Microaggressions and general health among Black and Asian Americans: The moderating role of cognitive reappraisal.

Abstract

Objectives: The present study has two aims: (a) to examine the frequency of various microaggression types experienced by Asian and Black Americans and (b) to examine cognitive reappraisal as a moderator of the relationship between microaggression types and general health. Method: Two hundred seventy-one Black and Asian American participants recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk completed a crosssectional online survey. The Racial and Ethnic Microaggressions Scale was used to assess the frequency with which participants experienced six different types of microaggressions. Cognitive reappraisal was assessed by the cognitive reappraisal subscale of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. General health was assessed by the RAND 36-item Short Form Health Survey. Results: We found that Black Americans experienced higher levels of Inferiority, Criminality, Workplace/School Microaggressions and Microinvalidations than Asian Americans. In contrast, Asian Americans experienced greater Exoticization and Environmental Microaggressions. There were ethnic/racial group differences in whether cognitive reappraisal moderated the relationships between microaggression types and general health. Conclusions: Our findings highlight important differences in the types of microaggressions experienced across ethnic/racial groups, and the role of cognitive reappraisal in influencing the detrimental effects of microaggressions on general health. Public Significance StatementOur findings highlight important differences in the types of microaggressions experienced across ethnic/racial groups, and the role of cognitive reappraisal in influencing the detrimental effects of microaggressions on general health.