From the Micro to the Macro: Racial Battle Fatigue Across Student Groups

• In Event: 56.081 - Roundtable Session 24
  In Roundtable Session: 56.081-1 - Critical Race Approaches, Resistance, and Black Achievement on Campus

Abstract

African American, Mexican American, and Asian American students flourish in higher education, but often their journey is much more difficult due to hostile campus climates that are filled with racial microaggressions that can result in varying degrees of racial battle fatigue. This paper uses structural equation modeling approach to explore racial battle fatigue among African American, Mexican American, and Asian American students (N=551). Findings demonstrate that coping strategies helped mediate the relationship between racial microaggressions and psychological, physiological, and behavioral stress responses racial microaggressions on the physiological stress responses for all groups, but coping did not eliminate the effect of racial microaggressions. Recent racialized events highlight the need for more research on the impact of racism in higher education.

Author

• Jeremy D. Franklin, University of Utah