Gendered Racial Microaggressions and Sleep Quality: Examining the Mediating Role of Mental Health in Asian American Women

Background and Purpose: Asian Americans’ experiences are shaped by enduring stereotypes like the model minority myth and the yellow peril narrative. While overt discrimination has declined, microaggressions (Sue et al., 2007) remain prevalent and significantly impact mental health, particularly anxiety and depression. In addition to racial discrimination, Asian women often encounter gender-based discrimination, adding another layer of marginalization. Using intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989), this study examines how gendered racial microaggressions (GRM) affect mental health and sleep among Asian women, arguing that their experiences cannot be understood through race or gender alone. Building on prior research, this study applies the GRM scale (Keum et al., 2018) to explore how GRM influences sleep through mental health as a potential mediator.

Methods: This study utilized a cross-sectional online survey of Asian American women in Minnesota, using purposive sampling. The survey was conducted between September and October 2024, with participants recruited through email outreach by Asian American community organizations. A total of 356 eligible participants completed the survey. The study measured sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), experiences of gendered racial microaggressions across four subscales (Ascribed Submissiveness, Asian Fetishism, Workplace Invalidation, and Assumption of Universal Appearance), depressive symptoms using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), anxiety using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and sociodemographic characteristics. Data were analyzed using five structural equation models (SEMs), one having a composite GRM score and four having each GRM subscale as an independent variable.

Results: The results of this study demonstrate significant associations between GRM, mental health, and sleep quality among Asian women in Minnesota. The first SEM, using GRM as a composite score, shows that gendered racial microaggressions were directly linked to poorer sleep quality and increased depressive symptoms and anxiety, with mental health symptoms partially mediating the relationship between GRM and sleep quality. Additionally, four separate SEM models, each with a subscale of GRM, reveal that Ascribed Submissiveness and Asian Fetishism had significant direct associations with both mental health symptoms and poorer sleep quality. Furthermore, mental health symptoms were found to partially mediate the relationship between GRM and sleep quality, with anxiety playing a more prominent role in certain subscales, such as Asian Fetishism and Assumption of Universal Appearance.

Conclusions and Implications: This study highlights the significant role of GRM in the sleep quality of Asian American women, through the mediating role of mental health. The findings underscore the compounded challenges faced by Asian women due to intersecting racial and gendered forms of discrimination. These results suggest that interventions aimed at addressing GRM should be integrated into clinical practices and policymaking, particularly those focused on mental health support and strategies for improving sleep quality for this group. Additionally, efforts to reduce GRMs in everyday interactions should be prioritized as part of broader efforts to improve the overall well-being of Asian American women. Future research should focus on specific interventions designed to mitigate the psychological and sleep-related consequences of experiencing GRM.