Gender differences in perceived racism threat and activism during the Black Lives Matter social justice movement for Black young adults
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A longitudinal study involving 455 Black young adults living in Canada investigated whether gender and autonomous motivation influenced the relationship between perceived racism threat and Black Lives Matter (BLM) activism, and whether BLM activism influenced life satisfaction over time. A moderated mediation analysis using PROCESS Macro Model 58 tested the indirect effect of autonomous motivation on the relationship between perceived racism threat and BLM activism varying by gender. Multiple linear regression assessed how well BLM activism predicted life satisfaction. Black women perceived greater racism threat than Black men related to increases in BLM activism via the influence of autonomous motivation. BLM activism had a positive influence on life satisfaction over time, regardless of gender. This research suggests Black young women are playing pivotal roles in the BLM movement and helps us understand how motivation may be influencing involvement and well‐being in social justice issues.
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Some studies have shown that civic engagement, most notably protest action, can possibly attenuate the negative effect of discrimination on well-being.
“Some studies have shown that civic engagement, most notably protest action, can possibly attenuate the negative effect of discrimination on well-being (e.g., Lafreniere et al., 2023; Sohi & Singh, 2015 ).”
From The Effect of Civic Engagement on Different Dimensions of Well-Being in Youth: A Scoping Review (2025) · cites this paper as Lafreniere et al., 2023
The Results (§3.3; page unavailable) report that BLM activism positively predicted later life satisfaction, and the Discussion (§4; page unavailable) proposes that activism may buffer stress. The study does not show that activism attenuated the effect of discrimination on well-being, nor does it report a separate finding for protest action. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredBlack Lives Matter activism (mixed protesting and online participation) among Black young adults living in Canada had a positive cross-sectional association with life satisfaction.
“Also, Lafreniere et al. (2023 ) found that Black Lives Matter (BLM) activism (mixed pro -testing and online participation) among Black young adults living in Canada had a positive cross-sectional association with life satisfaction.”
From The Effect of Civic Engagement on Different Dimensions of Well-Being in Youth: A Scoping Review (2025) · cites this paper as Lafreniere et al., 2023
Protest action positively predicted life satisfaction.
“On the other hand, the longitudinal study of Lafreniere et al. ( 2023) supported the opposite direction, that protest action positively predicted life satisfaction.”
From The Effect of Civic Engagement on Different Dimensions of Well-Being in Youth: A Scoping Review (2025) · cites this paper as Lafreniere et al., 2023
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The Effect of Civic Engagement on Different Dimensions of Well-Being in Youth: A Scoping Review
Mužík, M., Šerek, J., & Juhová, D. S. (2025) · Adolescent Research Review · doi:10.1007/s40894-024-00239-x · Cited by 24 · see citing works
“On the other hand, the longitudinal study of Lafreniere et al. ( 2023) supported the opposite direction, that protest action positively predicted life satisfaction.”
- Authors
- Lafreniere, B., Audet, É. C., Kachanoff, F., Christophe, N. K., Holding, A. C., Janusauskas, L., & Koestner, R.
- Affiliations
- McGill University (CA)
- Wilfrid Laurier University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Lafreniere, Bianca
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Community Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2023-04-03
- Volume
- 51
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 2741-2757
- ISSN
- 0090-4392 (ISSN-L)
- 1520-6629
- OpenAlex
- W4362522052
- Cited by
- 4
- References
- 78
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1
- FWCI
- 1.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Community Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Movements and Cultural Identity
- Keywords
- Black Lives Matter, activism, gender differences, autonomous motivation, Black young adults, life satisfaction, Black women, well-being
- MeSH terms
- Black or African American, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Sex Factors, Social Justice, Young Adult, Racism
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