Updated Findings on The Psychological Toll of Vicarious Exposure to Violent Racism

In an era dominated by social media and digital news, exposure to violent racism has become a pervasive part of daily life. Graphic content through videos, images, audio, and text regularly circulate, raising awareness but also potentially leading to psychological distress, particularly for individuals who share the same racial identity as the victims.

To better understand and address this issue, we developed the Vicarious Exposure to Violent Racism and Emotional Impact (VEVREI) measure. This tool evaluates vicarious exposure to violent racism, and associated emotional distress, across various modalities of communication, including images, videos, audio, text, and in-person discussions. Further, we examined this measure in relation to post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) using a sample of Black Americans and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). Vicarious exposure to violent racism significantly predicts post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Importantly, the type of media mattered: for Black Americans, distressing text and audio were the most important predictors of PTSS, while for AAPIs, images, videos, and audio had the most impact.

This research underscores the role of social media and news platforms in sharing violent racism content that can be uniquely distressing to individuals from the same communities as victims. While these platforms promote advocacy and awareness, they also expose users to content tied to symptoms of racial trauma. Clinicians are encouraged to recognize vicarious exposure to violent racism as a facet of racial trauma, incorporating it into treatment strategies.

Additionally, the study calls for media outlets to adopt sensitive reporting practices to minimize community harm while promoting awareness. Tailored interventions and mindful reporting can reduce the psychological burden on affected communities.

By highlighting the emotional impact of vicarious exposure to violent racism, this work underscores the importance of creating more sensitive content to raise awareness in ways that center community well-being.