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Asian Americans are commonly perceived as perpetual foreigners and, therefore, not "true" Americans. Asian Americans report inquiries about nationality and English abilities as the most common forms of racial microaggressions perpetrated by White Americans (Sue, 2015). Race theorists assert that these microaggressions are race-related and marginalize Asian Americans. Scholars have claimed that these subtle acts are harmful, yet only a few studies have uncovered the mechanisms by which racial microaggressions affect mental and physical well-being (Ong, Burrow, Fuller-Rowell, Ja, & Sue, 2013; Wong, Derthick, David, Saw, & Okazaki, 2013). The current study conceptualized racial microaggressions as a stressor to address the major gaps in research. Specifically, this study (a) experimentally tested the race-related nature of the microaggression event to determine whether a White American perpetrator would elicit more stress in Asian Americans compared to an Asian American perpetrator and (b) examined threats to explicit and implicit self-esteem as possible mediators of microaggression-generated stress. Findings confirmed that the race of the perpetrator did have an impact on stress among Asian Americans. In the multiple meditation analysis, experience with a White American perpetrator, compared to an Asian American perpetrator, lowered implicit self-esteem, which resulted in more stress. Implications and strategies for counseling Asian American clients are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Marginalized college students report experiencing both systemic and everyday discrimination in higher education. Scholars have highlighted the effects of microaggressions on well-being and attitudes toward school persistence. Most studies have used a unidimensional approach to unpack oppressive systems for individuals with multiple marginalized identities and therefore experiences around intersectionality are often not considered. Particularly among sexual minorities of color, differences in experiences with microaggressions for cisgender and gender expansive people are often overlooked when assessing educational outcomes. The current cross-sectional study (n = 153) used an intersectional approach to explore experiences of LGBTQ+ Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPoC). We examined the association between intersectional microaggressions (sexual and racial) and school persistence attitudes, comparing differences between cisgender and gender expansive students. According to our findings, intersectional microaggressions negatively impacted attitudes toward school persistence and cisgender privilege emerged as a moderator to buffer this effect. Specifically, gender expansive students were less likely to hold positive attitudes of school persistence compared to cisgender sexual minority students of color when experiencing higher levels of intersectional microaggressions. We used an intersectional approach to explore how cissexism, heterosexism, and racism impact those at the margins among LGBTQ+ BIPoC students highlighting implications for higher education.

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The United States (U.S.) has a long history of racism and xenophobia, especially around infectious outbreaks. Recently, the associations of COVID-19 to China and Chinese people have been reflected in a surge of anti-Asian sentiment and hate crimes. Therefore, the present study examines the perceived change in everyday racism among Asians in the U.S. during the COVID-19 outbreak. This study used self-report surveys to assess the perceptions of everyday racism before and during the pandemic among Asians, Latinxs, and Whites residing in the U.S. We tested a 3 (race [Asians vs. Latinxs vs. Whites]) × 2 (perceptions [before vs. during pandemic]) analysis of covariance with repeated measures for perceptions to determine whether there were differences between racial groups for everyday racism before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings strongly indicate that Asians in the U.S. perceived a change in everyday racism during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to Latinxs and Whites. Exploratory findings show that East and Southeast Asians, in particular, experienced the steepest perceived increase in everyday racism. Anti-Asian sentiment seems to have intensified in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, as evident in the rise of everyday racism against Asians. These experiences may serve as additional stressors for Asians in the U.S. during these already distressing times and disproportionately impact East and Southeast Asians. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.