Evaluation & the health professions
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Racial microaggressions are everyday subtle or ambiguous racially related insults, slights, mistreatment, or invalidations. Racial microaggressions are a type of perceived racism that may negatively impact the health and well-being of people of color in the United States. This study examined the reliability and validity of the Racial Microaggression Scale distress subscales, which measure the perceived stressfulness of six types of microaggression experiences in a racially and ethnically diverse sample. ⋯ African Americans reported higher distress than the other groups in response to Environmental microaggressions. Results suggest that the Racial Microaggressions Scale distress subscales may aid health professionals in assessing the distress elicited by different types of microaggressions. In turn, this may facilitate diagnosis and treatment planning in order to provide multiculturally competent care for African American, Latino, and Asian American clients.