UW Study Asks if Ethnicity-based Microaggressions Affect Health

by Agatha Pacheco

(This article was originally published by The Seattle Globalist)

Researchers in University of Washington's Department of Communication are looking for people who areblack, Latino or multiracial to participate in a study looking at the impacts of microaggressions on health.

Participants must 18 or over, and have experienced a microaggression in the past six months.

The hour-long time commitment includes two surveys and a blood sample.

"The research attendant will prick your finger to get droplets of blood for testing," said the online post. Those who choose to participate will be compensated $10.

People interested in taking part or learning more can contact Joe Whitt at joewhitt@uw.edu.

A microaggression is an unconscious or unintended slight against a person that insults or takes aim at the person's race, ethnicity, gender, immigration status or sexual orientation. A microaggression can take multiple forms, including "jokes" or comments that make assumptions about a person.

In a video for DIG Magazine, multimedia editor Justin Covington said that anyone can commit a microaggression, which is a product of systemic and institutional racism.

"And sometimes the perpetrator may think they're being innocent, while they are actually being ignorant," he said.

"They're a symptom of a bigger problem," he said in the video.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPCGNDaE7MA]

Featured image courtesy of UW Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies