Award Date

5-15-2026

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

First Committee Member

Gloria Wong-Padoongpatt

Second Committee Member

Rachael Robnett

Third Committee Member

Paul Nelson

Fourth Committee Member

Christine Clark

Number of Pages

174

Abstract

Self-censorship, empowered resistance, and solidarity are critical yet understudied phenomena that shape the lived experiences of college students from racially marginalized communities. The present research comprises three studies examining the interconnected roles of these constructs in the psychosocial well-being and collective action of racially marginalized college students in the United States, specifically in the context of students’ activism behaviors during the 2023 and ongoing genocide in Gaza. Chapter 2 will present findings from an online mixed-methods study that examines college students’ self-censorship and psychological distress factors that support or hinder open discussion during the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Results suggest that self-censorship is psychologically distressing for college students. Factors that support open discussion include open-mindedness and learning more about the region's socio-political history. Factors that hindered open discussion were the violence and harm that others experienced or witnessed. Chapter 4 presents findings from an online study assessing empowered resistance as a mechanism for college students’ conflict knowledge and support for Israel/Palestine. Findings in a mediation analysis suggested that the relationship between conflict knowledge and support for Palestine, but not Israel, is best explained by students’ empowered resistance. Chapter 6 reports findings from an online study exploring intraminority solidarity as a form of post-traumatic growth among students of color experiencing racial trauma distress that is explained by critical consciousness development and moderated by resilience. Results suggest that racial trauma significantly predicts more solidarity among students of color. This relationship is explained by critical consciousness, suggesting that racial trauma distress may increase one’s awareness of racism, which may increase one's sense of unity and support for other minoritized communities. However, resilience was not a significant moderator for the racial trauma and intraminority solidarity relationship. We conclude by providing practical recommendations for how practitioners, educators, and institutions can support students during times of crisis.

Keywords

college students; empowered resistance; racial trauma; self-censorship

Disciplines

Education | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social Psychology

File Format

PDF

File Size

1269 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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