Colombia: The interplay with “in-person” discrimination. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Advance online publication. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ort0000730

Keum, B. T. (2024). the importance of critical social media literacy in the digital era: Benefits for social support and flourishing. Emerging Adulthood, 21676968241226492. https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968241226492

Keum, B.T., *Wong, M.J., & $Sanders, I. (2023). Racial hate at the intersection of online and offline worlds: The Joint Impact of Online and Offline Racism on the Mental Health of Racially Minoritized Individuals. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605231220015

Keum, B.T., *Valdovinos, I.C. & *Wong, M.J. (2023) Problematic internet use, online racism, and mental health issues among racially minoritized emerging adults in the U.S. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-023-01093-z

Keum, B.T., Cano, M.A., & *Valdovinos, I.C., & *Boland, D. (2023). Impact of online and offline racism on tobacco use, marijuana use, and vaping through depressive and anxiety symptoms among racial minority emerging adults. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000691

*Abebe, I., Wang, Y.W., O’Connor, S., Cruz, T., Keum, B.T., & *Sifat, M. (2023). Satisfaction with Online/In-person Social Interactions and Psychological Well-being: The Mediating Role of Social Connectedness. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04870-0

Keum, B.T., & Volpe, V.V. (2023). Resisting and countering online racial hate: Anti-racism advocacy and coping online with racism as moderators of distress associated with online racism. Journal of Counseling Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000674

Volpe, V.V., *Benson, G. P., & Keum, B.T. (2023). Tweet Stimuli Set for Content about Black People (TSS-CBP): Development and Testing of Stimuli to Assess the Impacts of Online Race-Related Content. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04471-x

Keum, B.T., & Choi, A.Y. (2023). Profiles of online racism exposure and mental health among Black, Latinx, and Asian emerging adults. International Review of Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2023.2180346

Keum, B.T., & Li, X. (2022). Coping with online racism: Patterns of online social support seeking and anti-racism advocacy associated with online racism, and correlates of ethnic-racial socialization, perceived health, and alcohol use severity. PLoS ONE, 17(12), e0278763. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278763

Keum, B.T., *Waters, E., *Wong, M.J., *Salim-Eissa, R. (2022). Witnessing racism against racial minority individuals online and loneliness among White emerging adults: Anti-racism advocacy as a moderator. Journal of Community Psychology, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22944

Keum, B.T., Li, X., & *Wong, M.J. (2022). Hate as a System: Examining hate crimes and hate groups as state level moderators on the impact of online and offline racism on mental health. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 91, 44-55.      https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2022.09.002

Keum, B.T., & Cano, M.A. (2023). Online racism, depressive and anxiety symptoms, coping-related drinking motives, and alcohol use severity among Black, Latina/o/x, and Asian emerging adults. Addictive behaviors, 136, 107468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107468

Keum, B.T. (2022). Impact of online racism on suicide ideation through perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness among racial minority emerging adults. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605221117247

Keum, B.T., Wang, Y.W., Abebe, I., Callaway, J., Cruz, T., & O’Connor, S. (2022). Benefits and Harms of Social Media Use: A Latent Profile Analysis of Emerging Adults. Current Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03473-5

Keum, B.T., & Li, X. (2022). Online Racism, Rumination, and Vigilance: Impact on Distress, Loneliness, and Alcohol Use. The Counseling Psychologist. https://doi.org/10.1177/00110000221143521

Keum, B.T., & *Hearns, M. (2021). Online Gaming and Racism: Impact on Psychological Distress Across Black, Asian, and Latinx Emerging Adults. Games and Culture. https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120211039082

Keum, B.T., & Cano, M.A. (2021). Online Racism, Psychological Distress, and Alcohol Use among Racial Minority Women and Men: A Multi-group Mediation Analysis. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 91(4), 524–530. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000553

*Imperato, C., Keum, B.T., & Mancini, T. (2021). Does intercultural contact increase Anti-racist behavior on social network sites? Social Sciences, 10(6), 207. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10060207

Keum, B.T. (2021). Does Witnessing Racism Online Promote Individual and Institutional Anti-Racism Advocacy Among White Individuals? The Role of White Empathy, White Guilt, and White Fear of Other Races. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2020.0629

Keum, B.T. (2021). Development and Validation of the Perceived Online Racism Scale Short Form (15 Items) and Very Brief (Six Items). Computers in Human Behaviors Reports. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2021.100082

Keum, B.T. & *Ahn, L.H. (2021). Impact of Online Racism on Psychological Distress and Alcohol Use: Test of Ethnic-Racial Socialization and Silence about Race as Moderators. Computers in Human Behaviors. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106773

Cano, M. A., Schwartz, S. J., MacKinnon, D. P., Keum, B.T., Prado, G., Marsiglia, F. F., Salas-Wright, C. P., Cobb, C., Garcini, L. M., De La Rosa, M., Sánchez, M., Rahman, A., Acosta, L., Roncancio, A. M., & de Dios, M. A. (2021). Exposure to ethnic discrimination in social media and symptoms of anxiety and depression among Hispanic emerging adults: Examining the moderating role of gender. Journal of Clinical Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23050

Keum, B.T. & Miller, M.J. (2018). Measurement Invariance of the Perceived Online Racism Scale across Age and Gender. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 12(3), 3. https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2018-3-3

Keum, B.T. & Miller, M.J. (2018). Racism on the Internet: Conceptualization and Recommendations for Research. Psychology of Violence, 8(6), 782 – 791. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000201 *Special issue: Racism, Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Privilege, and Violence: Advancing Science to Inform Practice and Policy

Keum, B.T., & Miller, M.J. (2017). Racism in Digital Era: Development and Initial Validation of the Perceived Online Racism Scale (PORS v1.0). Journal of Counseling Psychology, 64(3), 310-324. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000205

Keum, B.T. (2017). Qualitative Examination on the Influences of the Internet on Racism and its Online Manifestation. International Journal of Cyber Behavior, Psychology and Learning, 7(3), 13-23. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCBPL.2017070102

2022-25      New Investigator Award (T32KT4680)

Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP)

State of California

$775,866

PI: Brian TaeHyuk Keum, Ph.D.

Project Title: Risk of tobacco product use associated with online racism among Black emerging adults

2017-19         Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral Fellowship

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

$40,000

PI: Brian TaeHyuk Keum, Ph.D.

Project Title: Racism in the Digital Era: Conceptualization and Operationalization of Online

Racism

Lab Director Brian Keum was a guest for a podcast episode on online racism for the People of Color in Psychology Podcast hosted by The Multicultural Counseling Institute. Click here to access the episode.

In a digital world where social media and online content is easily accessible, it is becoming ever more important to think about online racism and the impact it has on people of color. According to research, there is a unique difference between online racism versus traditional means of exposure. Once the exposure to online racism occurs, it is the hope that mental health professionals have the appropriate interventions to help their clients. For this episode, Dr. Keum shares his research and strategies that mental health professionals can adopt to support their clients exposed to online racism.

Development of the Perceived Online Heterosexism Scale to advance research on online heterosexism and anti-LGBTQ+ hate online

We developed a measure of perceived online heterosexism scale to study (1) LGBTQ+ individuals’ experiences with anti-LGBTQ+ hate and discrimination in online platforms, (2) examine the mental health costs of online heterosexism, and (3) identify protective factors for intervention development.

• Keum, B.T., & *Waters, E.M., & Chong, E.S.K. (2023). The mental health costs of online heterosexism among LGBTQ+ individuals: Development and initial validation of the Perceived Online Heterosexism Scale. Archives of Sexual Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02733-0

• Related publication: Keum, B.T., *Hong, C., *Beikzadeh, M., *Cascalheira, C.J., & Holloway, I.W. (2023). Mpox Stigma, Online Homophobia, and the Mental Health of Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men. LGBT Health. https://doi.org/10.1089/lgbt.2022.0281

Development of the Perceived Online Gendered Racism Scale

We are currently developing a measure of perceived online gendered racism scale to (1) assess racially/ethnically minoritized women’s experiences with gendered racism in online platforms, (2) examine the mental health costs of online gendered racism, and (3) identify protective factors for intervention development.