To best understand the possible negative health and social consequences associated with racial microaggression, in-depth understanding of how people judge these events is needed. People of Color (POC) and White participants (N = 64) were recruited for a mixed-methods study that incorporated quantitative attitude ratings and focus group interviews. Participants read and discussed their attitudes toward five vignettes that reflected microassault, microinsult, and microinvalidation scenarios. Semantic differential ratings showed that participants judged microassaults to be most unacceptable, followed by microinsults and then microinvalidations. Using a grounded theory approach, our qualitative analysis of interview data revealed five thematic categories. First, participants judged receivers’ psychological harm to be a critical consideration for their attitudes toward microaggression scenarios; they discussed factors associated with individual differences in appraisals, prior exposures to discrimination, and sensitivity to race. Second, participants were less consistent in their opinion about the role of the deliverers’ intent on their judgment of microaggressions; many considered microaggression events to be results of deliverers’ cultural ignorance and racial insensitivity. Third, our analysis revealed the central importance of contexts that shaped participants’ attitudes toward microaggression. Fourth, participants also discussed the notion that receivers of microaggression were racist for calling attention to race issues. Finally, POC participants tended to relate to the vignettes and use their lived experiences to contextualize their opinions about racial microaggression. The current results raise concerns regarding the conceptualization and utility of the word “microaggression,” especially within the broader contexts of racism and major discrimination. Other empirical and practical implications are discussed.

for their assistance in data collection. Findings from this study have been presented as a paper presentation entitled, "Ethnic differences in the roles of college alcohol salience in hazardous alcohol use" at the 28 th Annual Texas Research Society on Alcoholism Scientific Meeting, and as a poster entitled, "Impact of college alcohol salience on drinking: Moderations by acculturation" at the 5 th Biennial convention of the Society for Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race.

To best understand the possible negative health and social consequences associated with racial microaggression, in-depth understanding of how people judge these events is needed. People of Color (POC) and White participants (N = 64) were recruited for a mixed-methods study that incorporated quantitative attitude ratings and focus group interviews. Participants read and discussed their attitudes toward five vignettes that reflected microassault, microinsult, and microinvalidation scenarios. Semantic differential ratings showed that participants judged microassaults to be most unacceptable, followed by microinsults and then microinvalidations. Using a grounded theory approach, our qualitative analysis of interview data revealed five thematic categories. First, participants judged receivers’ psychological harm to be a critical consideration for their attitudes toward microaggression scenarios; they discussed factors associated with individual differences in appraisals, prior exposures to discrimination, and sensitivity to race. Second, participants were less consistent in their opinion about the role of the deliverers’ intent on their judgment of microaggressions; many considered microaggression events to be results of deliverers’ cultural ignorance and racial insensitivity. Third, our analysis revealed the central importance of contexts that shaped participants’ attitudes toward microaggression. Fourth, participants also discussed the notion that receivers of microaggression were racist for calling attention to race issues. Finally, POC participants tended to relate to the vignettes and use their lived experiences to contextualize their opinions about racial microaggression. The current results raise concerns regarding the conceptualization and utility of the word “microaggression,” especially within the broader contexts of racism and major discrimination. Other empirical and practical implications are discussed.

Alcohol is considered an integral part of the college life; students who hold stronger college alcohol beliefs typically consume more alcohol and experience more negative drinking consequences. Asian Americans are increasingly at risk for hazardous alcohol use, yet little research has focused on whether college alcohol beliefs are conceptualized similarly in this group and whether individuals’ cultural orientations moderate the relations between college alcohol beliefs and alcohol involvement. Asian American (N = 439; Mage = 22.77, 42.6% women) and Euro American (N = 161; Mage = 21.04; 41.6% women) undergraduate students were recruited to test measurement invariance of the College Life Alcohol Salience Scale (CLASS) and the Stephenson Multigroup Acculturation Scale (SMAS). We examined the relations between college alcohol beliefs and alcohol involvement, and the degree to which cultural orientations and ethnicity moderated these relations. Scores from a 14-item CLASS and a 26-item SMAS demonstrated scalar invariance across Asian and Euro American groups. Bivariate correlations showed robust associations between college alcohol beliefs and alcohol involvement. Among Asian and Euro Americans who were not immersed in their ethnic heritage society, students were at greater odds of being a drinker when they endorsed stronger college alcohol beliefs, and drinkers consumed more alcohol when they endorsed lower college alcohol beliefs. Interventions aimed to prevent alcohol use and misuse can assess and target students’ college alcohol beliefs and promote greater connectedness to their ethnic heritage cultures.