On the relationship between experienced microaggressions and mental health stigma among members of marginalized groups

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Abstract
Objectives: Members of historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups are more likely to experience racial and ethnic microaggressions (REMs), as well as to endorse greater mental health stigma. The present study examined whether the experience of REMs partially explains a greater likelihood of endorsing mental health stigma among members of marginalized groups. Method: 494 undergraduate students and MTurk workers completed a survey including measures of the experience of REMs, mental health symptoms, and mental health stigma (including mental illness microaggressions [MIMs]). Analyses examined the association between the experience of REMS and mental health stigma, and whether REMS mediated the relationship between race/ethnicity and mental health stigma. Results: Black/African-American participants endorsed experiencing significantly more REMs than participants from other racial/ethnic groups, while both Latinx and Black/African-American participants endorsed a greater willingness to engage in MIMs. REMs significantly predicted intent to perpetrate MIMs; however, mediational analyses did not support that REMs mediated the relationship between race/ethnicity and MIMs. Discussion: Findings suggest that the experience of REMs may predispose individuals to “pass along” discrimination that they have experienced to persons diagnosed with mental illness, but this relationship does not explain why members of racial and ethnic minorities may express more mental health stigma.

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