Abstract
Mekawi and Todd (Cult Divers Ethn Minor Psychol 24:346–362, 2018) developed the Acceptability of Racial Microaggressions Scale (ARMS) to assess acceptability of saying racially microaggressive statements about people of color. The purpose of this study is to replicate and expand on Mekawi and Todd’s study by: (a) conducting the study in a politically conservative state; (b) replicating the scale structure in a single confirmatory factor analysis; and (c) extending evidence of validity by examining whether stronger White identification would be associated with higher ARMS scores. White college students in the mid-South (N = 210, 68% women, approximately one-third conservative, one-third moderate, and one-third liberal, average age = 19.93) were recruited for this online study. Participants completed the ARMS and White identification measures. We confirmed the four-factor structure of the ARMS. Additionally, we found greater identification with Whiteness was associated with higher acceptability of victim blaming, power evasion, and color evasion microaggressions. Male gender was associated with higher acceptability of victim blaming, power evasion, and exoticization microaggressions; however, women were more likely to report higher white identification. Our study suggests the ARMS is a useful tool with strong psychometric properties. Most microaggressions were deemed unacceptable, although higher identification with Whiteness (a higher need to belong, higher group identification, and stronger ingroup norms of loyalty) was associated with her acceptability ratings. Exoticization was the exception, perhaps because these statements can be construed as examples of race-based sexual harassment.
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Mujica, C.A., Allen, E.L. & Bridges, A.J. Replication and Extension of the Acceptability of Racial Microaggressions Scale (ARMS). Race Soc Probl 15, 277–288 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-022-09369-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-022-09369-0