Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Microaggressioni'

Building off of previous research, the study undertook to design a taxonomic classification: defining, codifying, and validating microaggressions experienced by sexual minorities. The resultant classification is intended to serve as a conceptual framework if utilized to effectuate an assessment tool assessing microaggressions against sexual minorities. Initial points of interest included an overview of complex historical shifts increasingly traversing the present zeitgeist, and additionally, theoretical justifications for the chosen methodological approach and subsequent suppositions. This served two purposes; the first availed the reader with a contextual narrative to help facilitate a conceptual overview of the target group(s), and additionally, orient readers to the theoretical underpinnings of this study, preserving the integrity and trustworthiness of the present research. Second, variegated extant research was reviewed and elucidated to explore and explain the covert and insidious phenomenon. Concurrently, research related to racial microaggressions was included due to the abundant and judicious literature, furthering one’s conceptualization of microaggressions as well as fortifying external validation among relevant sexual minority categories.

Heterogeneous literature and the deconstruction of sexual minority microaggressions were examined, interpreted, and presented. Attention to operational definitions—consistent or otherwise, implicit forms of communication, and sociocultural relationships and interactions, including any purported causal and risk factors were investigated. This study identified categorical constructs related to sexual minority microaggressions, tools for design of an assessment measure, and a methodological approach, served to validate and substantiate a future proposed measurement using additional studies were discussed and recommended.

For racial minority faculty, racism is associated with adverse outcomes, including poor job satisfaction and less motivation, which may lead faculty to leave the teaching profession. It is unknown what relationships, if any, exist among perceived racial microaggression, job satisfaction, and employee motivation among African American (AA) faculty and other faculty of color in colleges and universities in the southeastern United States. Critical race theory provided a framework to investigate the relationship of perceived racial microaggressions toward AA faculty and other faculty of color with motivation and job satisfaction. This study involved a correlational design using multiple linear regressions to determine the relationships between the variables in a sample of 42 AA faculty and other faculty of color. In the multiple linear regression analysis, the predictor variables were 6 microaggression subscales (assumptions of inferiority, second-class citizen and assumption of criminality, microinvalidations, exoticization/assumptions of similarity, environmental microaggressions, and workplace and school micro-aggressions). The outcome variables were employee motivation and job satisfaction. The results of the analysis indicated no significant relationships between perceived level of microaggressions and job satisfaction or between perceived level of microaggressions and employee motivation. To determine possible bivariate relationships, Pearson’s correlations were performed. Assumptions of inferiority and microinvalidations were negatively correlated with job satisfaction, which suggests that when examined in isolation, higher assumptions of inferiority and microinvalidations were associated with lower levels of job satisfaction. Implications for positive social change pertain to ways that oppression and racism can be eliminated in colleges and universities.

If a therapist does something that offends a client, should the therapist apologize? What if the offensive act is an ethnic or racial microaggression? The first question—regarding the potential uses of apology by therapists in general, has received very little attention from researchers. Thirty years ago, Goldberg (1987) discussed the topic and suggested that the use of apology by a therapist was unnecessary unless the therapist made a blatant, objective error such as overcharging the client. To the researchers’ knowledge past discussions of therapist apology have not addressed the notion of microaggressions or even multicultural psychology more broadly. The purpose of the current empirical study is to address that issue by measuring perceptions of a therapist who does, or does not, apologize after committing an ethnic/racial microaggression toward a client.

Participants will read one of six vignettes, developed with guidance from Sue (2010), and respond to survey questions immediately following. The researchers hypothesize that vignettes that portray the therapist apologizing after the microaggression will elicit more favorable attitudes about the therapist than comparable vignettes that include the microaggression with no apology. It is also speculated that the control condition (no microaggression is committed) will elicit more favorable attitudes toward the therapist than either condition in which a microaggression is committed.

This is a quantitative, cross-sectional study designed to examine the relationship between sexist microaggressions and mental health. Sexist microaggressions refer to subtle communications of hostility and discrimination toward women. Sexist microaggressions are often difficult to detect, but they have the potential for harmful mental health outcomes. Despite a strong theoretical argument for the relationship between sexist microaggressions and mental health, limited empirical research exists documenting this relationship, partly due to a lack of an adequate psychometrically developed, quantitative measure of sexist microaggressions. Therefore, for the purpose of the study, a theoretically based quantitative measure of sexist microaggressions, including a stress appraisal of these experiences, was developed. Based on survey data obtained from 699 women, the Sexist Microaggressions Experiences and Stress Scale (the Sexist MESS) may be conceptualized as composed of seven interrelated factors. Furthermore, the results support the reliability and validity of the Sexist MESS as a measure of sexist microaggressions among women. Even further, scores on the Sexist MESS correlated significantly with scores on the Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionaire-Dutch-30 (MASQ-D30), indicating a positive relationship between sexist microaggressions and general distress, anhedonic depression, and anxious arousal. Additionally, hierarchical multiple regression analysis determined that sexist microaggressions account for a unique portion of variance in mental health outcomes, above and beyond other known predictors (e.g., self-esteem, perceived social support, feminist identity development) of women’s mental health, suggesting that sexist microaggressions are an important factor to consider in the conceptualization and treatment of women’s mental health. Other service implications and recommendations for future research are discussed throughout.

The Civil Rights Act was enacted more than 5 decades ago, and its provisions forbade discrimination on the basis of race in hiring, promoting, and firing. Yet some researchers argue that racial discrimination issues are still prevalent in the United States. They contend that modern racial discrimination is more covert and takes the form of racial microaggressions, which are subtle conscious or unconscious insults and derogatory attitudes directed towards minorities. Researchers have not fully addressed the prevalence of racial microaggressions in U.S. workplaces, however. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of naturalized African-Americans regarding racial microaggressions in U.S. federal agencies. The research problem was examined through the lens of critical race theory. Ten participants from the Social Security Administration were selected using snowball sampling. Data were collected through semi structured phone interviews and then examined using thematic content analysis to identity key concepts and develop a coding structure, from which 9 themes emerged. Findings revealed that participants experienced racial microaggressions in the form of bias, prejudice, false assumptions, nepotism, favoritism, and unfair denial of opportunities for promotion and professional development while at work, which affected their morale and productivity. This study may contribute to positive social change by helping leaders of U.S. federal agencies to understand their multicultural and diverse workforce and work environment. U.S. government officials could also use this study as a basis for policy decisions that may improve racial relations in U.S. federal agencies.

Research on microaggressions has consistently lacked focus on microaggressions experienced by persons with mental illness. What little research has been conducted has examined microaggressions as reported by the victim. The current study aimed to explore mental illness microaggressions by examining the view of the committer (i.e., the person enacting the microaggression), the role specific prejudicial beliefs (i.e., authoritarianism, social restrictiveness, benevolence) play in microaggressive behavior, and whether level of intimacy of interpersonal contact is related to reduced mental illness microaggressions. Participants for this study were recruited using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk; they completed a series of questionnaires and were compensated for their work. Results indicated there is a positive relationship between the likelihood of mental illness microaggression perpetration and the prejudicial beliefs authoritarianism and social restrictiveness while there is an inverse relationship between mental illness microaggression enactment and the prejudicial belief benevolence. This study determined that social restrictiveness accounts for the most variance when predicting potential perpetration of mental illness microaggressions. Additionally, results of this study determined there is a negative relationship between mental illness microaggression enactment and level of intimacy of interpersonal contact with mentally ill individuals, suggesting that interpersonal contact may be an effective strategy for reducing mental illness microaggressions.

This study explored the perceived effects of microaggressions on Peer Support Specialists (PSS). Although some research exists on the perceived effects of microaggression on individuals with lived experience of mental illness, known culturally as a marginalized group (Sue, 2010); none exists on PSS. The mental health movement began in the early 1900’s, which later evolved into mental health recovery and psychiatric rehabilitation. This movement brought forth the development of psychopharmacology, supportive services, and mental health programs. During the early phases of mental health recovery and treatment, individuals with lived experience of mental illness were utilized as peers and eventually as peer support specialists, or liaisons. Peer support specialists (PSS) provide an invaluable resource to individuals struggling with mental illness, as the literature supports. Despite strides towards societal acceptance, individuals with mental illness, continue to experience discrimination, stigma and microaggressions. Research on historical trauma, although beyond the scope of this research will be reviewed to provide an understanding of how microaggressions are passed on and additionally a narrative review of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-25), aimed to contribute to the understanding of the history of trauma, engagement, and recovery. This research qualitatively explored the experience of sixteen participants who are PSS and in active recovery of mental illness. Semi structured focus group interviews revealed five major themes: Category 1–Microinvalidation: (1.1) Invalidation; (1.2) Second Class Citizen; Category 2–Resilience: (2.1) Advocacy; (2.2) Belonginess; (2.3) Perseverance.

This study investigated the effects of racial microaggressions on symptoms of anxiety and depression in Black and African American women. The study employed an online survey and snowball recruitment method that involved individuals from high income and highly educated populations. The participants responded to questions related to demographic information; symptoms of anxiety (GAD-7; Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams, & Löwe, 2006b); depression (PHQ-8; Kroenke et al., 2009); and racial microaggressions (IMABI; Mercer, Zeigler-Hill, Wallace, & Hayes, 2011) in order to assess current mental health functioning and level of distress in response to racial discrimination. Results indicated that those who reported higher levels of racial microaggression distress also reported higher symptoms of anxiety and depression. The findings related to racial microaggressions and symptoms of anxiety and depression indicated positive correlations. However, when age and level of education were investigated for a moderation effect, neither was found to be significant. Therefore, neither age nor level of education acted as a buffer for racial microaggression distress and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Results supported the need for assessing and addressing racial discrimination within the therapy session, awareness of racial microaggressions and their clinical implications on mental health, and normalization of these experiences for Black and African American women.

Racial microaggressions are present in daily classroom interactions between White teachers and students of color. White teachers, however, may be oblivious to the types of racial microaggressions they exhibit and how they perform them in their classrooms. Using autoethnographic research methods, this study seeks to expose implicit racial bias into explicit moments of teacher decision-making, transform dysconscious racism into conscious and concrete thoughts, and interpret previously unseen racist acts into seen and recognizable activities. The study asks the following research questions: (a) When and how do I permit my racial microaggressions to emerge and transgress in my classroom? And (b) In what ways, if at all, can a White teacher use autoethnography to detect and examine her racial microaggressions toward her students of color? Later, the study explores the ways in which critical self-reflexivity might promote an evolving anti-racist teaching identity.

The researcher, a classroom teacher, gathered data using daily reflective self-observations, daily reflexive field note journals, and periodic videotaping of her practice. She commenced the study with an introductory culturegram positioning her racial and cultural self-identity and concluded it with a final self-interview to complete the data-gathering. The researcher categorized each microaggressive event by form, medium, and theme using Sue’s (2010b) “Taxonomy of Microaggressions.” Findings reveal (a) uninterrogated Whiteness dominates all aspects of the researcher’s classroom, extending from her teaching to her White students’ behaviors and (b) transitional time, non-academic teacher talk, and other unstructured time remain especially hazardous for students of color in terms of receiving teacher-perpetuated racial microaggressions.

Little is known about the impact of ethnic microaggressions (MA) on stress reactivity. The purpose of the current study was to examine how the frequency with which college students (n = 109) experience MA and their reactions to them relate to a biomarker of stress (i.e. salivary cortisol). Participants were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and answered questions about the frequency of experiences of ethnic MA and their reaction to them (e.g. getting upset). Cortisol reactivity, cortisol recovery, and Area Under the Curve (AUC) were also assessed. Results of hierarchical regressions suggest that negative MA reactivity (i.e. getting upset) was associated with faster recovery and smaller AUC. Additionally, having high frequency of MA and high MA reactivity was associated with a blunted cortisol reactivity. Blunted cortisol responses may have negative health implications, as they have been associated to substance use, smoking, and obesity.

Research has indicated that African American undergraduate students experience racial microaggressions within their university contexts, and these experiences are associated with negative outcomes such as symptoms of depression and anxiety (Cokely, Hall-Clark, & Hicks, 2011; Nadal, 2011; Nadal, et al., 2014). Little is known about the experience of microaggressions and their effects on African American doctoral students, particularly those within the field of psychology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between racial microaggressions, sense of belonging, coping strategies (problem solving, social support and avoidance), and psychological well-being among African American doctoral students in psychology. Results revealed that every participant had experienced at least one racial microaggression in their doctoral program within the last six months, with the most common types being related to environment and assumptions of inferiority. Contrary to hypotheses, results from a hierarchical multiple regression analyses suggested that racial microaggressions did not significantly predict psychological well-being in this sample. Findings also did not provide evidence for social support, problem solving, avoidance, or sense of belonging as moderators for the negative impact of microaggressions. Overall, the results of this study suggest that African American doctoral students in psychology experience racial microaggressions, but questions remain about the effects of these experiences on psychological well-being. Implications and future research directions are discussed.