About this poster

---

Panel information
Panel 8. Social Intergroup Processes

Abstract

---

Background: Early emerging adults college students (i.e., youth ages 18-22 enrolled in college) who experienced the sociopolitical turbulence of 2020, including but not limited to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise in anti-Asian hate, and a global surge in #Black Lives Matter protests, may have responded with anti-racist sociopolitical development (i.e., critical analysis of, political efficacy for, and engagement in action against racism; Karras et al., 2022; Quiles et al., 2023). Ultimately, through sociopolitical development in the context of 2020, these emerging adults may have adopted new anti-racist positions and have further committed to anti-racist social action during and beyond 2020 (Hope et al., 2023).

Anti-racist sociopolitical development can be supported by opportunity structures, including on social media (Wilf et al., 2022; Watts & Flanagan, 2007), and can be informed by youth’s social identities (Watts & Halkovic, 2022). Sociopolitical development may also be deeply entwined with wellbeing as youth seek to cope with an unequal society through sociopolitical engagement (Hope & Spencer, 2017; Maker Castro et al., 2022). We specifically considered these elements of sociopolitical development within the context of 2020 and in relation to how it fostered a commitment to anti-racism among a diverse group of early emerging adult college students.

Research Questions: Our study is guided by three questions: 1) As part of their anti-racist sociopolitical development, how did participants develop their positionality? 2) What were the advantages and limits of social media for the development of anti-racism? 3) What shape did mental and emotional coping take during a time of heightened racial injustice?

Method: We conducted participatory, retrospective interviews conducted in November 2022 with 27 diverse emerging adult college students across the USA who held one or more marginalized identities by gender, race/ethnicity, and/or sexuality (Mage = 21.7 (SD=0.8); 52% cisgender women, 19% transgender and gender diverse; 48% LGBQ+; 33% Asian, 33% White, 15% Black, 11% Multiracial, 7% Latine. The interview protocol asked participants to reflect on elements of their sociopolitical development (including their identities and access to opportunity structures) and their wellbeing between 2019 and 2022. We conducted reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2019) to identify themes across participants’ experiences.

Findings: We found that anti-racist sociopolitical development was a near universal experience among participants in this sample in 2020. Between 2021-2022, participants used their burgeoning anti-racism to direct their personal efforts to challenge different and multiple marginalizing systems. The degree to which participants were able to nurture a deeper understanding of white supremacy and sustained anti-racist commitment varied based on their racial/ethnic identities and intersecting social locations within systems of gender and sexuality, as well as their access to anti-racist education within the available opportunity structures (including online) and their ability to cultivate their sense of wellbeing.

Implications: Findings affirm the influential role of the year 2020 on early emerging adult college students' college and early career trajectories, and suggest that sociopolitical development specifically related to anti-racism can activate a broader awareness of inequality. Providing early emerging adult college students with opportunities to examine and challenge race and racism may have the twofold effect of cultivating a more anti-racist society and of encouraging a structural lens and stance against inequalities at large. At the same time, we find that many emerging adults could have benefited from deeper and more sustained opportunities to move from critical analysis of racism to ongoing anti-racist action.

Author information

Author	Role
Yuleibi de los Santos, Bates College	Presenting author
Dionne Chen, Bates College, United States	Non-presenting author
Nick Gajarski , Bates College, United States	Non-presenting author
Elena Maker Castro, Bates College, United States	Non-presenting author
Lindsay T. Hoyt, Fordham University, United States	Non-presenting author
Alison K. Cohen, University of California, San Francisco, United States	Non-presenting author

⇦ Back to session