Introduction
Over the past decade, there have been hundreds of articles that have examined the construct of racial microaggressions, or subtle forms of discrimination (often unconscious) that target people due to their racial background (Sue, 2010; Wong, Derthick, David, Saw, & Okazaki, 2014). Previous scholars have examined how the accumulation of racial microaggressions can negatively influence the psychological well-being of people of color; specifically, researchers have found that microaggressions negatively impact depression (Nadal, Griffin, Wong, Hamit, & Rasmus, 2014), alcohol use (Blume, Lovato, Thyken, & Denny, 2012), low self-esteem (Nadal, Wong, Griffin, Davidoff, & Sriken, 2014), and emotional intensity (Wang, Leu, & Shoda, 2011)
While there is a dearth of literature examining the negative influence of microaggressions on physical health, previous research supports that racial discrimination in general is detrimental to the physical health of various marginalized groups (Pascoe & Richman, 2009; Williams & Mohammed, 2009). Specifically, Williams, Neighbors, and Jackson (2003) conducted a review of articles discussing the relationship between racial and ethnic discrimination and health, ultimately concluding that racism is likely an overlooked contributor to racial disparities in health. Grollman (2012) discussed how individuals with multiple marginalized identities (e.g., people of color from lower socioeconomic statuses) tend to report poorer health outcomes than their more privileged counterparts. Several studies have also revealed that racism is a psychosocial stressor that engenders a stress response in individuals that may result in a physiological reaction (e.g., elevated heart rate and blood pressure) which, when sustained, can lead to serious health complications (Pascoe & Richman, 2009; Williams & Mohammed, 2009). Some scholars have also suggested that experiencing discrimination engenders a stress response that leads to unhealthy coping behaviors, such as cigarette smoking or substance use, which tend to negatively impact physical health (Pascoe & Richman, 2009; Williams & Mohammed, 2009). Perceived racial discrimination has also been found to be a predictor of ambulatory blood pressure (Smart Richman, Pek, Pascoe, & Bauer, 2010), systolic blood pressure (Clark, 2006), and sleep problems (Beatty et al., 2011). Moreover, it has been suggested that those individuals who have internalized racism and have accepted the societal view of their race as inferior suffer psychological distress and chronic health problems (Williams, Yu, Jackson, & Anderson, 1997). Finally, some scholars revealed that individuals who observed subtle discrimination scenarios had higher cardiovascular responses than those who observed scenarios that were blatantly racist, suggesting the possibility that subtle discrimination may actually be much more harmful than overt, more obvious discrimination (Merritt, Bennett, Williams, Edwards, & Sollers, 2006).
Many authors have asserted that everyday stressors, in addition to major life events, are capable of causing stress that interferes with physical functioning. For example, earlier researchers have found that the repeated hassles of everyday life were more strongly associated with somatic complaints than major life events (DeLongis, Folkman, & Lazarus, 1988), while more recent studies have found that daily stress processes have contributed to physical and mental health problems (Almeida, Neupert, Banks, & Serido, 2005; Almeida, Wethington, & Kessler, 2002; Costanzo, Stawski, Ryff, Coe, & Almeida, 2012; Neupert, Almeida, & Charles, 2007). Thus, while the previous literature has supported that overt and hostile racist events may cause life stress and poorer health for people of color, perhaps experiences with racial microaggressions, or experiences of subtle, everyday racial discrimination, may also have a significant impact on physical health outcomes.
Aims of the current study
While discrimination has been described as a life stress that has a negative impact on an individualâs physical health, there is a dearth of research regarding whether microaggressions may lead to physical health problems. Similarly, research on microaggressions has established that there are negative consequences with respect to mental health, but has not adequately addressed the outcomes based on physical health. The current study seeks to elucidate the relationship between racial microaggressions and physical health problems by answering the following research questions:
(1) Is there a significant correlation between experiences with racial microaggressions and physical health problems?
(2) Does the cumulative nature of racial microaggressions predict physical health and quality-of-life problems?
(3) Do specific types of racial microaggressions predict physical health and quality-of-life problems?
