Development and Assessment of the Adoptee Experiences of Microaggressions Scale (AEMS)
Adopted individuals show evidence of psychological symptoms that cause them to seek mental health services at higher rates than non-adoptees (Juffer & van Ijzendoorn, 2005; Keyes et al., 2008). One contributing factor to such symptoms may be their experiences of microaggressions and social stigma (Wegar, 2000). Microaggressions have been defined as "everyday slights, putdowns, invalidations, and insults directed to socially devalued group members by well-intentioned people who are unaware that they have engaged in such biased and harmful behaviors" (Sue & Sue, 2016, p. 16). To date, though, there is very little research regarding adoptees and microaggressions (Garber & Grotevant, 2015). Understanding how adoptees experience microaggressions, and how this impacts their mental health and wellbeing (specifically, depression) could help mental health clinicians better work with this population. Overall, the purpose of this study was to create and assess a scale that will offer an expansion on adult adoptee literature, as well as investigate how adult adoptees experience microaggressions in their daily lives. Finally, the relationship between depression symptoms and experiences of microaggressions were evaluated in order to see if, like other invisible identities, greater numbers of microaggressions experienced will correlate with higher reports of depression and depression symptom severity.
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