The Impact of Racial Microaggressions on Mental Health: Counseling Implications for Clients of Color

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between racial microaggressions (subtle and unintentional forms of racial discrimination) and mental health. Results from a large sample (N = 506) indicated that higher frequencies of racial microaggressions negatively predicted participants' mental health and that racial microaggressions were significantly correlated with depressive symptoms and negative affect. Differences in the types of microaggressions experienced by various racial groups (Asian, Latina/o, Black, White, and multiracial) and counseling implications are discussed.

Racial microaggressions and perceptions of Internet memes

“…We asked White and racially diverse participants to self-report their experience of racial microaggressions and rate the offensiveness of racial themed and non-racial themed (control images) Internet memes. As the first empirical investigation conducted in the United Kingdom, replicating previous research from the United States (Nadal et al, 2014) , we anticipate that People of Color…”

“…For example, Whites report more difficulty in determining the offensiveness of an ambiguous prejudicial comment as compared to a more overt instance of racial discrimination (Zou & Dickter, 2013). However, People of Color are aware of racial microaggressions; they report experiencing this subtle discrimination frequently across a wide variety of domains (see Wong et al, 2013, for a review) to a greater extent than their White counterparts (Nadal et al, 2014). Due to previous personal experience with racial microaggressions, People of Color may become more sensitive to signs of racial bias and readily attribute these actions to racism (Dovidio et al, 2002).…”

“…More generally, the cumulative experience of racial microaggressions is related to reduced positive affect, and increased depressive and somatic symptoms (Donovan et al, 2012;Huyng, 2012;Nadal, Griffin, Wong, Hamit, & Rasmus, 2014). Thus, like more blatant forms of discrimination (see Pascoe & Smart Richman, 2009, for a review), experiencing racial microaggressions can be detrimental to one's mental and physical health both immediately within the same 24-hour period and cumulatively over time (see Wong et al, 2013, for a review).…”

“…Thus the goal of the current study is to address the gap in the literature by utilizing an experimental design to investigate how perceptions of racial themed and non-racial themed Internet memes might be predicted by previous experience of racial discrimination in face-to-face interactions. In this study we include the responses of both Whites and People of Color, as individuals from both groups can experience racial microaggressions (Nadal, Griffin, Wong, Hamit, & Rasmus, 2014). We were interested in whether there are racial group differences in these experiences and in the reactions to Internet memes.…”

Ethnic microaggressions, traumatic stress symptoms, and Latino depression: A moderated mediational model.

“…Although more recent work has investigated the psychological impact of ethnic microaggressions among Asian Americans (Ong, Burrow, Fuller-Rowell, Ja, & Sue, 2013) and African Americans (Torres, Driscoll, & Burrow, 2010), there remains a lack of studies with Latino samples. Ethnic microaggressions have been associated with mental health problems, particularly depression and lack of positive affect, among a multiethnic sample including Latinos (Nadal, Griffin, Wong, Hamit, & Rasmus, 2014). Huynh (2012) sampled Latino and Asian American adolescents and reported that the experience of microaggressions, in conjunction with the negative reactions to these experiences, was associated with heightened depressive and somatic symptoms.…”