The Effects of Discrimination on Blacks' and Latinos' Relationship Building

Publication Date

Spring 3-22-2026

Presentation Length

30 minutes

College

College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences

Department

Sociology, Department of

Student Level

Undergraduate

Faculty Mentor

Ken Spring

Presentation Type

Article

Summary

Research indicates that stronger emphasis on norm enforcement for Blacks and Latinos harms their general trust in relationships with people in law enforcement (Braga, Brunson, and Drakulich 2019; Mannumood 2024), the workplace (Settles, Buchanan, and Dotson 2019; Weaving and Gelfand 2024), and education (Alvaré 2018; Newton 2022; Okonofua and Eberhardt 2015). General trust is integral to relationship building as it determines one’s disposition to believe in the goodwill of others. Blacks’ and Latinos’ experiences of discrimination have shown to lower this form of trust (Stets and Fares 2019; Evangelist 2022) increasing their vigilance (Hicken, Lee, Ailshire, Burgard, and Williams 2013) and visibility (Newton 2022; Settles, Buchanan, Dotson 2019; Weaving and Gelfand). The goal of our research is to further explore the correlations between experiences of discrimination, trust, and relationship building. This research is especially important for work and education spaces as it may provide important insight on racial disparities in education attainment, workplace mobility, income, and overall mental health. Through Dr. Pryor’s Social Research Methods class, we examined these relationships by evaluating previous research and using four research methodologies: surveying Belmont students, analyzing secondary data, conducting a content analysis, and interviewing. Our presentation will discuss our process, including a synthesis of the literature, our experiences with each method, and possibilities for future research.

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