Ethnic Microaggressions and the Depressive and Somatic Symptoms of Latino and Asian American Adolescents

Ethnic microaggressions are a form of everyday, interpersonal discrimination that are ambiguous and difficult to recognize
as discrimination. This study examined the frequency and impact of microaggressions among Latino (n = 247) and Asian American
(n = 113) adolescents (M
_age = 17.18, SD = .75; 57 % girls). Latino adolescents reported more frequent microaggressions that dismiss their realities of
discrimination and microaggressions characterized by treatment as a second class citizen than Asian Americans, but similar
levels of microaggressions that highlight differences or foreignness. There were no ethnic differences in the extent to which
adolescents were bothered by microaggressions. Moreover, even supposedly innocuous forms of discrimination are associated
with elevated levels of anxiety, anger, and stress, which may increase feelings of depression and sickness. Microaggressions
should be recognized as subtle discrimination that send messages about group status and devaluation, and similar to overt
discrimination, can evoke powerful emotional reactions and may affect mental health.