Testing Hypersensitive Responses: Ethnic Minorities Are Not More Sensitive to Microaggressions, They Just Experience Them More Frequently

Racial microaggressions have attracted significant empirical attention and have been associated with profound negative effects. However, some argue against the importance of microaggressions arguing that (some) responses to microaggressions merely reflect “hypersensitivity” to trivial events among certain ethnic minority individuals. Three studies tested this hypersensitivity hypothesis. In two cross-sectional studies with dissimilar samples ( N1 = 130, N2 = 264), ethnic minorities reported experiencing more microaggressions than ethnic majorities did, and microaggressions predicted less life satisfaction. However, contrary to the hypersensitivity hypothesis, minority identity did not moderate this relationship. In a randomized, controlled experiment ( N3 = 114), White and ethnic minority participants reported their positive and negative affect before and after recalling either a microaggression or a control event. Recalling microaggressions reduced positive affect and increased negative affect, but this was also not moderated by minority identity. Implications for the hypersensitivity hypothesis, and microaggressions research, are discussed.

Perceived microaggressions in health care: A measurement study

The current study examined the psychometric properties of the Microaggressions in Health Care Scale (MHCS), including factor structure, measurement invariance, and internal consistency reliability. We used a cross-sectional research design to study perceived racial microaggressions, discrimination, and mental health in 296 African American and Latino respondents. Participants completed measures that assess healthcare microaggressions and daily discrimination as well as the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Results revealed that the MHCS has promising psychometric properties. The confirmatory factory analysis (CFA) revealed that the MHCS is a unidimensional scale. Multi-group CFAs provided evidence of measurement invariance across racial / ethnic groups and gender. The internal consistency reliability of the scale was .88 for the overall sample. Microaggressions correlated with daily discrimination scores (r = .67), as well as mental health symptoms (r’s = .40 –.52). The MHCS is a brief, valid, and reliable measure that can be used to assess and monitor racial and cultural forces that shape patient-provider interactions. This study concludes with a discussion of the ongoing need for research on microaggressions in healthcare as well as implications for future research.

Understanding Black and Minority Ethnic service user's experience of racism as part of the assessment, formulation and treatment of mental health problems in cognitive behaviour therapy

Experiences of racism can be a cumulative risk factor for developing mental health problems. Cognitive Behaviour Therapists working with Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) service users should be confident in their ability to establish the necessary rapport to ask about these experiences and be able to incorporate this information into longitudinal formulations and as part of maintenance cycles. This paper sets out guidelines as to how to do this as part of a wider engagement process.

Advancing Research on LGBTQ Microaggressions: A Psychometric Scoping Review of Measures

Understanding the nature and consequences of LGBTQ microaggressions is critical to fostering equity and wellbeing among sexual and gender minorities. Yet little guidance is available for researchers seeking psychometrically robust measures of subtle LGBTQ slights, invalidations, and insults. To address this gap, we conducted a scoping review of multi-item quantitative measures that included at least one question addressing LGBTQ microaggressions. This article reports the study characteristics and psychometric properties of 27 original measures we identified and their subsequent adaptations. The article concludes with an assessment of strengths and limitations of LGBTQ microaggression measurement, highlighting aspects of measurement innovation on which future researchers can build. As microaggressions remain a powerful and underexplored mechanism of sexual and gender minority oppression, this review will help to both advance methodological quality in this critical research area and enhance our understanding of how microaggressions manifest in the lives of LGBTQ individuals.

Anxiety, Stress, and Trauma Symptoms in African Americans: Negative Affectivity Does Not Explain the Relationship between Microaggressions and Psychopathology

Prior research has demonstrated a clear relationship between experiences of racial microaggressions and various indicators of psychological unwellness. One concern with these findings is that the role of negative affectivity, considered a marker of neuroticism, has not been considered. Negative affectivity has previously been correlated to experiences of racial discrimination and psychological unwellness and has been suggested as a cause of the observed relationship between microaggressions and psychopathology. We examined the relationships between self-reported frequency of experiences of microaggressions and several mental health outcomes (i.e., anxiety [Beck Anxiety Inventory], stress [General Ethnic and Discrimination Scale], and trauma symptoms [Trauma Symptoms of Discrimination Scale]) in 177 African American and European American college students, controlling for negative affectivity (the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule) and gender. Results indicated that African Americans experience more racial discrimination than European Americans. Negative affectivity in African Americans appears to be significantly related to some but not all perceptions of the experience of discrimination. A strong relationship between racial mistreatment and symptoms of psychopathology was evident, even after controlling for negative affectivity. In summary, African Americans experience clinically measurable anxiety, stress, and trauma symptoms as a result of racial mistreatment, which cannot be wholly explained by individual differences in negative affectivity. Future work should examine additional factors in these relationships, and targeted interventions should be developed to help those suffering as a result of racial mistreatment and to reduce microaggressions.

Affective reactivity to daily racial discrimination as a prospective predictor of depressive symptoms in African American graduate and postgraduate students

This study examined whether individual differences in affective reactivity, defined as changes in positive or negative affect in response to daily racial discrimination, predicted subsequent depressive symptoms. Participants were African American graduate and postgraduate students (N = 174; M age = 30 years) recruited for a measurement-burst study. Data on depressive symptoms were gathered at two assessment points 1 year apart. Affective reactivity data was obtained from participants via a 14-day diary study of daily racial discrimination and affect. Participants who experienced pronounced increases in negative affect on days when racial discrimination occurred had elevated depressive symptoms 1 year later. Heightened positive affect reactivity was also associated with more depressive symptoms at follow-up. The results suggest that affective reactivity (either greater increases in negative affect or greater decreases in positive affect in the context of racial discrimination) may be an underlying psychological mechanism that confers vulnerability to future depressive symptoms.

Does getting stigma under the skin make it thinner? Emotion regulation as a stress-contingent mediator of stigma and mental health

Emotion regulation deficits may link stigma to poor mental health, yet existing studies rely on self-reported stigma and do not consider contextual factors. In the present research, we examined associations among cultural stigma (i.e., objective devaluation of others' status), emotion regulation deficits, and poor mental health. In Study 1, we created an index of cultural stigma by asking members of the general public and stigma experts to indicate desired social distance towards 93 stigmatized attributes. In Study 2, emotion regulation deficits mediated the association between cultural stigma and adverse mental health outcomes, including depressive symptoms and alcohol use problems, among individuals endorsing diverse stigmatized identities. The indirect effect of cultural stigma, via emotion regulation, on these outcomes was stronger among those reporting more life stress. These findings highlight the adverse impact of cultural stigma on mental health and its role in potentiating stigmatized individuals' susceptibility to general life stress.

Prevalence-induced concept change in human judgment

Why do some social problems seem so intractable? In a series of experiments, we show that people often respond to decreases in the prevalence of a stimulus by expanding their concept of it. When blue dots became rare, participants began to see purple dots as blue; when threatening faces became rare, participants began to see neutral faces as threatening; and when unethical requests became rare, participants began to see innocuous requests as unethical. This “prevalence-induced concept change” occurred even when participants were forewarned about it and even when they were instructed and paid to resist it. Social problems may seem intractable in part because reductions in their prevalence lead people to see more of them.

Minority stress and relationship functioning among young male same-sex couples: An examination of actor-partner interdependence models

OBJECTIVE

In different-sex couples, individual and partner stress can both have a negative impact on relationship functioning (actor and partner effects). Gay and bisexual men experience unique stress (sexual minority stress), but few studies have examined the effects of this stress on relationship functioning among young male couples. The current study examined (a) actor and partner effects of general and minority stress (internalized stigma, microaggressions, victimization, and outness) on relationship functioning (relationship quality and negative relationship interactions), (b) interactions between individual and partner stress as predictors of relationship functioning, and (c) dyadic coping and relationship length as moderators of actor and partner effects.

METHOD

Actor-partner interdependence models were tested using data from 153 young male couples.

RESULTS

There was strong support for actor effects. Higher general stress and internalized stigma were associated with lower relationship quality, but only for those in longer relationships. Additionally, higher general stress, internalized stigma, and microaggressions, and lower outness, were associated with more negative relationship interactions. There was limited support for partner effects. Having a partner with higher internalized stigma was associated with more negative relationship interactions, but none of the other partner effects were significant. There was no support for individual and partner stress interacting to predict relationship functioning or for dyadic coping as a stress buffer.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings highlight the influence of one's own experiences of general and minority stress on relationship functioning, but raise questions about how partner stress influences relationship functioning among young male couples. (PsycINFO Database Record

Assessing Students' Impressions of the Cultural Awareness of Pharmacy Faculty and Students

Objective. To determine pharmacy students' impressions of their faculty's interactions with diverse student and patient populations. Methods. Three student focus groups were convened. Eighty-four page transcripts were coded, and emergent themes were identified by qualitative analysis. Results. Students defined diversity as multidimensional beyond traditional categories. Emergent themes were faculty awareness or lack of awareness of cultural diversity, disparate cultural perspectives and preferences within student groups, teaching/learning approaches to prepare students to be more culturally competent, and student group dynamics. First- and second-year students emphasized student-to-student interactions, while third- and fourth-year students emphasized a lack of preparation for the realities of contemporary practice based on instructional methods. Conclusion. Students perceived the majority of their pharmacy faculty to be culturally sensitive and aware, but microaggression and discrimination from faculty and student peers were experienced. Study implications can potentially improve curricular offerings, cultural awareness of faculty and students, and care to diverse patient populations.

Through a Glass, Darkly

In this rejoinder, I respond to the comments from three sets of eminent scholars regarding my critique of the microaggression research program (MRP). I concur with Haidt (2017, this issue) that a significant shortcoming of the MRP is its insufficient emphasis on the subjective appraisal of microaggressions. I concur with Ong and Burrow (2017, this issue) that intensive longitudinal studies of microaggressions should enhance our knowledge of their short-term and long-term impact, although I urge researchers to assess microaggressions in conjunction with personality traits using a multi-informant framework. In contrast to Sue (2017, this issue), I argue that psychological science is our best hope for understanding microaggressions and that well-intentioned but untested interventions designed to reduce microaggressions may do more harm than good. I conclude that the MRP would benefit from greater modesty in its assertions and more open acknowledgment of its marked scientific limitations.

Microaggressions and Daily Experience

Psychologists use the term microaggressions to describe subtle forms of bias and discrimination experienced by members of marginalized groups. Lilienfeld (2017, this issue) makes an important contribution to the literature by presenting a critical review of the meaning and measurement of microaggression experiences. In this commentary, we argue that advancing the construct of microaggressions rests on research approaches that move beyond static representations of individuals to dynamic frameworks that observe people's lives as they unfold day to day. We discuss the conceptual potential of microaggressions as a bridging concept across multiple levels of analysis. We conclude that the intensive study of individuals over time can contribute to theory evaluation and offer new insights into the nature of unfolding processes that are theorized to be central to the manifestation of microaggressions in everyday life.