The Mediating Effect of Ethnic Identity on the Relationship Between Racial Microaggression and Psychological Well-Being

Background and Purpose: Racial/ethnic discrimination is a known risk factor for negative outcomes of behavioral and emotional well-being (Pascoe & Smart Richman, 2009; Schmitt, et al., 2014; Williams & Mohammed, 2009). Experts note that subtle forms of discrimination called microaggressionmay be particularly harmful (Dovidio & Gaertner, 2004; Noh, et al., 2007). Conversely, substantial research evidences that ethnic identity tends to have strong positive relationships with indicators of emotional and behavioral health (Phinney, 1990; Smith & Silva, 2011). Given the centrality of ethnic identity in identity formation, it is likely that ethnic identity plays a protective role in how young adults’ well-being is impacted by discrimination. However, there have been mixed findings on the nature of this relationship (Brittian, et al., 2014), and little research specifically measures microaggression in this context.

Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 210 African America, Asian, and Latino/Hispanic college students ages 18 – 35 (M = 23.74) who were enrolled in an urban public college in the Western U.S. Standardized scales were used to measure each construct. Mplus7 was used to perform path analysis to examine the extent to which ethnic identity and microaggressions predict participants’ substance abuse, psychological distress, self-esteem, and academic self-efficacy. Ethnic identity was held constant when assessing relationships between microaggression and outcome variables, and vice versa. Additionally, indirect effects were tested to assess whether ethnic identity mediates negative effects of microaggression.

Results: Key findings of the a priori path analysis model found that microaggression was positively associated with ethnic identity (STDYX = .24, 95% CI [.17, .37]; p < .001. Ethnic identity was positively associated with substance abuse (STDYX = .14; 95% CI [.00, .28]; p < .05). Microaggression was positively associated with psychological distress (STDYX = .18; 95% CI [.04, .32]; p < .01). Conversely, ethnic identity was negatively associated with psychological distress (STDYX = -.23; 95% CI [-.37, -.10]; p < .001, and positively associated with self-esteem (STDYX = .35; 95% CI [.22, .47]; p < .001) and academic self-efficacy (STDYX = .20; 95% CI [.06, .34]; p < .01). Finally, ethnic identity significantly mediated the effect of microaggression on psychological distress (STDYX = -.05; 95% CI [-.10, -.01]; p< .01).

Conclusions and Implications: Findings suggest that subtle forms of discrimination may have damaging impact on the emotional health of racial/ethnic minority young adults. At the same time, ethnic identity appears to have a critical positive role in emotional well-being and to serve as a protective factor to the negative influence of microaggression on psychological distress. Implications call for social work practitioners to include assessment of client experiences of racial discrimination and ethnic identity in developing case conceptualizations, and to work with clients to cope effectively with microggression. Prevention measures should include universal strategies applied early in childhood as well as in colleges and universities that combat stereotypes and promote open discussions about race and the importance of ending subtle and overt forms of discrimination.