Date of Award

8-2023

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Tahirah Abdullah

Second Advisor

Abbey Eisenhower

Third Advisor

Sarah Hayes-Skelton

Abstract

Past research has indicated that Black people are subjected to overt and covert forms of racism that can have a range of effects on emotional and psychological wellbeing. The current study sought to explore the how race-related stress and colorblind racial ideology impact Black people’s engagement in resistance and empowerment against racism. I hypothesized that higher endorsement of colorblind racial ideology would be associated with lower engagement in resistance and empowerment against racism. Additionally, I hypothesized that moderate levels of race-related stress would be associated with higher endorsement of resistance and empowerment against racism while low and high levels of race-related stress would be associated with lower engagement. I also predicted that colorblind racial ideology would moderate this association in that there would be a weaker relation between race-related stress and resistance and empowerment against racism. To test this hypothesis, I conducted a secondary data analysis from a larger study examining resistance and empowerment against racism among people of color. Consistent with my hypothesis, higher endorsement of color-blind racial ideology was associated with lower engagement in resistance and empowerment against racism. Higher levels of race-related stress were associated with higher engagement in resistance and empowerment against racism. Colorblind racial ideology was not determined to be a significant moderator of the relation between colorblind racial ideology and resistance and empowerment against racism. Despite that result, this study highlights how racism can impact Black people and the different ways in which they combat its negative effects.

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