Frequencies Of Microaggressions Experienced By College, Intramural, And Community Student-Athletes

Abstract

Microaggressions are a developing area of concern, especially in sport psychology. This study first investigates the number of microaggressions experienced in student-athletes and student non-athletes attending universities throughout the United States and then investigates the impact That microaggressions have on team cohesion for student-athletes’ of different racial backgrounds. Previous research shows that team cohesion is important for both the individual members of a team and the team as a whole. The subjects (N = 708, 71.8% Female, 29% studentathletes) completed an online survey. Results indicated that student-athletes reported significantly more racial microaggressions than non-athletes (F(1, 639) = 4.25, p = .040). Regarding our second aim, we were unable to investigate the impact of microaggressions on team cohesion because of the low number of athletes of Color participating in the study. The frequencies of the team cohesion subscales are discussed for both athletes of Color and White athletes. The current research has implications for better understanding the relationship between reported experiences of racial microaggressions in collegiate athletes.