Gendered Racial Microaggressions Scale for Asian American Women: Development and initial validation.

Asian American women's (AAW's) mental health issues have received growing public attention; recent statistics suggest alarmingly high suicide rates among AAW. Yet, little research has examined the nuanced oppression that AAW face and the daily effects of compounded racism and sexism contributing to their mental health issues. Applying the intersectionality and microaggressions framework, we developed the Gendered Racial Microaggressions Scale for Asian American Women (GRMSAAW) using data collected from 564 AAW. Items were developed via literature review, focus group, and expert review. Exploratory (N = 304) and confirmatory (N = 260) factor analyses suggested a 4-factor structure and produced 22-item scales of frequency and stress appraisal with the following subscales: (a) Ascription of Submissiveness, (b) Assumption of Universal Appearance, (c) Asian Fetishism, and (d) Media Invalidation. Internal consistency estimates were .80 and above for frequency and stress appraisal scales, and the scales accounted for 52% and 60% of variance, respectively. Examination of a bifactor model containing one general factor and four group factors suggested that GRMSAAW could be represented unidimensionally (total scale score) for the purpose of applied measurement. Initial construct validity was established as GRMSAAW scores were associated with sexism, racial microaggressions, depressive symptoms, and internalized racism in ways consistent with theory. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

A Randomized Trial of Social Comparison Feedback and Financial Incentives to Increase Physical Activity.

PURPOSE: To compare the effectiveness of different combinations of social comparison feedback and financial incentives to increase physical activity. DESIGN: Randomized trial (Clinicaltrials.gov number, NCT02030080). SETTING: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred eighty-six adults. INTERVENTIONS: Twenty-six weeks of weekly feedback on team performance compared to the 50th percentile (n = 100) or the 75th percentile (n = 64) and 13 weeks of weekly lottery-based financial incentive plus feedback on team performance compared to the 50th percentile (n = 80) or the 75th percentile (n = 44) followed by 13 weeks of only performance feedback. MEASURES: Mean proportion of participant-days achieving the 7000-step goal during the 13-week intervention. ANALYSIS: Generalized linear mixed models adjusting for repeated measures and clustering by team. RESULTS: Compared to the 75th percentile without incentives during the intervention period, the mean proportion achieving the 7000-step goal was significantly greater for the 50th percentile with incentives group (0.45 vs 0.27, difference: 0.18, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.04 to 0.32; P = .012) but not for the 75th percentile with incentives group (0.38 vs 0.27, difference: 0.11, 95% CI: -0.05 to 0.27; P = .19) or the 50th percentile without incentives group (0.30 vs 0.27, difference: 0.03, 95% CI: -0.10 to 0.16; P = .67). CONCLUSION: Social comparison to the 50th percentile with financial incentives was most effective for increasing physical activity.