Effects Of Microaggressions Research Articles

"Arab, brown, and other": Voices of Muslim Arab American women on identity, discrimination, and well-being.

The purpose of the present study was to explore Muslim Arab American women's intersecting identities, the types of discrimination they experience, and the psychosocial effects of those experiences on identity and well-being. Thirteen Muslim Arab American women were interviewed utilizing the consensual qualitative research (CQR) approach. Final domains that emerged from the data included conceptualization of racial, ethnic, and religious identity; experiences and effect of microaggressions; and coping strategies. The results document discrimination at the intersection of their multiple identities, a perceived shift in stereotypes from weak and oppressed to anti-American and violent, and within-group discrimination in the form of colorism and judgment. Reported psychological effects of discrimination include internalization of stereotypes, burden to represent all Muslims, rejection of the White racial label, and increased activism. The findings highlight resilience and coping through active self-acceptance and advocacy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Microaggressions and Mental Health at the Intersections of Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation in Graduate and Law School

There is a proliferation of research on the effects of microaggressions among undergraduate students and in the workplace. However, scholars have not focused on biased interactions among graduate and law students, their capacity to create or exacerbate health inequities, and the types of support that might mitigate these effects. In two studies, we center minoritized graduate and law students—those who identify as women, LGBQ+, and/or people of color. We explore how marginalization produced by sexism, homonegativity, and racism increase the risk of microaggressions and mental health symptoms in a non-representative sample of 2,051 cisgender graduate and law students enrolled in a predominantly white research university in the southeastern United States. We find that white heterosexual men report significantly fewer types of microaggressions during graduate and law school, especially as compared to women and LGBQ+ people of color. In turn, experiencing more microaggressions produces greater depression and anxiety among members of these groups. However, we also find that adequate support and encouragement from an academic advisor and from one’s academic department are associated with decreases in some mental health symptoms, even at follow-up nine months later. We add to a small but growing literature that focuses on stressors and mental health symptoms experienced by graduate and law students while demonstrating the need for understanding their unique effects on LGBQ+ students, men and women of color, and those who are multiply minoritized in academia.

‘In it together’: activist teachers of color networks combating isolation

ABSTRACT Teachers of Color experience isolation due to racial microaggressions and institutional racism throughout their careers, leading to trauma and higher levels of teacher turnover in the profession. In this study, we use the ‘pedagogy of activism’and scholarship on microaggressionsto explore how activist teachers of Color seek support to combat isolation and harm through participation in teacher activist networks. Using qualitative methods, we investigated the experiences of 26 activist teachers of Color from across the United States. We found that teacher activist networks were key to creating healing spaces for coping with the effects of microaggressions, and that the pedagogy of activism fostered agency to push back against racist policies and institutions. These findings have implications for sustaining diversity in the teacher workforce.

The Effects of Microaggressions on Depression in Young Adults of Color: Investigating the Impact of Traumatic Event Exposures and Trauma Reactions.

Microaggressions are a common way that individuals experience racism in the United States.The current study examined the extent to which microaggressions contribute to mental health difficulties, namely traumareactionsand depression, after controlling for other traumatic event exposures. We sought to address gaps in the literature by quantitatively assessing the associations among microaggressions, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and depression symptoms. Participants were 140 young adults of color (68.8% female) who were recruited online.Linear regression analyses evidenced that microaggressions were uniquely associated with depression symptoms, B = 0.27, aftercontrolling for lifetime traumatic event exposures, with this association partially mediated by trauma reactions, B = 0.49. These results suggest that microaggressions are a clinically relevant factor in understanding mental health problems reported by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in the United States and warrant analysis, assessment, and intervention through a trauma lens.

Context Matters: Differential Effects of Discrimination by Environmental Context on Depressive Symptoms Among College Students of Color

Experiences with more subtle racism – which have been called microaggressions – have a host of negative effects on health, mental health, educational performance, and general well-being on people of color. In this study we draw on a longitudinal dataset of Black, Latinx, and Asian students in higher education and use the microaggression framework to distinguish between the types of reported subtle experiences with discrimination, including (1) classroom-based, or perceived discrimination or discomfort in the classroom; (2) microassaults, or verbal assaults; (3) discomfort, or perceived discomfort on campus because of race, (4) criminality, which refers to both being stopped by University police and (5) refusal to acknowledge intra-racial differences, which here describes experiences with intraracial microaggressions. Our findings explore (1) the differential effects of different types of microaggressions on symptoms of depression (2) intergroup differences in effects of microaggressions on depression and (3) the differential effects of different types of microaggressions over time.

Être lesbienne, gay ou bisexuel·le dans une organisation française : le rôle des micro-agressions homonégatives et l’effet médiateur du climat de diversité sexuelle dans le choix de dévoiler ou dissimuler son orientation sexuelle

Lesbians, gays and bisexuals (LGB) can use an array of strategies to reveal or conceal their sexual orientation in the workplace. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationships between perceived homonegative microaggressions in the workplace and those strategies, as well as the mediating effect of LGB-supportive climate in those relationships. A sample of 135 LGB employees has replied to an online questionnaire dealing with these variables. The data were treated through simple linear regressions and the structural equation modelling method. Results highlighted that the effect of microaggressions on sexual identity management in the workplace was mediated by the LGB-supportive climate. There was also a direct and positive relationship between microaggressions and the revealing strategy. Results are discussed in light of the existing literature on the topic. Perspectives at systemic and individual levels to support an LGB-supportive climate and to reduce discrimination experienced by LGB employees are suggested.

Heterosexist microaggressions, student academic experience and perception of campus climate: Findings from an Italian higher education context.

While overt instances of harassment and violence towards LGBQ+ individuals have decreased in recent years, subtler forms of heterosexism still shape the social and academic experience of students in higher education contexts. Such forms, defined as microaggressions, frequently include environmental slights that communicate hostile and derogatory messages about one’s sexual-minority status. However, there is some evidence suggesting that environmental microaggressions have deleterious effects on all students, regardless of their sexual orientation. The aim of the current study was to examine how heterosexist environmental microaggressions on campus contributed to heterosexual and non-heterosexual students’ negative perceptions of campus climate. We also analyzed whether the effect of microaggressions on campus climate was mediated by student social integration on campus. Data were collected in 2018 through an anonymous web-based survey that involved students from a large university of Southern Italy. The sample consisted of 471 students from 18 to 33 years old. Thirty-eight (8.1%) students self-identified as non-heterosexual. Measures included self-reported experiences of environmental microaggressions on campus, student degree of satisfaction with peer-group and student-faculty interactions, perceptions of faculty concern for student development, and of the overall campus climate. The structural equation model showed that heterosexist environmental microaggressions on campus were associated with negative perceptions of campus climate through lowered satisfaction with peer-group interactions and perceptions of faculty concern for student development, for both heterosexual and non-heterosexual students. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that heterosexist microaggressions within campus environments are negatively associated with students’ perceptions of campus climate, regardless of their sexual orientation. Both faculty and peers play an important role in creating an environment that supports the inclusivity of diversity and fosters a greater sense of belonging to the campus community.

“Why you Throwing Subs?”: An Exploration of Community College Students’ Immediate Responses to Microaggressions

Background/ContextCurrent research within four-year university settings reveals the daily encounters students of color and faculty have with microaggressions—brief, intentional or unintentional comments and behaviors communicating covert biases toward individuals based on their social group membership. The majority of all undergraduate students of color currently attend community colleges, but the occurrence of microaggressions in the community college classroom has been overlooked. We situate our study of microaggressions within the racial microaggressions model framework, which addresses how microaggressive events are mediated by institutional racism through systematic policies, practices, and processes that (re)produce inequitable stratification in higher education. Further, we analyze the immediate effects of and students’ responses to classroom microaggressions.Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of the studyThe present study explores students’ immediate responses to 51 microaggressions observed in three community colleges. We examine microaggressions in community colleges with the objective to provide a lens into the immediate effects and responses students display to observed classroom microaggressions. In exploring both the effects on students and their responses to microaggressions experienced in 17 classrooms, we gain insight on how these events contribute to or undermine students’ in-the-moment learning experiences, as well as target their academic identities. To this end, we examine the following research questions: 1) In what ways were students’ academic identities targeted by these microaggressions? 2) What were the immediate effects of and students’ responses to the microaggressions experienced in their classrooms?Research DesignTo examine our research questions, we utilize a mixed-method research design, whereby mixed-method “connecting” was used to systematically quantify the microaggressions that occurred, which were qualitatively recorded in ethnographic fieldnotes from structured observations. We conducted content analyses of the observed microaggression ethnographic fieldnotes using the racial microaggressions model.Findings/ResultsMicroaggressions stigmatized multiple identities the students occupied (e.g., college student identity). Using the racial microaggressions model analytical framework, we found that the most common immediate effects of microaggressions were: disengagement, silence, and discomfort. Immediate responses included laughter and responding with a joke or distraction. While less common, students sometimes resisted through actions of peer support and questioning of the perpetrator.Conclusion/RecommendationsBy expanding the racial microaggressions theoretical framework to develop an analytical frame that allows for the examination of responses to microaggressions, we can engage in a deeper understanding of the nature of the microaggressive classroom, and the ways that microaggressions target students’ academic identities. As found in our study, some students are engaging in immediate resistant acts to counter the microaggressions they experience, which warrants deeper investigation. Facing the reality that students with marginalized identities are likely to experience microaggressions, institutions should assist students in developing strategic responses that will help them adapt, cope, and resist.

Tough Times: Adult Educators, Microaggressions, and the Work Context

This paper examines the roots, types, and effects of microaggressions in the workplace and discusses implications for adult educators who work in a domestic and transnational context. In a domestic context, the literature describes microaggressions as being based on differences in race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, and professional role, which can negatively impact the work and welfare of adult educators. There is little consideration of the transnational work context, but the current scholarship points to difficulties in history and power differentials as being roots of microaggressions. Future directions are discussed that aim to re-shift the workplace culture to one of respect and inclusion for adult educators.

Chicana/Latina Testimonios on Effects and Responses to Microaggressions

Testimonio in educational research can reveal both the oppression that exists within educational institutions and the powerful efforts in which students of color1 engage to challenge and transform those spaces. We utilize testimonio as a methodological approach to understand how undocumented and U.S.-born Chicana/Latina students experience the effects of and responses to a systemic, subtle, and cumulative form of racism, racist nativist microaggressions. We draw from critical race and Chicana feminist frameworks to understand the effects of microaggressions as embodied systemic oppression (Cruz, 2006; Moraga & Anzaldúa, 2002b). Our analysis reveals that the students engaged and created counterspaces within K-12 institutions that challenged oppression and sought to transform the educational spaces that marginalized them. Throughout these findings, we explore the process of conocimiento (Anzaldúa, 2002) that allowed the women to engage in reflection, healing, and celebration of their resiliency.