Interpersonal Racism and Child Neglect: A Moderated Mediation Model of Psychological Distress and Social Support

The Palestinian minority in Israel has endured sociopolitical stressors (e.g., ethnonational racism, discrimination, oppression, and political violence) throughout the decades, which have adverse psychological and behavioral outcomes. In this study, we examine the association between interpersonal racism (IPR) among Palestinian parents in Israel and their child neglect, the mediating role of psychological distress on this relationship, and the moderating role of perceived social support (PSS) on the mediated effect of psychological distress on this relationship. A systematic sample of 770 parents (500 mothers and 270 fathers) aged 21–66 was recruited to fill out a self-administered questionnaire composed of several instruments. The results indicate that parents’ IPR experiences are associated with an increased risk of child neglect, and this relationship is mediated by psychological distress. Results also show that in low or medium levels of PSS, psychological distress reports in relation to racism exposure are the highest. Yet, surprisingly, this effect strengthens at high levels of PSS. In comparison, the positive effect of psychological distress on child neglect strengthens in lower levels of PSS, showing a protective role of PSS. Finally, PSS moderates the mediation model’s indirect effect; IPR is related to increased psychological distress, and in turn, to a greater risk of child neglect when perceiving low or medium levels of social support. The study underlines the negative consequences of IPR on child neglect and contributes new knowledge to the literature. Longitudinal research is needed to confirm and extend these findings, which could have important clinical implications for treating parents facing racism and potential child neglect. Highlights Racism is a sociopolitical problem for the Palestinian minority in Israel. The study emphasizes its adverse psychological and behavioral outcomes on parents and children. Parents who experienced ethnonational racism and perceived having lowered levels of social support were at high risk of psychological distress and child neglect. Practitioners should provide programs that contain different sources of social support (instrumental and psychosocial support) when dealing with people exposed to racism. It is essential that policymakers reconsider combating current policies and rules as well as social exclusions to reduce disparities and barriers to services among minorities.