Assessing Racial Trauma Experienced by First-Year Students of Color Attending a Mostly White University in the American Southeast

Abstract

We studied the qualitative experiences of racism that first-year students reported prior to and during their first year of college. Participants included 134 first-year students (26.9% Asian, 32.1% Black/African American, 20.9% Multiracial, 20.0% Hispanic/Latino; 53.0% female; 21.6% LGBTQ+) who attended a medium-sized, predominately/historically White university in the American Southeast. Students answered open-ended questions about their lived experiences. We used deductive and inductive thematic analysis to analyze their experiences. Results confirmed that students commonly experienced microassaults (58.4%), microinsults (40.8%), microinvalidations (17.6%), and environmental microaggressions (51.2%). Most occurred in adolescence (75.2%). The majority (72.8%) indicated they had experiences where national (or international or local) recognition of race-based attacks impacted how they viewed society. Experiences of racial violence/aggression/threat were also prevalent (16.8%). Coping responses (e.g., talking with friends/family, 35.2%) were often reported. Results highlight that experiences of racism continue to be common and impactful to the daily lives of BIPOC emerging adults.