Hope or hurt? Unpacking the complex effects of hope and ethnic identity on ethnic discrimination
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Abstract
Racial discrimination remains a pervasive challenge for many racially minoritized college students, contributing to adverse mental health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, and trauma-related stress. Though hope and ethnic identity are often viewed as protective factors, recent evidence suggests their effects may vary or even be paradoxical depending on context and racial group. This study examined whether hope and ethnic identity moderate the impact of discrimination on well-being, general stress, and race-based traumatic stress (RBTS) among 286 college and graduate students (ages 18-60; M = 24.7, SD = 6.0). Participants were grouped into Participant Group 1 (Black/African American) and Participant Group 2 (American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Hispanic/Latinx, Multiracial/Other) based on self-reported skin tone differences. Results confirmed that discrimination was consistently associated with lower well-being, higher general stress, and greater RBTS. Hope was positively linked to well-being overall, but exhibited a paradoxical effect for Participant Group 2, where higher hope was linked to lower well-being under conditions of high discrimination. Similarly, individuals with high hope reported increased stress as discrimination rose, whereas those with low hope maintained stable stress levels, regardless of discrimination levels. Hope’s moderating effect on general stress did not differ between racial groups. For RBTS, hope was protective for Participant Group 1 under low discrimination but became a potential risk factor at higher discrimination levels. In contrast, hope did not significantly moderate RBTS in Participant Group 2. Contrary to expectations, ethnic identity moderated the association between discrimination and well-being but not general stress or RBTS, with its protective effects evident across both groups. Taken together, these findings suggest that protective factors like hope and ethnic identity may function differently across racial groups and contexts, highlighting the importance of considering sociodemographic and cultural factors when implementing interventions and conducting resilience research.
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Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: Methodology -- Chapter 3: Results -- Chapter 4: Discussion
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M.A. (Master of Arts)