Abstract
Experiences with more subtle racism – which have been called microaggressions – have a host of negative effects on health, mental health, educational performance, and general well-being on people of color. In this study we draw on a longitudinal dataset of Black, Latinx, and Asian students in higher education and use the microaggression framework to distinguish between the types of reported subtle experiences with discrimination, including (1) classroom-based, or perceived discrimination or discomfort in the classroom; (2) microassaults, or verbal assaults; (3) discomfort, or perceived discomfort on campus because of race, (4) criminality, which refers to both being stopped by University police and (5) refusal to acknowledge intra-racial differences, which here describes experiences with intraracial microaggressions. Our findings explore (1) the differential effects of different types of microaggressions on symptoms of depression (2) intergroup differences in effects of microaggressions on depression and (3) the differential effects of different types of microaggressions over time.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander, M. (2012). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. The New Press.
Anti-Defamation League. (2018). White supremacists step up off-campus propaganda efforts in 2018. Retrieved from https://www.adl.org/resources/reports/white-supremacists-step-up-off-campus-propaganda-efforts-in-2018
Bird, G. (2018, April). Cal Poly suspends fraternity over blackface incident. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2018/04/11/cal-poly-suspends-fraternity-over-blackface-incident
Blume, A. W., Lovato, L. V., Thyken, B. N., & Denny, N. (2012). The relationship of microaggressions with alcohol use and anxiety among ethnic minority college students in a historically White institution. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 18(1), 45–54. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025457.
Bobo, L., Kluegel, J. R., & Smith, R. A. (1997). Laissez-faire racism The crystallization of a kinder, gentler, antiblack ideology. Racial Attitudes in the 1990s Continuity and Change., 15, 23–25.
Bonilla-Silva, E. (2017). Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America. Rowman & Littlefield.
Dovidio, J. F., Glick, P. E., & Rudman, L. A. (2005). On the nature of prejudice: Fifty years after Allport. Blackwell Publishing. http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2005-08614-000
Eschmann, R. (2020a). Unmasking Racism: Students of Color and Expressions of Racism in Online Spaces. Social Problems, 67, 418–436. https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spz026.
Eschmann, R. (2020b). Digital Resistance: How Online Communication Facilitates Responses to Racial Microaggressions. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332649220933307.
Eschmann, R., & Payne, C. M. (2019). Hidden in Plain Sight. Education and Society: An Introduction to Key Issues in the Sociology of Education, 54.
Forrest-Bank, S., & Jenson, J. M. (2015). Differences in experiences of racial and ethnic microaggression among Asian, Latino/Latinx, Black, and White young adults. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, XLI, I(1), 141–161.
Harwood, S. A., Huntt, M. B., Mendenhall, R., & Lewis, J. A. (2012). Racial microaggressions in the residence halls: Experiences of students of color at a predominantly White university. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 5(3), 159–173. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028956.
Keels, M., Durkee, M., & Hope, E. (2017). The Psychological and Academic Costs of School-Based Racial and Ethnic Microaggressions. American Educational Research Journal, 54(6), 1316–1344. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831217722120.
Kozol, J. (2012). Savage inequalities: Children in America’s schools. Broadway Books.
Martin, J. L. (2019). Factors contributing to microaggressions, racial battle fatigue, stereotype threat, and imposter phenomenon for nonhegemonic students: Implications for urban education. In G. C. Torino, D. P. Rivera, C. M. Capodilupo, K. L. Nadal, & D. W. Sue (Eds.), Microaggression theory: Influence and implications. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Massey, D. S., & Denton, N. A. (1993). American apartheid: Segregation and the making of the underclass. Harvard University Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=uGslMsIBNBsC&oi=fnd&pg=PR8&dq=American+Apartheid:+Segregation+and+the+Making+of+the+Underclass&ots=I5bzbZAbX7&sig=qNI0i66Q6xTn7cNqdpb5LEnzRsw
Mazzula, S. L., & Campón, R. R. (2018). Microaggressions: Toxic Rain in Health Care. In G. C. Torino, D. P. Rivera, C. M. Capodilupo, K. L. Nadal, & D. W. Sue (Eds.), Microaggression Theory: Influence and Implications (pp. 178–193). Incorporated: John Wiley & Sons.
Nadal, K. L., Wong, Y., Griffin, K. E., Davidoff, K., & Sriken, J. (2014). The adverse impact of racial microaggressions on college students’ self-esteem. Journal of College Student Development, 55(5), 461–474. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2014.0051.
Nienhusser, H. K., Vega, B. E., & Carquin, M. C. (2016). Undocumented students’ experiences with microaggressions during their college choice process. Teachers College Record, 118(010209), 1–33.
O’Keefe, V. M., Wingate, L. R., Cole, A. B., Hollingsworth, D. W., & Tucker, R. P. (2014). Seemingly harmless racial communications are not so harmless: Racial microaggressions lead to suicidal ideation by way of depression symptoms. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 45(5), 567–576. https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12150.
Onís, C. (2017). What’s in an “x”?: An Exchange about the Politics of “Latinx.” Chiricù Journal: Latina/o Literature, Art, and Culture, 1(2), 78–91.
Pierce, C. (1995). Stress analogs of racism and sexism: Terrorism, torture, and disaster. In Mental health, racism, and sexism (pp. 277–293). Basic Books. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ret5CwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA277&dq=Stress+Analogs+of+Racism+and+Sexism:+Terrorism,+Torture,+and+Disaster&ots=EeBouxw5jQ&sig=m9c84rqhvtozlzvlupwyqK6lysI
Salinas, C., Jr., & Lozano, A. (2019). Mapping and recontextualizing the evolution of the term Latinx: An environmental scanning in higher education. Journal of Latinos and Education, 18(4), 302–315.
Sanchez, D., Adams, W. N., Arango, S. C., & Flannigan, A. E. (2018). Racial-ethnic microaggressions, coping strategies, and mental health in Asian American and Latinx American college students: A mediation model. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 65(2), 214–225. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000249.
Sellers, R. M., Rowley, S. A., Chavous, T. M., Shelton, J. N., & Smith, M. A. (1997). Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity: A preliminary investigation of reliability and constuct validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(4), 805.
Sellers, R. M., Smith, M. A., Shelton, J. N., Rowley, S. A. J., & Chavous, T. M. (1998). Multidimensional model of racial identity: a reconceptualization of african american racial identity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2(1), 18–39. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0201_2.
Sue, D. W. (2010). Microaggressions in everyday life: Race, gender, and sexual orientation. John Wiley & Sons.
Sue, D. W., Lin, A. I., Torino, G. C., Capodilupo, C. M., & Rivera, D. P. (2009). Racial Microaggressions and Difficult Dialogues on Race in the Classroom. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 15(2), 183–190. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014191.
Sue, D. W., Capodilupo, C. M., Torino, G. C., Bucceri, J. M., Holder, A. M., Nadal, K. L., & Esquilin, M. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice. American Psychologist, 62(4), 271–286. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.62.4.271.
Torino, G. C., Rivera, D. P., Capodilupo, C. M., Nadal, K. L., & Sue, D. W. (2018). Microaggression Theory: Influence and Implications. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/bu/detail.action?docID=5526226
Tynes, B. M., Lozada, F. T., Smith, N. A., & Stewart, A. M. (2018). From racial microaggressions to hate crimes: A model of online racism based on the lived experiences of adolescents of color. In G. C. Torino, D. P. Rivera, C. M. Capodilupo, K. L. Nadal, & D. W. Sue (Eds.), Microaggression theory: Influence and implications (pp. 194–212). Incorporated: John Wiley & Sons.
Victor, D. (2018, August 02). 'All I did was be black': Police are called on college student eating lunch. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/us/black-smith-college-student-oumou-kanoute.html
Vidal-Ortiz, S., & Martínez, J. (2018). Latinx thoughts: Latinidad with an X. Latino Studies, 16(3), 384–395.
Young, K. S., & Anderson, M. R. (2018). Microaggressions in Higher Education: Embracing Educative Spaces. In G. C. Torino, D. P. Rivera, C. M. Capodilupo, K. L. Nadal, & D. W. Sue (Eds.), Microaggression Theory: Influence and Implications (pp. 291–305). Incorporated: John Wiley & Sons.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Eschmann, R., Gryder, R.W., Connaught, G. et al. Context Matters: Differential Effects of Discrimination by Environmental Context on Depressive Symptoms Among College Students of Color. Clin Soc Work J 50, 242–255 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-021-00792-1
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-021-00792-1