The Relationship between Child and Adolescent Risk and Protective Factors and Racial Microagression, Ethnic Identity, and Well-Being in Young Adulthood

Session 4: Risk and Protective Factors in Adolescent and Young Adults. Presenter: Shandra Forrest-Bank, University of Denver (2012) - "The Relationship between Child and Adolescent Risk and Protective Factors and Racial Microagression, Ethnic Identity, and Well-Being in Young Adulthood".The Ohio State University College of Social Wor

The Relationship Between Risk and Resilience, Racial Microaggression, Ethnic Identity, and Well-Being in Young Adulthood

Young adulthood is the developmental period characterized by the transition from adolescence to the roles and responsibilities of adulthood. While most young adults experience positive growth and accomplishments, many others struggle, especially those with disadvantaged childhoods who lack financial, social, and emotional resources. Substance abuse, crime, educational failure, unemployment, and mental health problems are common among young adults. Unfortunately, many of these problems occur at disproportionately high rates for young people of color. Considerable knowledge of the child and adolescent risk and protective factors that contribute to the onset of problem behavior or to well-being during adolescence has been developed. However, evidence from longitudinal studies spanning childhood, adolescence, and adulthood indicates that little is known about the influence of early risk and protective factors on the onset, remittance, or persistence of problem behavior or well-being during adulthood. In addition, few studies have examined the effects of racial discrimination and ethnic identity on problem behavior and well-being. This study examined the relationship between child and adolescent risk and protective factors for problem behavior, perceived racial and ethnic microaggression, ethnic identity, and the young adult outcomes of self-efficacy, substance abuse, and criminal intention. Data were collected from a randomly selected sample of college students (N=486; Mean Age=24) attending an urban college in Denver, Colorado. Findings from structural equation modeling revealed that the early onset of problem behavior was significantly related to both substance abuse and criminal intentions during young adulthood. Childhood school engagement was positively related to college self-efficacy, and negatively related to criminal intentions. Perceived racial microaggression and ethic identify were significantly related to academic self-efficacy. One-way analysis of variance tests revealed significant differences in mean scores on the microaggression and ethnic identity scales between racial and ethnic groups. All nonwhite groups reported significantly higher levels of microaggression than their white peers. Mean cognitive ethnic identity scores were significantly higher for black and Latino/Hispanic subjects compared to Asian and white participants. The implications of these findings for practice, policy, and research with young adult populations are identified

Differences in Experiences of Racial and Ethnic Microaggression among Asian, Latino/Hispanic, Black, and White Young Adults

Racial and ethnic discrimination is a significant risk factor for health and mental health problems among non-White children, adolescents, and adults. Recent evidence suggests that a form of discrimination known as microaggression, characterized by subtle and often unintentional acts of discriminatory behavior, is associated with detrimental effects on the psychological and emotional wellbeing of non-White individuals. We examined differences in microaggression experiences among a sample of 409 Asian, Latino, Black, and White young adults. The Racial and Ethnic Microaggressions Scale (Nadal, 2011) was used to measure respondents’ experiences of racial and ethnic microaggression. Young adults in all the non- White groups reported significantly higher rates of microaggressive experiences than respondents in the White group. Black participants experienced the highest levels of microaggression, followed by Latinos/Hispanics and Asians. Exploratory post-hoc comparisons yielded significant differences in the nature and type of racial and ethnic microaggressions experienced by members of different racial or ethnic groups. Implications for policy and practice are discussed

Understanding Appalachian Microaggression from the Perspective of Community College Students in Southern West Virginia

The term Appalachian is wrongly understood to represent a single culture of rural White poverty (Keefe, 2005). This conception contains stereotypical images that obscure hardships many rural White Central Appalachians face. Similar to other oppressed minorities in the U.S., what it means to be Appalachian is a social construction based on what differs them from the White hegemony. Recent scholarship on discrimination recognizes the importance of microaggression, small insults and slights experienced frequently by people from minority groups (Sue, et. al., 2007). Microaggression may be an especially insidious mechanism in the oppression of Appalachian people, since the derogatory stereotypes are broadly accepted while their oppressed status tends to not be acknowledged. This study applied qualitative focus group methodology to understand perceptions of microaggression and oppression among a sample of college students living in rural Central Appalachia. Results reveal themes of microaggression. Identifying Appalachian microaggression provides evidence of marginalized status and offers a framework for understanding how the social construction of White Appalachian perpetuates reduced status, stereotypes, and prejudice. Implications are discussed to consider how to foster resilience to oppression among rural White Central Appalachian people

Understanding and Confronting Racial Microaggression: An Imperative for Social Work

Racial discrimination is a matter of public health and social justice and an issue that lies at the very heart of the social work profession. Modern forms of racial discrimination are frequently hidden, subtle, and unintended. This type of discrimination, described by the construct of racial microaggression, poses significant challenges to social work practitioners, educators, and researchers striving to promote justice and equality. The construct, however, also offers a powerful tool for understanding and intervening in discrimination. This paper defines and traces recent developments related to the concept of racial microaggression and discusses how acts of microaggression perpetuate prejudice and oppression. The tenets of Critical Race Theory, in which the construct of microaggression is grounded, is presented with a discussion for why postracial discourse may be counterproductive toward efforts aimed at deconstructing and eliminating racism. The paper concludes with specific recommendations for how the social work profession can integrate knowledge about microaggression into practice, policy, education, research, and intervention in a way that avoids potential pitfalls associated with addressing this sensitive issue

The Revised 28-Item Racial and Ethnic Microaggressions Scale (R28REMS): Examining the Factorial Structure for Black, Latino/Hispanic, and Asian Young Adults

Racial and ethnic discrimination has adverse effects on the health and mental health outcomes of people of color. Evidence indicates that modern discriminatory behavior is often a product of brief, commonplace, and often subtle acts that convey derogatory messages to people of color, known as racial and ethnic microaggressions. Accurately measuring microaggression is essential to understanding and preventing behaviors that are consistent with this complex construct. The current study examines evidence for the reliability and validity of the Racial and Ethnic Microaggressions Scale(REMS). Data from a sample of 286 randomly selected Black, Latino/Hispanic, and Asian young adults (ages 18–35 years old) were used to examine the REMS. Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess the factor structure of the REMS across racial and ethnic groups. Findings support the reliability of the instrument but also suggest that a shorter 5-factor model offers a promising alternative to the original 6-factor instrument. Results also reveal differences between how members of different racial and ethnic groups conceptualize microaggression. Recommendations for using a revised version of the instrument (the Revised 28-Item REMS) and for future research aimed at optimally measuring microaggression are identified

Student Perceptions of Substance Use Disorder Stigma as a Factor for Health Disparities: A Mixed-Methods Study

Background: The prevalence of substance use disorders (SUDs) is an alarming problem in the United States; however, only a fraction of patients receive treatment. Stigma from both healthcare professionals and society at large negatively impacts SUD treatment. There are limited data regarding the perceptions of healthcare students on SUD stigma as a health disparity. Methods: We conducted a concurrent mixed-methods study among students enrolled in six health-related colleges at one mid-south health science center in the US over 3 months. Both an electronic survey consisting of 17 close-ended questions and researcher-led focus groups were conducted to understand their perceptions of stigma and SUDs. The research team followed the six steps recommended by Braun and Clarke regarding the data that aimed to capture associations between categories and extract and conceptualize the themes, and thematic analysis was done using Dedoose® (Manhattan Beach, CA, USA) qualitative software, which facilitated all the codes being kept organized and compared the frequency of codes across categories. Results: A total of n = 428 students participated in the survey (response rate = 13%), and n = 31 students took part in five focus groups. Most student respondents, on average, either agreed or strongly agreed that: stigma currently exists in the healthcare field; stigma can lead to patients’ not receiving the appropriate care for an SUD; and stigma can lead to lower quality care provided to patients with SUDs. Two themes were identified based on the thematic analysis: (1) additional training is necessary to better equip students for addressing SUDs in practice and (2) suggestions were formed to develop synergy between didactic and clinical rotations to improve SUD training. Conclusions: It is evident that students perceive the stigma surrounding SUDs as a detriment to patient care. Opportunities may exist in professional training programs to more seamlessly and intentionally weave SUD treatment and management concepts throughout the curriculum, as well as to empower students to operate in the complex regulatory scheme that exists for SUDs in the US

The Effect of Bullying and Victimization on Cognitive Empathy Development During the Transition to Middle School.

Background Interventions aimed at reducing bullying behavior commonly target the development of empathy. Yet, few longitudinal studies have investigated how empathy levels vary with bullying and victimization over time, especially during the transition to middle school. Objective To that end, the purpose of the present study was to: (1) examine the naturally-occurring changes in cognitive empathy during the transition from elementary to middle school, and (2) explore the effect of bullying and victimization involvement on changes in cognitive empathy over time, and specifically during this school transition. Methods Latent growth curve modeling was used to examine growth trajectories in empathy over time and the effects of bullying involvement on this growth among a sample of 431 students (52 % female, 52 % Latino, 10.18 years old at baseline), using data collected during the spring semester of the 4th grade, the fall and spring semesters of 5th grade, and the spring semester of 6th grade. Results Cognitive empathy decreased over time, and a linear trajectory was the best fitting shape for these data. Bullying and victimization were both associated with lower levels of cognitive empathy throughout the study. However, the effect of victimization was small and it became non-significant when both were added to the model. Several notable participant-related differences were found

Healthcare Professional Students’ Perspectives on Substance Use Disorders and Stigma: A Qualitative Study

Background: Access to and quality of care for Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) remain a major public health issue. Stigma associated with SUDs contributes to the gap between the number of patients who need treatment and the much smaller fraction that receive it. Healthcare professional students are future care providers; an opportunity exists to characterize their collective perspectives on patients with SUDs and how that informs the care they provide. Methods: Healthcare professional students participated in online, semi-structured focus group (FGs) between March and April 2021. The FGs were conducted until thematic saturation was achieved. All verbatim transcripts were analyzed applying Thematic Analysis using Dedoose® qualitative software. Inductive codes were grouped into categories based on similarities that facilitated the emergence of themes. Results: Thematic Analysis revealed one theme (1) Decreasing stigma among healthcare professionals by viewing substance use disorder as a disease; and two sub-themes: Subtheme 1a: Relating with the patients, “It could be me…”; Subtheme 1b: Interactions with patients, “We just don’t know exactly how to counsel these patients…” These themes describe how future healthcare professionals might perceive and approach patients with SUDs and highlight the importance of SUD training in the curriculum. Conclusion: Medical and pharmacy students are uniquely positioned to apply critical thinking from their didactic training to their real-world clinical experiences, and their collective perspectives inform gaps in training and opportunities to develop best practices for SUD care. An opportunity exists to leverage these findings in order to train future healthcare professionals to ensure access to and quality of SUD care