Microaggressions: Mega problems or micro issues? A meta‐analysis

Abstract

While research on microaggressions has accumulated in recent decades, doubts have arisen over their impact on individuals. Hence, the purpose of this study was to analyze the relations between microaggressions and psychological well-being, physical health, job outcomes, and positive and negative coping. Potential moderators (i.e., microaggression target, publication year, publication status, sample occupation, and inclusion of nonstigmatized group members) were also examined. A meta-analytic approach was chosen to summarize the findings in the microaggression literature.Several search terms and databases were used to identify articles for inclusion. After review, a total of 141 articles with 154 samples contributed effect sizes to our analyses.The results showed that microaggressions were negatively related to psychological well-being and physical health and positively related to coping. The pattern of results was generally the same regardless of the microaggression target, the year the study was conducted, the publication status of the paper, the occupation of the sample, and whether the sample included nonstigmatized groups members or not. This meta-analysis demonstrates the stable, harmful effects associated with experiencing microaggressions. Specifically, microaggressions predicted negative outcomes across individuals and contexts. Thus,

Living while fat: Development and validation of the Fat Microaggressions Scale.

“…It is the mundane quality of these experiences, whether blatant or subtle, that defines and distinguishes microaggressive acts from other forms of discrimination. Microaggressions can be (but are not always) unintentional on the part of perpetrators, and are sometimes not easily recognized as a form of prejudice, making these experiences difficult to interpret and confront and easy for perpetrators to deny and thus avoid responsibility (Costa et al, 2022; Sue et al, 2007).…”

“…G. Williams & Lewis, 2019), sexual minorities with physical disabilities (Conover & Israel, 2019), and LGBTQ people of color (Bowleg, 2013; Sadika et al, 2020). For any member of these groups, being the target of microaggressions is associated with serious detrimental outcomes (see Costa et al, 2022; Lui & Quezada, 2019). Studies have found that racial microaggressions are associated with depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation (O’Keefe et al, 2015), poorer sleep quality (Ong et al, 2017), cognitive depletion (Banks & Landau, 2022), and physical health problems (e.g., pain, fatigue; Nadal et al, 2017).…”

Where’s the BIPOC Blueprint for Healthy Youth Development? The Role of Scientific Omissions in Our Struggle for Science Translation and Racial Equity in the United States

“…“subtle insults (verbal, nonverbal, and/or visual) directed toward racial minorities, often automatically or unconsciously” [Solarzano et al, 2000 quoted in Wong et al, 2014 ]), discrimination, and racial trauma (e.g., Clark, 2001 ; Comas-Diaz et al, 2019 ; Trent et al, 2019 ) as endemic (i.e., universal within a subgroup) risk factors (Dixson & Rousseau, 2014 ) for poor behavioral health outcomes, nor positive racial and ethnic identity and related constructs as potential protective factors (e.g., Rivas-Drake et al, 2014 ; Spencer et al, 1991 ). Many meta-analytic reviews have documented the deleterious effects of microaggressions on a range of physical and mental health outcomes for BIPOC individuals (Choi et al, 2022 ; Costa et al, 2023 ; Wong et al, 2014 ). Omitting factors crucial to the development of BIPOC youth continues to privilege Whiteness and the facets of identity most relevant to White youth.…”

Employment equity groups’ experience of inclusion and commitment to the CAF

“…Relatedness was found to predict job satisfaction, affective commitment, and intentions to stay in an Italian sample ( Colledani et al, 2018 ). Microaggressions were found to predict job outcomes such as job satisfaction and turnover intentions (meta-analysis; Costa et al, 2023 ), as well as organizational commitment (e.g., Lee, 2009 ; Jackson and Jackson, 2019 ). Organizational inclusion has been shown to predict lower intentions to leave in a military sample ( Merlini et al, 2019 ) and unit-level turnover in a non-military sample ( Nishii, 2013 ).…”