School-based racial microaggressions and depression among Indigenous young adults

Previous research on the risk factors for the development of mental health disorders among Indigenous Peoples in the United States suggest that experiencing prejudice is correlated with the development of psychopathology. However, the relation between school-based prejudice, including microaggressions, and the development of depression remains unexamined. As such, the current study is an exploratory analysis among a small sample (N = 47) of age 18–25 Indigenous young adults from the American Northwest examining the predictive relation between their retrospective recall of school-based racial microaggressions as measured by the School-Based Racial and Ethnic Microaggressions Subscale and their current levels of depressive symptoms in adulthood as measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. There was a statistically significant predictive relation found between participant's retrospective recall of microaggressions and their current levels of depression as young adults. As such, the practice and policy implications for school-based professionals are discussed.