TY - JOUR
T1 - Mitigating racial microaggressions on campus
T2 - Documenting targets’ responses
AU - Houshmand, Sara
AU - Spanierman, Lisa B.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: This study was part of a larger project on students’ experiences with racial microaggressions at McGill University, funded in part by the Deputy Provost and Office of Student Life and Learning . This research was also supported by a Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship awarded to the first author from the Social Sciences and Research Humanities Council.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - In this qualitative study, the authors examined responses to racial microaggressions among undergraduate Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) (N = 36) at a large Canadian university. To this end, we employed the consensual qualitative research method (CQR; Hill et al., 2005; Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997; Hill, 2012) among seven focus groups. Canadian undergraduate student participants, who self-identified as East Asian (n = 7), South Asian (n = 7), Arab (n = 9), Black (n = 7), and Indigenous (n = 6), expressed four strategic responses to racial microaggressions: using humor to mitigate tension, seeking community and solidarity for support, avoiding or withdrawing for protection and confronting perpetrators and challenging stereotypes. Findings demonstrated the dialectic between avoiding and confronting racial microaggressions, the nuanced role of using humor as a response strategy, and the importance of social support for BIPOC students. Findings are consistent with and extend current proposals of microinterventions. Social identity markers and power dynamics influenced students’ response strategies. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
AB - In this qualitative study, the authors examined responses to racial microaggressions among undergraduate Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) (N = 36) at a large Canadian university. To this end, we employed the consensual qualitative research method (CQR; Hill et al., 2005; Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997; Hill, 2012) among seven focus groups. Canadian undergraduate student participants, who self-identified as East Asian (n = 7), South Asian (n = 7), Arab (n = 9), Black (n = 7), and Indigenous (n = 6), expressed four strategic responses to racial microaggressions: using humor to mitigate tension, seeking community and solidarity for support, avoiding or withdrawing for protection and confronting perpetrators and challenging stereotypes. Findings demonstrated the dialectic between avoiding and confronting racial microaggressions, the nuanced role of using humor as a response strategy, and the importance of social support for BIPOC students. Findings are consistent with and extend current proposals of microinterventions. Social identity markers and power dynamics influenced students’ response strategies. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
KW - Coping
KW - Microinterventions
KW - Racial microaggressions
KW - Racism in higher education
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U2 - 10.1016/j.newideapsych.2021.100894
DO - 10.1016/j.newideapsych.2021.100894
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85109159523
SN - 0732-118X
VL - 63
JO - New Ideas in Psychology
JF - New Ideas in Psychology
M1 - 100894
ER -