The Impact of Racial Microaggressions Across Educational Attainment for African Americans

Abstract

ABSTRACT While separate bodies of research have emerged regarding racial microaggressions in postsecondary settings and the relationship between race-related stressors and health outcomes for African Americans, there is a dearth of empirical investigations that test the effects of “general happiness,” “job satisfaction,” and race-related stress based on the educational attainment of African Americans. This study examines the experiences of 3,320 African Americans who participated in the National Survey of American Life (NSAL) conducted by the Program for Research on Black Americans at the University of Michigan. Using a multigroup structural equation modeling approach, findings suggest that experience with more racial microaggressions tends to lead to less general happiness. Furthermore, greater racial microaggressions lead to less job satisfaction regardless of educational attainment. Findings demonstrate that racial microaggressions are entrenched in many parts of society that impact the health and education of African Americans. Authors provide suggestions for addressing racial microaggressions and disrupting whiteness.