Development and Validation of the Everyday Microaggression Scale: Focusing on Emerging Adult from Multicultural Families

Objectives The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a scale to measure the everyday microaggressions perceived by emerging adult from multicultural families. Methods For this purpose, in-depth interviews and surveys were conducted with emerging adult from multicultural families, specifically those born to a foreign-born mother (or father) and a Korean father (or mother), who grew up and currently live in Korea. Initial items were created based on key statements from the in-depth interviews with 14 participants and a review of the literature. . A preliminary survey was then conducted with 144 participants, and based on the preliminary survey with 144 participants, item analysis and exploratory factor analysis were conducted to finalize the items. Based on this, a final survey was conducted with 253 participants, and confirmatory factor analysis and validity analysis were performed. Results The results showed that the scale of he everyday microaggressions developed in this study appropriately explained the data for emerging adult from multicultural families. The scale consisted of three sub-factors: ‘Subtle Negative Prejudices,’ ‘Subtle Discriminatory Treatment,’ and ‘Subtle Exclusion.’ Additionally, the scale showed appropriate correlations with measures of perceived everyday discrimination, general sense of belonging, and life satisfaction, confirming its convergent validity. Conclusions The everyday microaggression scale developed in this study was found to have appropriate validity. It is hoped that this scale will be used in future research to explore the impact of everyday microaggressions on adult children from multicultural families in Korea. Suggestions for future research and limitations of the study were also discussed.