“So What Happened to You?” A Pilot Study Examing the Impact of Ableist Microaggressions
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Microaggression involves seemingly innocent, subtle, and brief discriminatory behavior that can have a detrimental impact due to its omnipresent perpetration against members of marginalized groups. Microaggressions perpetrated against individuals with disabilities are often rooted in ableism. Ableism refers to the belief that anyone who does not fit into able-bodied norms is not worthy of equal treatment. Further, ableism perpetrated by institutions creates an environment in which institutional betrayal is fostered. Institutional betrayal has been shown to exacerbate the negative effects of trauma or discrimination. The present study was designed to investigate the immediate impact of an ableist microaggression on individuals with disabilities and how this impact interacts with institutional betrayal. Forty-six participants who had experienced a change in physical ability associated with a change in functioning were investigated. Participant negative state affect, or mood, was measured unobtrusively prior to and after a moment of microaggression to investigate how a microaggression impacts mood directly after it occurs and any additional impact of institutional betrayal. Due to the limited sample size utilized in this study, the results must be interpreted with caution as the study was underpowered. A 2 X 2 analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to investigate differences in negative affect scores between the microaggression and control conditions. Participant negative affect was shown to decrease over time regardless of condition. The results of this ANOVA were bolstered by the qualitative content analysis that showed participants largely reacted neutrally to the microaggression or potential microaggression. It is likely the type of microaggression and the context in which the microaggression occurred impacted the results. Future directions and implications are discussed.