DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/912J-EE14
Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0491-397X
Defense Date
2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Nao Hagiwara, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Kristina Hood, Ph.D.
Third Advisor
Kaprea Johnson, Ph.D.
Fourth Advisor
Fantasy Lozada, Ph.D.
Fifth Advisor
Zewelanji Serpell, Ph.D.
Abstract
Research examining Black students’ school experiences demonstrates that exposure to oppressive power dynamics in schools may lead to adverse physiological and psychological consequences. Recent conceptualizations in public discourse further posit that traumatic educational experiences, operationalized here as academic trauma or the cumulative toll of adverse and oppressive experiences in academic settings, may influence Black students’ wellbeing even after they have graduated. However, academic trauma has yet to be investigated empirically, and the health contributions of such educational harm remain unstudied. Moreover, little is known about how culturally-relevant personal characteristics (e.g., emotion regulation strategies) influence Black students’ reactivity to academic trauma. This dissertation empirically tested academic trauma as a systemic form of trauma contributing to the physical and mental health outcomes of a sample of 130 Black postsecondary students.
Results revealed that exposure to academic trauma was predictive of greater posttraumatic stress symptomology, above and beyond the effects of general trauma, overall health, major experiences of discrimination, college stress, and several other relevant personal characteristics (i.e., financial status, sexual orientation, and high school preparation). Moreover, greater use of racialized emotion regulation exacerbated the psychological toll of academic trauma.
Given that adverse experiences in the education system have wide reaching effects for Black Americans, empirically establishing academic trauma as a unique factor contributing to racial disparities in health outcomes is a critical first step for achieving health equity. These findings have important implications for higher education institutions, the actors they imbue with power (i.e., faculty, staff, campus police), and their counseling resources.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
6-17-2020
Included in
Counseling Psychology Commons, Health Psychology Commons, Higher Education Commons, Mental and Social Health Commons, Multicultural Psychology Commons, Student Counseling and Personnel Services Commons