Nicole Buchanan

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Professor (Associate) at Michigan State University

Epistemic exclusion is a form of scholarly devaluation based on disciplinary and identity‐based biases within systems of evaluation. In two studies, we draw upon the theory of epistemic exclusion to explore potential biases shaping journal review and publication processes in Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy ( ASAP ). In Study 1, we coded...

Epistemic exclusion is a form of scholarly devaluation that studies suggest disproportionately and negatively affects faculty from marginalized groups (e.g., women, people of color). In the present study, we describe the development and initial validation of the Faculty Epistemic Exclusion Scale, a scale designed to measure experiences of epistemic...

Introduction Asian American adolescents are equally or more likely to experience depression but less likely to seek treatment for depression than adolescents from other racial and ethnic groups in the US. The current study examined the long‐term effects of parental care, parental control, and parental closeness on depression and counseling use amon...

Despite institutional efforts, growth in the number of faculty of color has largely plateaued, limiting research innovation and other benefits of diversity. In this article, we seek to understand structural barriers to faculty equity by (a) detailing a theory of epistemic exclusion within academia and (b) applying the theory of epistemic exclusion...

In 2019, (Michigan State University) conducted a campus-wide climate survey on relationship violence and sexual misconduct (RVSM; the 'Know More' Survey), which revealed that many students, faculty, and staff did not know where to go for help or how to support survivors. Objective: The authors collaborated on the design and launch of the 'Support M...

Michigan State University (MSU) created a long-term, values-based strategic plan to increase help-seeking and reduce the incidence of relationship violence and sexual misconduct. Creating systemic change in institutions of higher education is challenging, particularly so in the wake of massive institutional crises and betrayal, as we had at MSU. In...

This paper describes a multi-year initiative at Michigan State University (MSU) to change our institutional response to relationship violence and sexual misconduct (RVSM) in the aftermath of a large-scale institutional crisis. While the circumstances at MSU are unique, many universities have faced or will face moments that bring RVSM issues into th...

As efforts to end systemic racism gain momentum across various contexts, it is critical to consider antiracist steps needed to improve psychological science. Current scientific practices may serve to maintain white supremacy with significant and impactful consequences. Extant research practices reinforce norms of homogeneity within BIPOC (Black, In...

Frontline health providers who worked in Hubei, China during the initial outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) experienced poorer mental health outcomes than those who worked elsewhere in China, but many of these workers denied psychological challenges and did not use resources when offered. This study investigated challenges, mental health,...

Workshop Summary:The Toolbox Dialogue Initiative conducted two workshops with Michigan State University faculty on May 4, 2017 and one with administrators on May 24, 2017. The first faculty workshop –“Group 1” in what follows – comprised white faculty, while the second, “Group 2”, comprised faculty of color. The administrator workshop, “Group 3”, c...

To increase awareness and establish accountability, we propose that journals rate themselves using this table with an emerging list of accountability benchmarks. Recommendations are derived from Buchanan, Perez, Prinstein, & Thurston's 2021 paper, Upending Racism in Psychological Science: Strategies to Change How Our Science is Conducted, Reported,...

To increase awareness and establish accountability, we propose that journals rate themselves using this table with an emerging list of accountability benchmarks. Recommendations are derived from Buchanan, Perez, Prinstein, & Thurston's 2021 paper, Upending Racism in Psychological Science: Strategies to Change How Our Science is Conducted, Reported,...

To increase awareness and establish accountability, we propose that journals rate themselves using this table with an emerging list of accountability benchmarks. Recommendations are derived from Buchanan, Perez, Prinstein, & Thurston's 2021 paper, Upending Racism in Psychological Science: Strategies to Change How Our Science is Conducted, Reported,...

Objective This study explored treatment experiences and social support among individuals with eating disorders (EDs) in mainland China. Method Subscribers of a Chinese online social media platform (WeChat) focused on EDs were invited to complete a screening questionnaire that included the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale for the DSM-5. Of the 116...

Faculty diversity has received increased attention from researchers and institutions of higher education, yet faculty demographics have not changed substantially for many underrepresented groups. Several barriers to the retention of women and faculty of color have been offered, including a lack of belonging, discrimination, social exclusion, and to...

Psychological science has been slow to incorporate intersectionality as a concept and as a framework for conducting research. This limits not only the potential for intersectionality theory, but also limits the potential impact of the research claiming to use it. Mennies and colleagues conducted a study of psychopathology and treatment utilization...

Psychological science has been slow to incorporate intersectionality as a concept and as a framework for conducting research. This limits not only the potential for intersectionality theory, but also limits the potential impact of the research claiming to use it. Mennies and colleagues conducted a study of psychopathology and treatment utilization...

As efforts to end systemic racism gain momentum across various contexts, it is critical to consider anti-racist steps that will be required to improve psychological science. Current scientific practices serve to maintain white supremacy with significant and impactful consequences. Extant research practices reinforce norms of homogeneity within BIPO...

Although intersectionality has become part of the everyday lexicon, the field of psychology has demonstrated resistance to the theory, which we argue reflects epistemic exclusion. Epistemic exclusion is the devaluation of some scholarship as illegitimate and certain scholars as lacking credibility. We suggest that intersectionality has been epistem...

Similar to much of the mental health field, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has failed to center the needs of people of color. Monnica Williams and colleagues demonstrate the harm faced by Black women and other people of color when working with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapists that are unaware of and ill-equipped to address sensitive topics...

Clinical science must begin to embrace the richness and nuance involved in centering social justice, intersectionality, and diversity and creating space for these topics to exist within scholars, clients, clinical work, theory, and research. In this article, we discuss why the field has resisted these frameworks and offer strategies for increasing...

This special issue is an interdisciplinary collection on intersectionality theory as critical inquiry and praxis. This paper challenges cultural competence models and argues instead for intersectional cultural humility in theory, practice, and teaching. We first provide a brief review of the development of intersectionality theory and future direct...

The Salient Circles Diagram is a teaching exercise designed to help participants visually display the relative importance and intersections of their most personally salient identities (e.g., identity as a woman or as a person of color). This activity has been used with hundreds of participants in undergraduate and graduate classes and training prog...

Faculty of color experience a number of challenges within academia, including tokenism, marginalization, racial microaggressions, and a disconnect between their racial/ethnic culture and the culture within academia. The present study examined epistemic exclusion as another challenge in which formal institutional systems of evaluation combine with i...

Objective: Reports of disordered eating are increasing in mainland China; however, little is known regarding Chinese psychotherapists' conceptualizations of disordered eating symptomatology. This study explores Chinese psychotherapists' conceptualizations of binge eating (BE)/vomiting symptoms and treatment considerations. Method: In-depth, semi...

The path from undergraduate to the professoriate ranks is a running faucet for Black women in the academy. Of the nearly 800,000 full-time faculty at degree granting institutions, Black women represent only 0.8% of assistant, 0.5% of associate, and less than 0.3% of full professors. Racism, sexism, classism, and elitist beliefs about what constitut...

Sexual violence is a devastating trauma with long-lasting effects on survivors’ health and well-being. Despite the substantial impacts of the last 25 years of research, the prevalence of sexual violence has remained stable. It will be necessary to reconceptualize our work, challenging our theories, methods, and strategies for dissemination and impl...

White fragility is the phenomenon in which Whites experience racial stress as intolerable, which triggers a variety of defensive emotions (e.g., anger, fear, guilt) and behaviors (e.g., argumentation, denial, crying, silence, emotional withdrawal, and physically leaving the stress-inducing conversation) which reinstates White racial equilibrium and...

As noted by Dr. Golden, women of color in medicine and related fields are targeted for sexual and racial harassment at alarming rates. However, there are more nuanced and complicated rela onships between harassment subtypes for those embodying mul ple marginalized iden es. White women have higher rates of total harassment because they have higher r...

In White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, Robin DiAngelo names White fragility as the primary mechanism used by most White people to assuage their racial discomfort and restore White racial equilibrium during discussions of racism and White privilege. The book examines White fragility and illuminates its detriment...

Black womens bodies are often glamorized and fetishized, but Black womens relationships with their bodies are rarely theoretically or empirically examined. Although heralded as having an idealized view of their bodies and comfort with their sexuality (Capodilupo & Kim, 2014), for many Black women their relation­ship with their physique is complicat...

https://rdcu.be/2y9R (temporary access to full-text PDF) This study tests perceived stress and three coping strategies (i.e., emotion suppression, reappraisal, and direct action) as mediators in the relationship between mindfulness during stressful events and subjective vitality. Thirty Chinese international students (Mage = 18.67, SD = 0.89) from...

LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer-identified) employees commonly experience sexual harassment at work. The perceptions of lay observers of this harassment, such as their coworkers and managers, likely influence beliefs about appropriate individual and organizational responses to harassment. Thus, we conducted an experiment (n =...

Harassment of Asian American (AA) women has received little attention in popular culture and academic research despite their long legacy of sexualized racial stereotyping (e.g., Geisha, sexually submissive; Shimizu, 2007) and additional risk of mistreatment due to their membership in both marginalized gender and racial groups (Beale, 1970; Settles...

Visibility at work, being seen fully and accurately by others, is important for individual self-determination and authenticity, and for organizational outcomes such as commitment and sense of belonging. Although there has been increasing attention in the organizational literature on marginalized groups' workplace experiences of harassment, discrimi...

The current study examined how discrimination relates to adjustment outcomes in a sample of internationally, transracially adopted Korean Americans from the Minnesota Sibling Interaction and Behavior Study (N = 456 adoptees; Mage at T1 = 14.9, Mage at T2 = 18.3, Mage at T3 = 22.3). The moderating roles of ethnic socialization and preparation for bi...

Because of their minority group status and underrepresentation, faculty of color (FOC) are tokens and as such, are highly visible within the academy. Paradoxically, token status may result in their being made to feel simultaneously invisible (e.g., accomplishments are unimportant, lack of belonging) and hypervisible (e.g., heightened scrutiny). Dra...

I welcome use of the Racialized Sexual Harassment Scale. The Racialized Sexual Harassment Scale (RSHS; Buchanan, 2005, 2016) is a 21-item survey that measures experiences of racial harassment, sexual harassment, and a combination of both, called racialized sexual harassment (RSH). Respondents are asked about harassing behaviors they may have experi...

This exercise is a standard part of my graduate and undergraduate multicultural psychology and social justice and diversity in psychology courses as well as my diversity trainings for psychologists and the private sector. I have conducted this exercise as a take home, large-scale art project, similar to that presented below and as an in-class exerc...

Clinical psychology has been slow to embrace the concerns of ethnic minorities, particularly factors related to the ways race-related stressors contribute to mental health disparities or the ways in which racial identity can buffer psychological distress. Given the relative absence of ethnic minority focused research in clinical psychology, it is l...

https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/sww022

Sexual harassment is a form of sexual victimization with its roots in sexism. Despite efforts to reduce its prevalence, it continues to be one of the most common forms of workplace mistreatment. This article examined best practices in system-level interventions to reduce sexual harassment in the workplace and presents data from the U.S. Armed Force...

Although there are multiple pathways to successful aging, little is known of what it means to age successfully among black women. There is a growing body of literature suggesting that black women experience a number of social challenges (sexism and racism) that may present as barriers to aging successfully. Applying aspects of the Strong Black Wome...

This study examined data from U.S. military personnel (1,764 men; 4,540 women) to determine whether appraisals of sexual harassment as frightening mediate the relationship between perpetrator characteristics (perpetrator sex and rank) and three psychological/job outcomes (psychological distress, role limitations, and work satisfaction), and whether...

In the current study of 353 science and engineering faculty members, we examined whether three types of gender-based mistreatment might “chill” individuals’ perceptions of the professional climate, which might in turn undermine satisfaction with their jobs. We also tested gender differences in these relationships. Results indicated that for women,...

This study examines the relationship between body image (weight/shape concerns), eating pathology, and sexual harassment among men and women (N=2446). Hierarchical regressions controlling for depression revealed main effects of gender such that women reported greater weight/shape concerns, eating pathology, dietary restraint, eating concerns, and b...

The present study distinguishes between bothersome versus frightening sexual harassment appraisals and examines their relative strength as mediators of the relationship of sexual harassment intensity and perpetrator status with psychological distress. Using a sample of 6,304 men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces, the results indicated that sexual...

Although most sexual harassment research has focused on women, men also are targets of sexual harassment, particularly in military settings. Building on the existing literature on women, the present study examines race and rank in the sexual harassment experiences of 1,925 Black and White men in the U.S. military. The results indicated that Black m...

Empirical research on the chronic pain experience of older African Americans is scarce. Here, the authors examined the influence psychosocial indicators have on the pain experience in a sample of older African Americans. Data were collected from African Americans (N = 247) 50 to 96 years of age (69.4 ± 9.4). All participants provided self-report da...

This paper discusses a methodological approach to research that enhances critical analysis by contextualizing qualitative research findings within participants' individual experiences. We demonstrate the combined use of life history methods and feminist narrative analysis to explore Black women's everyday experiences with mental illness, from their...

An amalgam of health concerns differentially affects the behavioral, psychological, and physical well-being of African American women. These disparities are both the result of, and contributors to, marked differences in the perception, interpretation and treatment of various psychological disorders and chronic medical conditions. Data show that Afr...

This study examined the sexual harassment (SH) and racial harassment (RH) experiences of Asian, Black, multiracial, and White male and female college students (N = 2,009). Research questions were (a) Do sex and race influence the frequency of SH and RH; (b) Do SH and RH have unique, additive, and/or interactive effects on psychological outcomes; an...

Gender-based bullying is the most common form of violence that students encounter in U.S. public schools. Several large-scale surveys reveal its consequences for students. Fewer studies examine how school staff members make sense of and respond to such violence. The authors address this knowledge gap by presenting analyses of interviews conducted w...

Outreach Initiative. Her research examines the intersection of race and gender in workplace and academic harassment and racialized sexual harassment. Dr. Buchanan was the 2007 recipient of the Association of Women in Psychology's Women of Color Award for empirical research that contributes to the psychology of women of color, MSU's 2007 Excellence...

The current study examined differences in appraisal, harassment, and severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms among 105 Black women who were sexually harassed by either a White (cross-racial sexual harassment) or a Black man (intraracial sexual harassment). Analyses revealed that women appraised cross-racial more negatively than intraracial harass...

Drawing upon feminist analyses of double jeopardy and the cult of true womanhood, we examine race, rank, sexual harassment frequency, and psychological distress for Black and White female military personnel (N= 7,714). Results indicated that White women reported more overall sexual harassment, gender harassment, and crude behavior, whereas Black wo...

The intersection of race and gender may create unique experiences for Black and White women in terms of work, family, domestic roles, and interpersonal relationships. Dissimilar gender-role norms may foster different perceptions of gender for these two groups of women. In the current study, we examined similarities and differences in Black and Whit...

Peer sexual harassment is a significant social problem with consequences for both students and schools. Four out of 5 students report experiencing sexual harassment. These experiences have been linked to poor psychological health and academic withdrawal. Recognizing the seriousness of sexual harassment in schools, Supreme Court rulings have establi...

As a result of a long history of both forced miscegenation and willing participation in interethnic relations, there now exists a growing group of people who closely identify with a racial or cultural group that is incongruent with their physical appearance. This can occur in one of three ways: (1) when someone is multiracial, and, therefore, not e...

Chronic pain may function uniquely within a given race group, which may affect their physical health and psychological well-being. This is particularly relevant among women from diverse race populations. Hierarchical multivariate regression analysis was used to examine pain intensity and its relationship to depressive symptoms, health locus of cont...

Research on workplace harassment has typically examined either racial or sexual harassment, without studying both simultaneously. As a result, it remains unknown whether the co-occurrence of racial and sexual harassment or their interactive effects account for unique variance in work and psychological well-being. In this study, hierarchical linear...

Although previous research has linked sexual harassment to negative psychological outcomes, few studies have focused on moderators of these relationships. The present study surveyed Black (n= 88) and White (n= 170) female undergraduates who endorsed experiences of sexual harassment to examine whether traditional gender attitudes differentially mode...

The sexual harassment experiences of black women have been more widely recognized in recent years, yet they remain underexamined in empirical research. Racial and gender stereotypes about black women may put them at risk for being sexually harassed and experiencing negative outcomes. How women cope with sexual harassment can lessen or exacerbate th...

To date, scholars who investigate sexual harassment have been disturbingly silent about issues facing women of color. The current study describes results of a qualitative study of sexual and racial harassment conducted with 37 African American women. These data indicate that African American women cannot easily separate issues of race and gender wh...

Although empirical investigations into the phenomenon of sexual harassment have increased exponentially over the past decade, many basic questions about the measurement of this construct remain unanswered. Most research has utilized an aggregate-level approach, which assesses the frequency of all offensive sex-related behaviors experienced by an in...

Recently, some defense-oriented authorities have proposed that a history of childhood sexual abuse can be used to attack virtually every aspect of a sexual harassment claimant's case, including the issues of unwelcomeness, reasonableness, damages, and even credibility. The authors critiqued these claims, arguing that they are not only grounded in f...

Gender-based bullying is the most common form of violence that students encounter in U.S. public schools. Several large-scale surveys reveal its consequences for students. Fewer studies examine how school staff members make sense of and respond to such violence. The authors address this knowledge gap by presenting analyses of interviews conducted w...

Printout. Thesis (A.M.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2000. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 30-34).