Race-based Traumatic Stress Predicts Risky Drinking, Over and Above Negative Affect, and Non-race-related Trauma Symptoms in Racial/Ethnic Minority Female College Students.

OBJECTIVES: Alcohol misuse remains a major concern in college student populations and rates of risky and problematic drinking are specifically on the rise for women. One important factor that has been shown to be positively associated with substance use/misuse for women from historically marginalized or minoritized racial/ethnic backgrounds is exposure to racial discrimination and possible resulting traumatic stress reactions. Questions remain about the relationship between race-based traumatic stress and risky drinking particularly among diverse female college students who are at greater risk due to their marginalized status in their racial/ethnic and gender groups. DESIGN: The current study examined race-based traumatic stress as a unique predictor of risky drinking when controlling for negative affectivity and general trauma symptoms, additional risk factors for risky drinking in women. RESULTS: Hierarchical linear regressions revealed that race-based traumatic stress made a significant and unique contribution to the amount of variance in risky drinking, above negative affectivity, and general trauma symptoms. CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the importance of considering experiences of racism as risk factors in substance use prevention and intervention, specifically for female college students from marginalized or minoritized racial/ethnic backgrounds.

Racial trauma as a risk factor for risky alcohol use in diverse college students.

Exposure to potentially traumatic race-based experiences poses a risk factor for risky drinking among college students from historically marginalized racial/ethnic backgrounds. Objective: The current study examined the relationship between both the level (severity) and pattern of race-based traumatic stress (RBTS) reactions and risky drinking. Participants: The current study sample was made up of 62 male (23.5%) and 202 female (76.5%) Latino/a/x, Black, and Asian college students attending a minority-serving institution. Methods: Study participants were asked to participate in an anonymous online survey. Results: A criterion profile analysis revealed that higher scores on RBTS reactions overall, and elevated scores on RBTS - avoidance, low self-esteem, and anger, specifically, were indicative of more risky drinking. Conclusions: These findings highlight a distinct pattern of RBTS scores that may predict a vulnerability to risky drinking and underscore the importance of racial trauma healing in alcohol use prevention and intervention efforts.

"It's Not in Your Head": Gaslighting, 'Splaining, Victim Blaming, and Other Harmful Reactions to Microaggressions.

Secondary microaggressions refer to the ways in which people of historically dominant groups negate the realities of people of marginalized groups. Gaslighting describes the act of manipulating others to doubt themselves or question their own sanity; people confronted for committing microaggressions deny the existence of their biases, often convincing the targets of microaggressions to question their own perceptions. 'Splaining (derived from mansplaining/Whitesplaining) is an act in which a person of a dominant group speaks for or provides rationale to people of marginalized groups about topics related to oppression or inequity. Victim blaming refers to assigning fault to people who experience violence or wrongdoing and is used as a tool to discredit people of marginalized groups who speak out against microaggressions or any injustices. Finally, abandonment and neglect refer to a bystander's failure to address or acknowledge microaggressions. Although these terms are commonly known among marginalized communities (and frequently used in popular media), there is a dearth in academic literature that substantiates these phenomena and relates them to microaggressions. The purpose of this article is to review these concepts in the psychological literature and to demonstrate the psychological harm caused by these behaviors on interpersonal and systemic levels.