Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-dfsvx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-28T21:23:32.344Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Understanding aggression and microaggressions by and against people of colour

Part of: Being an Anti-Racist CBT therapist

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 September 2021

Monnica T. Williams Open the ORCID record for Monnica T. Williams [Opens in a new window] ,
Terence H. W. Ching  and
Jade Gallo
Monnica T. Williams*
Affiliation:
University of Ottawa, School of Psychology, Ottawa, Canada
Terence H. W. Ching
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut, Department of Psychological Sciences, CT, USA
Jade Gallo
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut, Department of Psychological Sciences, CT, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: Monnica.Williams@uOttawa.ca
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Efforts to understand racial microaggressions have focused on the impact on targets, but few studies have examined the motivations and characteristics of offenders, and none has examined microaggressions committed by members of racialized groups. The purpose of this study is to determine if racial microaggressions should be conceptualized as a form of aggression when committed by racialized individuals by examining the relationship between propensity to commit microaggressions and aggressive tendencies to help inform interventions. This nationwide survey recruited 356 Asian, Black and Hispanic American adults. Participants completed measures of likelihood of committing anti-Black microaggressions, aggression, negative affect, and ethnic identity. There was a significant negative correlation between ratings by diversity experts of microaggressive interactions being racist and participants’ likelihood of engaging in those same interactions. For each ethnoracial group, likelihood of committing anti-Black microaggressions was significantly positively correlated with all measures of aggression examined. The correlation between microaggressions and aggression was strongest for non-White Hispanic participants and weakest among Asian participants. A linear regression showed that aggression uniquely predicted microaggression likelihood, after controlling for respective co-variates within groups. Among non-White Hispanic participants, there was a significant positive correlation between negative affect and propensity to commit microaggressions, but this association disappeared in the regression analysis after accounting for aggression. A positive ethnic identity was not correlated with microaggression likelihood among Black participants. Findings indicate that microaggressions represent aggression on the part of offenders and constitute a form of behaviour that is generally socially unacceptable. Implications and cognitive behavioural treatment approaches are discussed.

Key learning aims

  1. (1) People of colour generally recognize that racial microaggressions are unacceptable.

  2. (2) People of colour may commit microaggressions against other people of colour.

  3. (3) Anti-Black microaggressions are correlated to aggression in perpetrators.

  4. (4) Microaggressions are not solely attributable to negative affect or low ethnic identity.

  5. (5) Therapists should address microaggressions, even when committed by people of colour.

Keywords

affectaggressionethnic differencesethnic identitymicroaggressionsracism
Type
Original Research
Information
the Cognitive Behaviour Therapist , Volume 14 , 2021 , e25
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Further reading

Ching, T. H. W. (2021). Culturally attuned behavior therapy for anxiety and depression in Asian Americans: addressing racial microaggressions and deconstructing the Model Minority Myth. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice. Advance online. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2021.04.006 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. P. (2008). How does intergroup contact reduce prejudice? Meta-analytic tests of three mediators. European Journal of Social Psychology, 38, 922–934. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.504 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sue, D. W., Alsaidi, S., Awad, M. N., Glaeser, E., Calle, C. Z., & Mendez, N. (2019). Disarming racial microaggressions: microintervention strategies for targets, White allies, and bystanders. American Psychologist, 74, 128–142.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sue, D. W., & Spanierman, L. (2020). Microaggressions in Everyday Life. Wiley.Google Scholar
Voigt, R., Camp, N. P., Prabhakaran, V., Hamilton, W. L., Hetey, R. C., Griffiths, C.M., Jurgens, D., Jurafsky, D., & Eberhardt, J. L. (2017). Language from police body camera footage shows racial disparities in officer respect. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114, 6521–6526. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.17024131 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, M. T. (2020). Managing Microaggressions: Addressing Everyday Racism in Therapeutic Spaces. ABCT Practice Series. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780190875237Google Scholar
Williams, M. T. (2021). Microaggressions are a form of aggression. Behavior Therapy, 52, 709–719. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2020.09.001 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

References

Allen, J. J., & Anderson, C. A. (2017). Aggression and violence: definitions and distinctions. In P. Sturmey (ed), The Wiley Handbook of Violence and Aggression. Wiley Online Library.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Archer, J. (2004). Sex differences in aggression in real-world settings: a meta-analytic review. Review of General Psychology, 8, 291–322. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.8.4.291 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benner, A. D., & Wang, Y. (2017). Racial/ethnic discrimination and adolescents’ well-being: the role of cross-ethnic friendships and friends’ experiences of discrimination. Child Development, 88, 493–504. http://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.1260 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brewer, M. B. (1999). The psychology of prejudice: ingroup love or outgroup hate? Journal of Social Issues, 55, 429–444. http://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00126 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryant, W. W. (2011). Internalized racism’s association with African American male youth’s propensity for violence. Journal of Black Studies, 42, 690–707. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934710393243 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buss, A. H., & Perry, M. (1992). The Aggression Questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 452–459. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.63.3.452 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ching, T. H. W. (2021). Culturally attuned behavior therapy for anxiety and depression in Asian Americans: addressing racial microaggressions and deconstructing the Model Minority Myth. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice. Advance online. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2021.04.006 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Choi, D. D., Poertner, M., & Sambanis, N. (2020). Linguistic assimilation does not reduce discrimination against immigrants: evidence from Germany. Journal of Experimental Political Science, 1, 12. https://doi.org/10.1017/XPS.2020.20 Google Scholar
Costa, A. M., Medeiros, G. C., Redden, S., Grant, J. E., Tavares, H., & Seger, L. (2018). Cognitive-behavioral group therapy for intermittent explosive disorder: description and preliminary analysis. Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria, 40, 316–319. https://doi.org/10.1590/1516-4446-2017-2262 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cox, D., Navarro-Rivera, J., & Jones, R. P. (2016). Race, religion, and political affiliation of Americans’ core social networks. Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). https://www.prri.org/research/poll-race-religion-politics-americans-social-networks/ Google Scholar
Crandall, C. S., Miller, J. M., & White, M. H., II. (2018). Changing norms following the 2016 U.S. presidential election: the Trump effect on prejudice. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 9, 186–192. http://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617750735 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dovidio, J. F., & Casados, A. T. (2019). The science of clinician biases and (mis)behavior. In M.T. Williams, D. C. Rosen, & J. W. Kanter (eds), Eliminating Race-Based Mental Health Disparities: Promoting Equity and Culturally Responsive Care Across Settings, pp. 43–59. New Harbinger Books.Google Scholar
Gatwiri, K. (2021). Racial microaggressions at work: reflections from Black African professionals in Australia. British Journal of Social Work, 51, 655–672. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcaa145 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerevich, J., Bácskai, E., & Czobor, P. (2007). The generalizability of the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 16, 124–136. http://doi.org/10.1002/mpr.221 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gómez, J. M. (2020). Cultural betrayal as a dimension of traumatic harm: violence and PTSS among ethnic minority emerging adults. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma. Advance online. doi: 10.1007/s40653-020-00314-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haeny, A., Holmes, S., & Williams, M. T. (2021). The need for shared nomenclature on racism and related terminology. Perspectives on Psychological Science.Google Scholar
Haidt, J. (2017). The unwisest idea on campus: commentary on Lilienfeld (2017). Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12, 176–177. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691616667050 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemmings, C., & Evans, A. (2018). Identifying and treating race-based trauma in counseling. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 46, 20–39. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmcd.12090 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hipolito-Delgado, C. P. (2016). Internalized racism, perceived racism, and ethnic identity: exploring their relationship in Latina/o undergraduates. Journal of College Counseling, 19, 98–109. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocc.12034 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Houshmand, S., Spanierman, L. B., & De Stefano, J. (2019). ‘I have strong medicine, you see’: strategic responses to racial microaggressions. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 66, 651. http://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000372 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huff, C., & Tingley, D. (2015). ‘Who are these people?’ Evaluating the demographic characteristics and political preferences of MTurk survey respondents. Research & Politics, 1–12. http://doi.org/0.1177/2053168015604648 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huppert, J. D., Smith, T. E., & Apfeldorf, W. J. (2002). Use of self-report measures of anxiety and depression in outpatients with schizophrenia: reliability and validity. Journal of Psychopathology Behavior, 24, 275–283. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020783101092 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
James, D. (2017). Internalized racism and past-year major depressive disorder among African-Americans: the role of ethnic identity and self-esteem. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 4, 659–670. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-016-0269-1 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnson-Ahorlu, R. N. (2013). ‘Our biggest challenge is stereotypes’: understanding stereotype threat and the academic experiences of African American undergraduates. Journal of Negro Education, 82, 382–392.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kanter, J. W., Williams, M. T., Kuczynski, A. M., Corey, M. D., Parigoris, R. M., Carey, C. M., Manbeck, K. E., Wallace, E. C., & Rosen, D. C. (2020). The measurement and structure of microaggressive communications by White people. Race and Social Problems, 12, 323–343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-020-09298-w CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kanter, J. W., Williams, M. T., Kuczynski, A. M., Manbeck, K., Debreaux, M., & Rosen, D. (2017). A preliminary report on the relationship between microaggressions against Blacks and racism among White college students. Race and Social Problems, 9, 291–299. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-017-9214-0 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, J. Y., Nguyen, D., & Block, C. (2018). The 360-degree experience of workplace microaggressions: who commits them? How do individuals respond? What are the consequences? In G. Torino, D. Rivera, C. Capodilupo, K. Nadal, & D. Sue (eds), Microaggression Theory, pp. 157–177. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119466642.ch10 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, J., Collins, J. D., Harwood, S. A., Mendenhall, R., & Huntt, M. B. (2020). ‘If you aren’t White, Asian or Indian, you aren’t an engineer’: racial microaggressions in STEM education. International Journal of STEM Education, 7, 48. http://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-020-00241-4 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Litman, L., Robinson, J. & Abberbock, T. (2017). TurkPrime.com: a versatile crowdsourcing data acquisition platform for the behavioral sciences. Behavioral Research, 49, 433–442. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-016-0727-z Google ScholarPubMed
Lui, P., & Quezada, L. (2019). Associations between microaggression and adjustment outcomes: a meta-analytic and narrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 145, 45–78. http://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000172 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martin, M. M., Anderson, C. M., & Horvath, C. L. (1996) Feelings about verbal aggression: justifications for sending and hurt from receiving verbally aggressive messages, Communication Research Reports, 13, 19–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824099609362066 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mekawi, Y., & Todd, N. R. (2018). Okay to say?: initial validation of the Acceptability of Racial Microaggressions Scale. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 24, 346–362. http://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000201 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Michaels, T. I., Gallagher, N., Crawford, M., Kanter, J. W., & Williams, M. T. (2018). Racial differences in the appraisal of microaggressions through cultural consensus modeling. The Behavior Therapist, 41, 314–321. https://www.abct.org/Journals/?m=mJournal&fa=TBT Google Scholar
Miyazaki, T., Shimizu, T., Komaki, G., Tsuboi, H., Kobayashi, F., Fujita, O., & Kawamura, N. (2003). Development of the Overt-Covert Aggression Inventory. Psychological Reports, 93, 26–34. http://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.2003.93.1.26 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mujica, C., & Bridges, A. (2020). Discriminatory Acts and Racial/Ethnic Identity of Perpetrators: How are Microaggressions Perceived When an Ingroup Member is the Perpetrator? Poster: Association of Behavioral & Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Annual Convention, November 2020.Google Scholar
Nasir, N. A. M., Nor, N. M., Yaacob, N. H., & Rashid, R. A. (2021). A review of racial microaggression in Malaysian educational system and its higher education institutions. International Journal of Higher Education, 10, 151–163. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v10n2p151 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. P. (2008). How does intergroup contact reduce prejudice? Meta-analytic tests of three mediators. European Journal of Social Psychology, 38, 922–934. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.504 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pierce, C. (1970). Offensive mechanisms. In Barbour, F. (ed), In the Black Seventies (pp. 265–282). Porter Sargent.Google Scholar
Pitcan, M., Park-Taylor, J. & Hayslett, J. (2018). Black men and racial microaggressions at work. The Career Development Quarterly, 66, 300–314. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12152 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pyke, K. D. (2010). What is internalized racial oppression and why don’t we study it? Acknowledging racism’s hidden injuries. Sociological Perspectives, 53, 551–572. https://doi.org/10.1525/sop.2010.53.4.551 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, R. E., Phinney, J. S., Masse, L. C., Chen, Y. R., Roberts, C. R., & Romero, A. (1999). The structure of ethnic identity of young adults from diverse ethnocultural groups. Journal of Early Adolescence, 19, 301–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rollock, N. (2012). Unspoken rules of engagement: navigating racial microaggressions in the academic terrain. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 25, 517–532. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2010.543433 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spanierman, L., Clark., D., & Kim, Y. (2021). Reviewing racial microaggressions research: documenting targets’ experiences, harmful sequelae, and resistance strategies. Perspectives on Psychological Science.Google Scholar
Shoshana, A. (2016). The language of everyday racism and microaggression in the workplace: Palestinian professionals in Israel. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 39, 1052–1069. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2015.1081965 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steketee, A., Williams, M., Valencia, B., Printz, D., & Hooper, L. M. (2021). Racial and language microaggressions in the school ecology. Perspectives on Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691621995740 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suárez-Orozco, C., Casanova, S., Martin, M., Katsiaficas, D., Cuellar, V., Smith, N. A., & Dias, S. I. (2015). Toxic rain in class: classroom interpersonal microaggressions. Educational Researcher, 44, 151–160. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X15580314 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sue, D. W., Alsaidi, S., Awad, M. N., Glaeser, E., Calle, C. Z., & Mendez, N. (2019). Disarming racial microaggressions: microintervention strategies for targets, White allies, and bystanders. American Psychologist, 74, 128–142.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sue, D. W., Capodilupo, C. M., Torino, G. C., Bucceri, J. M., Holder, A. M., Nadal, K. L., … & Esquilin, M. E. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: implications for counseling. American Psychologist, 62, 271–286. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.62.4.271 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tellawi, G., Williams, M. T., & Chasson, G. (2016). Interpersonal hostility and suspicious thinking in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychiatry Research, 243, 295–302. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2016.06.038 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Dyne, L., Ang, S., Ng, K. Y., Rockstuhl, T., Tan, M. L., & Koh, C. (2012). Sub-dimensions of the four-factor model of cultural intelligence: expanding the conceptualization and measurement of cultural intelligence. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 6, 295–313. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2012.00429.x CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of Positive and Negative Affect: the PANAS Scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063–1070. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wei, M., Su, J. C., Carrera, S., Lin, S.-P., & Yi, F. (2013). Suppression and interpersonal harmony: a cross-cultural comparison between Chinese and European Americans. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60, 625–633. http://doi.org/10.1037/a0033413 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, M. T. (2020a). Microaggressions: clarification, evidence, and impact. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15, 3–26. http://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619827499 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, M. T. (2020b). Psychology cannot afford to ignore the many harms caused by microaggressions. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15, 38–43. http://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619893362 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, M. T. (2020c). Managing Microaggressions: Addressing Everyday Racism in Therapeutic Spaces. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780190875237CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, M. T. (2021). Microaggressions are a form of aggression. Behavior Therapy, 52, 709–719. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2020.09.001 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, M. & Halstead, M. (2019). Racial microaggressions as barriers to treatment in clinical care. Directions in Psychiatry, 39, 265–280.Google Scholar
Williams, M. T., Duque, G., & Wetterneck, C. T. (2015, November). Ethnic identity and regional differences as buffers against anxiety and depression ina national sample of African American young adults. In B. A. Feinstein & T. A. Hart (Chairs) & D. Rosmarin (Discussant), The Role of Resilience in the Health and Well-Being of Minority Populations. Symposium conducted at the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Chicago, IL.Google Scholar
Williams, M. T., Kanter, J. W., Peña, A., Ching, T. W. C., & Oshin, L. (2020). Reducing microaggressions and promoting interracial connection: the Racial Harmony Workshop. Journal of Contextual and Behavioral Science, 16, 153–161. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.04.008 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, M. T., Skinta, M. D., & Martin-Willett, R. (2021). After Pierce and Sue: evidence for a revised racial microaggressions taxonomy. Perspectives on Psychological Science. http://doi.org/10.1177/1745691621994247 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Willis, T. Y., Mattheis, A., Dotson, B., Brannon, L.-J., Hunter, M., Moore, A., Ahmed, L., & Williams-Vallarta, L. (2019). ‘I find myself isolated and alone’: Black women’s experiences of microaggressions at a Hispanic-serving institution. Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education, 12, 186–204. http://doi.org/10.1080/19407882.2018.1545674 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Williams et al. supplementary material

Williams et al. supplementary material

Download Williams et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 130.8 KB
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.