Emotion regulation and the experience of racial microaggressions.

discrimination;emotion regulation;mindfulness;microaggressions

Broderick Sawyer

University:University of Louisville

Department:Psychological and Brain Sciences

关键词: discrimination;    emotion regulation;    mindfulness;    microaggressions;   

Others  :  https://ir.library.louisville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4380&context=etd

美国|英语

来源: The Universite of Louisville's Institutional Repository

【 摘 要 】

Racial microaggressions are defined as subtle racial insults or slights that racial minorities may encounter daily, communicating negative messages to victims. Perceiving discrimination has been associated with negative outcomes in racial minorities such as symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma, and low self-esteem. Previous research has suggested emotion regulation and psychological symptoms as playing significant roles in the experience of discrimination. Research has yet to identify specific emotion regulation tactics that might offset the harm of racial microaggressions. Mindfulness and self-compassion have been found to buffer the negative emotional impact of chronic stressors that are similar to racial microaggressions. The current study sought to investigate the emotional impact of racial microaggressions in a sample of 91 racial minority participants. Results indicated that experiential avoidance, negative affect, anger rumination, mindfulness, self-compassion, and emotion regulation were each found to partially explain relationships between microaggressions and psychological symptoms (social anxiety, trauma, depression), and provided preliminary evidence for emotion regulation tools as reducing emotional distress in response to microaggressions. Limitations and future implications are discussed.