Abstract
BackgroundRacial discrimination, including microaggressions, contributes to health inequities, yet research on discrimination and microaggressions has focused on single measures without adequate psychometric evaluation. To address this gap, we examined the psychometric performance of three discrimination/microaggression measures among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) college students in a large Southwestern city.MethodsStudents (N = 347; 65% female; ages 18–65) completed the revised-Everyday Discrimination Scale, Microaggressions Distress Scale, and Experiences of Discrimination measure. The psychometric performance of these measures was evaluated using item response theory and confirmatory factor analyses. Associations of these measures with age, gender, household income, substance use, and self-rated physical health were examined.ResultsDiscrimination and microaggression items varied from infrequently to almost universally endorsed and each measure was unidimensional and moderately correlated with the other two measures. Most items contributed information about the overall severity of discrimination and collectively provided information across a continuum from everyday microaggressions to physical assault. Greater exposure to discrimination on each measure had small but significant associations with more substance use, lower income, and poorer self-rated physical health. The Experiences of Discrimination measure included more severe forms of discrimination, while the revised-Everyday Discrimination Scale and the Microaggressions Distress Scale represented a wider range of severity.ConclusionsIn clinical practice, these measures can index varying levels of discrimination for AI/ANs, particularly for those in higher educational settings. This study also informs the measurement of racial discrimination and microaggressions more broadly.
Highlights
Racial discrimination, including microaggressions, contributes to health inequities, yet research on discrimination and microaggressions has focused on single measures without adequate psychometric evaluation
Today, interlocking systemic processes are necessary for ongoing domination of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC [20];) and BIPOCs experience a range of interpersonal and environmental expressions of racism from violent acts to unconscious bias and microaggressions
Some recent studies describe racial discrimination measures among American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) (e.g., [17, 49, 55]), there has been limited replication or psychometric evaluation. We address this critique by using psychometric analyses, including Item Response Theory (IRT) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), to evaluate the psychometric properties of three racial discrimination/microaggressions measures among AI/AN college students in a large Southwestern city
Summary
Racial discrimination, including microaggressions, contributes to health inequities, yet research on discrimination and microaggressions has focused on single measures without adequate psychometric evaluation To address this gap, we examined the psychometric performance of three discrimination/microaggression measures among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) college students in a large Southwestern city. Today, interlocking systemic processes are necessary for ongoing domination of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC [20];) and BIPOCs experience a range of interpersonal and environmental expressions of racism from violent acts to unconscious bias and microaggressions. Naming these experiences is one step towards addressing them, and towards healing
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