Shifting mediates gendered racial microaggressions and perceived racism among Asian American women.

INTRODUCTION: Microaggressive attacks on Asian American women increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study tested whether Asian American women's shifting, a coping strategy employed by some women of color to alter their self-presentation in response to perceived racism, mediated the association between gendered racial microaggressions and self-perceived subtle and blatant racism. METHODS: A convenience sample of 253 Asian American adult women completed the gendered racial microaggressions scale for Asian American women (GRMSAAW), the Asian American women's shifting scale (AsAWSS), and the subtle and blatant racism scale for Asian American college students (SABR-A2 ). RESULTS: Results from a structural equation model indicated a partial mediation effect; experiences with increased gendered racial microaggressions were associated with greater levels of shifting, which in turn, were associated with greater perceived subtle and blatant racism. DISCUSSION: These data extend our understanding of the shifting coping mechanism used by some Asian American women. Implications for clinical practice and future research are also discussed.

Does African American Women's Racial Identity Mediate Gendered Racism on Anticipated Relationship Threat?

The present study examined the question of whether racial identity among African American women mediated the relationship between gendered racism and anticipated relationship threat. Using the Multicultural Assessment Intervention Process (MAIP) framework, we examined the relationship of gendered racism, racial identity, and anticipated relationship threat among a convenience sample of 411 African American women. A structural model was configured with gendered racism directly predicting anticipated relationship threat and racial identity serving as a mediator. Results indicated that greater levels of perceived gendered racism were associated with greater perceptions of anticipated relationship threat. Racial identity was found to not mediate the association with anticipated relationship threat. Individuals with less education experienced higher levels of concern regarding physical safety and controlling behaviors than those with more education. Implications for future relationship threat research with African American women are discussed.

Development and validation of the African American Women's Shifting Scale (AAWSS).

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research was to develop and validate an instrument to measure shifting or self-altering strategies among African American women. METHOD: A 13-item instrument was developed to measure aspects of shifting phenomena based on the empirical literature, feedback from focus groups, and cultural experts. The initial validation study, using principal axis analysis, was conducted with a national sample of 318 African American women. A second independent national sample of 190 African American women provided data for a confirmatory factor analysis. RESULTS: Results indicated that the inventory was composed of the following 3 factors: Strong Black Woman, Awareness of Shifting Behavior, and Sensitivity to the Perceptions of Blacks. CONCLUSIONS: A structural model was developed based on the Multicultural Assessment-Intervention Process (MAIP) framework that allowed for the exploration of the shifting construct. Implications for future research are discussed.

Predictors of self-perceived cultural competence among children's mental health providers.

Based on empirical research and predictions from the Multicultural Assessment-Intervention Process model, the racial attitudes, ethnic identity, and acculturation of a national sample of 371 child mental health service providers were assessed as possible predictors of practitioner self-perceived cultural competence. It was hypothesized that ethnic identity and racial attitudes would each directly affect self-perceived cultural competence and that acculturation and racial attitudes would mediate the effect of ethnic identity. The results indicated that ethnic identity exerted a direct effect on self-perceived cultural competence and that this effect was partially mediated by respondents' racial attitudes; however, acculturation had no significant role as a mediator. The results are discussed within the context of the Multicultural Assessment-Intervention Process model and implications for providing culturally competent services to children.

Relationship among respondent ethnicity, ethnic identity, acculturation, and homeless status on a homeless population's functional status.

This study investigated the relationship of homeless status, ethnic identity, respondent ethnicity (African American, Latino, Native American, and Anglo), and Latino, Anglo, and Mexican American orientation on the functional impairment (Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale, BASIS-32; S. V. Eisen, 1996) of 355 homeless men and women who were interviewed in Pomona, California. Multivariate analyses of variance results indicated that respondent ethnicity was related to several BASIS-32 subscales. Specifically, Anglo and African American homeless adults had greater functional impairment than did Latino or Native American respondents. In addition, high Anglo orientation among chronically homeless Latino respondents, with low ethnic identity was associated with higher levels of functional impairment on the BASIS-32 Psychosis subscale. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Effects of racial match on Asian American mental health consumer satisfaction.

This study investigated the effects of consumer-provider racial match on consumer service satisfaction and treatment outcomes (i.e., Client Satisfaction Questionnaire and GAF-Posttest) of 96 outpatient consumers, 66 of whom were adults and 30 of whom were parent/caregivers of child consumers. Data was obtained by telephone interviews over a 6-week period. After controlling for four other variables, client satisfaction was higher for racially matched consumers. Racially matched child consumers also had higher GAF-Posttest scores. Implications of these findings are discussed.