Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology
-
Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol · Apr 2012
The Racial Microaggressions Scale (RMAS): a new scale to measure experiences of racial microaggressions in people of color.
Racial microaggressions refer to the racial indignities, slights, mistreatment, or offenses that people of color may face on a recurrent or consistent basis. Racial microaggressions may represent a significant source of stress endured by people of color. ⋯ The internal reliability, convergent validity, and concurrent validity of the scale were also explored. Results indicated that the Racial Microaggression Scale is a multidimensional tool to assess perceptions of racial microaggressions by people of color.
-
Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol · Jul 2011
Perceived discrimination and mental health symptoms among Black men with HIV.
People living with HIV (PLWH) exhibit more severe mental health symptoms, including depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, than do members of the general public. We examined whether perceived discrimination, which has been associated with poor mental health in prior research, contributes to greater depression and PTSD symptoms among HIV-positive Black men who have sex with men (MSM), who are at high risk for discrimination from multiple stigmatized characteristics (HIV-serostatus, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation). A total of 181 Black MSM living with HIV completed audio computer-assisted self-interviews (ACASI) that included measures of mental health symptoms (depression, PTSD) and scales assessing perceived discrimination due to HIV-serostatus, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. ⋯ In multivariate tests, only perceived HIV-related discrimination was associated with PTSD symptoms (p < .05). Findings suggest that some types of perceived discrimination contribute to poor mental health among PLWH. Researchers need to take into account intersecting stigmata when developing interventions to improve mental health among PLWH.
-
Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol · Jul 2011
Toward ethnocultural diversification of higher education.
Attitudes toward ethnocultural diversification in higher education mirror attitudes toward paying taxes. Dissenters are opposed to paying taxes or to ethnocultural diversification. Passive Supporters value the benefits of taxes or ethnocultural diversification, but pay taxes or engage in diversity efforts only when required to do so. ⋯ Mandatory approaches to decrease the resistance of Dissenters to ethnocultural diversification may be necessary, whereas compelling voluntary approaches may be useful to mobilize Passive Supporters. Solutions need to be tailored to the needs of European Americans and persons of color. This article offers a conceptual framework for future research and interventions.
-
Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol · Oct 2009
Historical ArticleLiberating history: the context of the challenge of psychologists of color to American psychology.
The history of race and ethnicity in North America is long and complex. It has been fraught with racism and various forms of oppression--intellectual, social, and physical--and defies easy analysis. ⋯ Although other articles in this issue examine the specific impact of racism and internal colonialism on racial and ethnic minorities, this article places these events within an international context, specifically the post-World War II era when oppressed peoples around the world sought liberation from colonial oppressors. The article suggests that the struggles and successes of racial and ethnic minority psychologists may provide the best opportunity for American psychology to connect with emerging indigenous psychologies in other parts of the world, which represent the future of psychology in a globalizing world.
-
Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol · Jan 2009
Explaining elevated social anxiety among Asian Americans: emotional attunement and a cultural double bind.
Previous research has documented elevated levels of social anxiety in Asian American college students when compared with their European American peers. The authors hypothesized that higher symptoms among Asians could be explained by cultural differences in attunement to the emotional states of others. ⋯ Results confirmed that ethnic differences in social anxiety symptoms were mediated by differences in attunement concerns and competencies in emotion recognition. Asian American college students may find themselves in a double bind that leads to social unease because of a cultural emphasis on sensitivity to others' emotions in the midst of barriers to developing this attunement skill set.