Racial Microaggressions and Anti-Racism: A Review of the Literature With Implications for School-Based Interventions and School Psychologists

Abstract

Many racial–ethnic minoritized individuals are repeatedly exposed to subtle actions reflecting racial slights, termed racial microaggressions (RMAs), which are associated with adjustment problems in early adult and adult populations. Early adolescence represents a unique developmental period when minoritized youth begin their racial–ethnic identity exploration and are subjected to stereotypes and prejudice, thereby making them vulnerable to RMAs. Based upon the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist, a systematic literature search, screening and review of RMA literature focusing on high schoolers and younger youth was conducted and yielded 54 publications. This paper reviewed the publications and identified gaps in the field such as the need for systematic research on early adolescents including the frequency and severity of RMAs and the important contributions of peers, parents and teachers for RMA victims, and the need for more evidence-based programming for middle schoolers. Findings suggest that developing school-based microaggression antiracism programs is clearly needed for minoritized and White youth.

Impact Statement

Racial microaggressions are harmful to minoritized youth’s well-being, including higher rates of suicidal ideation even after accounting for experiences of overt discrimination. The current systematic review suggests a great need for helping school staff provide an inclusive, equitable classroom and for empowering other adults to better support minoritized youth in handling racial microaggressions. The authors propose that school psychologists can fill this critical gap given their important role in providing socio–emotional support to both students and staff.

Keywords:

• racial microaggressions
• diversity
• inclusion
• social justice
• interventions (school-wide)
• interventions (social–emotional)
• violence, school, and community

Associate Editor:

• Jamilia Blake

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to acknowledge the following individuals who contributed to the writing of this manuscript: Brianna Beulah, Jonathan Varghese, and other members of the research team at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

DISCLOSURE

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Notes

1 Unless noted otherwise, Black, Latinx, Asian, Bi-/Multiracial, and White refer to individuals residing in the U.S.

2 By main construct, we were referring to the fact that the article was theoretically and/or empirically investigating this construct as opposed to discussing this construct related solely to future research and practice.

3 Nonschool based studies were included in the systematic review mainly because samples drawn from community settings are comprised of primarily school-age youth, who are relevant to our target age group; second, ­nonschool based research is important because it may highlight the perspectives of different stakeholders (e.g., parents and other caregivers) which are indeed critical in developing successful intervention programs.

4 Note that participants in the two studies were beyond high school and they contributed retrospective narratives, rather than current experiences in K–12 schools. They were thus excluded from our literature review.

Additional information

Funding

The writing of the paper was supported, in part, by funding from an NIH grant, 1R01HD094833-01A1.

Notes on contributors

Rui Fu

Rui Fu, PhD, is currently a Research Scientist at the Research Institute of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Her research has focused on children’s and adolescents’ social behaviors (e.g., peer bullying involvement, prosocial behaviors, social withdrawal), adjustment and their social relationships, particularly from a cross-cultural perspective. She is particularly interested in how diversity in race and ethnicities and immigration background, cultural values, and life experience contributes to children’s and adolescents’ socialization experiences and development.

Stephen S. Leff

Stephen S. Leff, PhD, is the Co-Director of the Center for Violence Prevention at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, a licensed Psychologist, and the William H. Bennett Professor of Psychology in Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on ­aggression and bullying prevention programming, relational aggression (use of rumors and social exclusion to harm others), microaggression (daily conscious or unconscious humiliations that members of a dominant group repeatedly direct toward more marginalized individuals), the community-based ­participatory research process (working with community stakeholders to integrate their voices and perspectives into best practice empirically-supported programming), and Scientific Edutainment which integrates empirical science with the latest entertainment technology in order to make educational programming evidence-based, engaging and relevant to youth. He is strongly committed to issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism.

Ian Christopher Carroll

Ian Christopher Carroll, PhD, is currently completing a postdoctoral fellowship in integrated behavioral health at Nemours Children’s Health in Wilmington, DE. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed his clinical internship at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Clinically, he is dedicated to providing equitable mental health services to minoritized children and families. His current research interests include peer victimization and increasing mental health access for minoritized families within primary care. He also serves as a board member for The Rainbow Project, a community mental health provider in Madison, Wisconsin.

Shelby Brizzolara-Dove

Shelby Brizzolara-Dove, BS, is a research coordinator at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in the Clinical In Vivo Gene Therapy group, working on the administration of phase I-IV clinical trials. Previously, she assisted in the coordination of studies on school-based interventions for aggression and bullying prevention, Tier 2 group therapies for anxiety, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).  

Kenisha Campbell

Kenisha Campbell, MD, MPH, is a pediatrician, clinical leader and educator. She is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine and was formerly Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and an attending physician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. While at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia she led the robust subspecialty and primary care outpatient practices in Adolescent Medicine. She provided high quality care for adolescents with a variety of medical and behavioral health conditions in both the outpatient and inpatient settings. She provided care that incorporates the social determinants of health and is adolescent-centered and trauma-informed. She is dedicated to the professional development of trainees and faculty who are underrepresented in Medicine and seeks to contribute to an environment that is antiracist, diverse, inclusive and equitable.