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. 2023 May 8:1-20.
doi: 10.1007/s11218-023-09792-0. Online ahead of print.

Assumptions of immigration status: A moderated mediation analysis of racial microaggressions and internalization impacting latinx and asian college students

Aldo Barrita  1   2 , Richard Chang  1   2 , Gloria Wong-Padoongpatt  1   2
Affiliations

Assumptions of immigration status: A moderated mediation analysis of racial microaggressions and internalization impacting latinx and asian college students

Aldo Barrita et al. Soc Psychol Educ. .

Abstract

Racial oppression in the United States has changed many forms post-2016 elections, including anti-immigrant sentiments towards highly visible immigrant communities, such as Latinx and Asian people. The weaponization of immigration status against Latinx and Asian people in the U.S. has increased drastically post-2016 and equity researchers have responded with scholarship primarily addressing the systemic and macro levels of these oppressive behaviors. Less is known during this period about the shifts of everyday racism-related attacks - such as racial microaggressions. Racial microaggressions are daily stressors that can severely impact the targets' well-being and people of color often engage in coping strategies to disarm and neutralize these stressors. The internalization of these degrading and stereotypical messages is a common coping strategy with people of color adopting these negative images into their self-view. Using a sample (N = 436) collected in the Fall of 2020, we unpack the relationships between immigration status microaggressions, psychological distress, and internalization among Latinx and Asian college students. We compared the frequencies of immigration status microaggressions and psychological distress between Latinx and Asian respondents. We used a conditional (moderated mediation) process model to explore possible significant interactions. Our findings suggested that Latinx, compared to Asian students, significantly reported more experiences of immigration status microaggressions and psychological distress. A mediation analysis showed that internalizing coping strategies partially mediated the relationship between immigration status microaggressions and poor well-being. Finally, a moderated mediation model's results highlighted that being Latinx moderated the positive relationship between immigration status microaggressions and psychological distress through internalization.

Keywords: Immigration status; Internalizing; Microaggressions; Psychological distress.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interestAll authors for this submission have no known conflicts of interest, as well no financial support or interest that directly or indirectly is connected to this study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conceptual moderating effect of racial or ethnic identity on the internalized microaggressions model
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A mediation model of immigration status racial microaggressions and psychological distress through internalizing coping strategies. Unstandardized regression coefficients. Controlled for SES as a covariate *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Moderating influence of racial/ethnic identity on the association of immigration status microaggressions and internalizing coping strategies for discrimination
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Moderating influence of racial/ethnic identity on the association of immigration status microaggressions and internalizing coping strategies for discrimination
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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