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Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

Category

Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences > Liberal Arts > Psychology

Received

November 25, 2024

Accepted

August 4, 2025

Published

October 24, 2025

Authors

Miguel Castano (MC) 1*, Richard Chang (RC)1, and Gloria Wong-Padoongpatt (GW)1

Author Affiliations

1Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA

Corresponding Author

*Miguel Castano, castam10@unlv.nevada.edu

Corresponding Author ORCID iD

https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8447-5332

Author Contributions

MC: Analyzed data, drafted the manuscript, made significant edits to the manuscript, and approved the version to be published.

RC: Analyzed data, made significant edits to the manuscript, generated tables and figures, and approved the version to be published.

GW: Substantially contributed to the research design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation, revised the manuscript critically, and approved the version to be published.

Data Availability Statement

The authors of this article confirm that all data underlying the findings are fully available without restrictions.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Considerations

Proper Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval was granted before the start of this study. All participants were required to complete an informed consent form that detailed the purpose of this study, the procedures, the risks of participation, and the inclusion criteria. If participants did not provide consent and/or did not meet the inclusion criteria, they were not included in this study.

Funding

This project was funded by the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).

Abstract

Racial trauma distress is when post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms occur due to repeated and cumulative experiences of racism and can negatively impact Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). Consensus in research findings strongly suggests that BIPOC students are more likely to experience racism on university campuses than non-BIPOC students. To mitigate some of these negative outcomes, existing research has shown that psychological safety, resilience, and intraminority solidarity are protective factors for BIPOC students experiencing race-related distress. However, little is known about the frequency of racial trauma distress among BIPOC college students and how these variables may protect against racial trauma distress. This study examined whether psychological safety, resilience, and intraminority solidarity were significant predictors of racial trauma distress levels among BIPOC college students. Data were collected from 254 BIPOC college students recruited from a minority-serving institution in the southwest region of the United States (Mage = 19.45, SD = 3.00) who completed an online survey. A multiple regression model was used to examine whether the predictors significantly predicted racial trauma distress. Results suggest that psychological safety and resilience were significant negative predictors of racial trauma distress. However, intraminority solidarity was a significant positive predictor of racial trauma distress. This research contributes valuable insights into the interaction between psychological safety, resilience, intraminority solidarity, and racial trauma distress and the roles these variables play as potential mitigators against the race-based stress of racial trauma. Understanding the link between these factors and racial trauma distress is crucial for developing effective interventions to address the negative effects of racial trauma distress among BIPOC college students.

Keywords

Racial trauma, BIPOC college students, protective factors, psychological safety, resilience, intraminority solidarity

Submission Type

Primary review article

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