Identity mediates inequity and flourishing among racially minoritized and international undergraduate college students

Abstract

Objective

Racially minoritized individuals can simultaneously experience both oppression and flourishing (ie, positive mental health). This study examines identity connection as a mediator of this relationship.

Participants

Undergraduates at a large, private university (n = 771), 59.4% racially minoritized American or international (RMA/I).

Methods

Measures included perception of value, perception of fair/equitable treatment, identity centrality (ie, significance of racial/ethnic identity), identity exploration, and flourishing. Structural equation models compared RMA/I vs. white American students.

Results

Among RMA/I students, flourishing was predicted by perception of value and identity centrality; identity centrality was positively predicted by perception of value and negatively predicted by perception of fair/equitable treatment. Among white American students, only perception of value predicted flourishing.

Conclusions

Identity centrality mediated the relationship between fair/equitable treatment and flourishing among these minoritized undergraduate students, supporting theory that identity may be formed in response to oppression.

Keywords:

• Equity
• flourishing
• identity
• international students
• racially minoritized students

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank members of the study team for their support in this work, and research participants for their participation.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of United States of America and received approval from the University of Michigan Institutional Review Board.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.