A qualitative study of microaggressions against African Americans on predominantly White campuses

BMC Psychology

Daniel C. Rosen¹  Marlena Debreaux²  Renée Martin-Willett³  Matthew D. Skinta⁴  Judy Mier-Chairez⁵  Jonathan W. Kanter⁶  Monnica T. Williams⁷ 

[1] Department of Counseling & Health Psychology, Bastyr University, Kenmore, USA;Department of Human and Organizational Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA;Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, USA;Department of Psychology, Roosevelt University, Chicago, USA;Department of Psychology, University of Louisville, Louisville, USA;Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, USA;School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, 136 Jean-Jacques Lussier, Vanier Hall, K1N 6N5, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada;

关键词: Microaggressions;    Discrimination;    Taxonomy;    Ethnic minorities;    African Americans;    Racism;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40359-020-00472-8

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPierce’s (The Black seventies: an extending horizon book, 1970) conception of “subtle and stunning” daily racial offenses, or microaggressions, remains salient even 50 years after it was introduced. Microaggressions were defined further by Sue and colleagues (Am Psychol 62:271, 2007), and this construct has found growing utility as the deleterious effects of microaggressions on the health of people of color continues to mount. Microaggressions are common on campuses and contribute to negative social, academic, and mental health outcomes.MethodThis paper explores how Black college students’ experiences correspond to or differ from the microaggression types originally proposed by Sue et al. (Am Psychol 62:271, 2007). Themes were identified from focus group data of students of color (N = 36) from predominately White institutions (PWIs) of higher learning (N = 3) using interpretative phenomenological analysis.ResultsWe identified 15 categories of racial microaggressions, largely consistent with the original taxonomy of Sue et al. but expanded in several notable ways. New categories in our data and observed by other researchers, included categories termed Connecting via Stereotypes, Exoticization and Eroticization, and Avoidance and Distancing. Lesser studied categories identified included Sue et al.’s Denial of Individual Racism, and new categories termed Reverse Racism Hostility, Connecting via Stereotypes, and Environmental Attacks.DiscussionWhile previous literature has either embraced the taxonomy developed by Sue and colleagues or proposed a novel taxonomy, this study synthesized the Sue framework in concert with our own focus group findings and the contributions of other researchers. Improving our understanding of microaggressions as they impact people of color may better allow for improved understanding and measurement of this important construct.

【 授权许可】

CC BY