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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2023 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2021 Jul 22;28(1):49–57. doi: 10.1037/cdp0000351

“White People Stress Me Out All the Time”: Black Students Define Racial Trauma

Candice Hargons 1, Natalie Malone 1, Chesmore Montique 1, Jardin Dogan 1, Jennifer Stuck 1, Carolyn Meiller 1, Anyoliny Sanchez 1, Queen-Ayanna Sullivan 1, Carrie Bohmer 1, Rena Curvey 1, Danelle Stevens-Watkins 1, Isaac Woods Jr 1, Kenneth Tyler 1, Joseph Oluokun 1
PMCID: PMC8776568  NIHMSID: NIHMS1645209  PMID: 34291977

Abstract

Objectives:

Using a constructivist-interpretivist paradigm and a Black feminist qualitative framework, this study investigated how Black students at a predominantly White university in the southeast defined racial trauma.

Methods:

A purposive sample of 26 participants (10 men and 16 women, aged 18–27) participated in a semi-structured interview about their definitions of race-based stress and racial trauma. Data analysis consisted of a six-phase inductive, latent thematic analysis. Researcher reflexivity, interviews, observations, and research memos contributed to trustworthiness.

Results:

Participants’ understandings of race-based stress and racial trauma informed two composite definitions of racial trauma. Participants conceptualized racial trauma and race-based stress as related and identified three salient components of racial trauma: (1) “Sticking with”: temporal component, (2) “Suffering severely”: intensity component, and (3) “Repeating regularly”: frequency component.

Conclusions:

The findings of this study contribute to existing literature by providing an academic and community definition of racial trauma grounded in the voices of Black collegians. These definitions of racial trauma may be used to inform future research, clinical services, and outreach.

Keywords: racial trauma, Black students, qualitative, race-based stress

Racism negatively impacts Black people from “the cradle to grave” (Comas-Diaz et al, 2019, p. 2) and is considered a public health crisis by the American Public Health Association (APHA, 2020). Black collegians at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) are often at the forefront of racial justice movements (Hotchkins, 2017; Jones & Reddick, 2017; Ndemanu, 2017). Thus, their perspective on racial trauma likely informs the landscape of resistance efforts. Jones (2000) forwarded a three-category framework of racism, which scholars have examined with Black collegians: institutional (e.g., whitewashed curriculum) (Cole & Harper, 2017; Moore & Bell, 2017), personally mediated (e.g., microaggressions or racists signs at athletic events) (Swim et al., 2003; Von Robertson & Chaney, 2017), and internalized (e.g., when internalized stereotypes about intelligence keep students from pursuing graduate education) (Brown et al., 2017). These racist stressors may be a source of race-based traumatic stress, which Carter (2007) defines as the psychophysiological injury one experiences when witnessing or encountering a racist situation. A related concept, racial trauma, has been defined as “severe cases of racism-related stress” (Truong & Museus, 2012, p. 228).

Definitions of race-based stress, racial trauma, and related constructs such as race-based traumatic stress, have previously been based on the synthesis of extant research on racism and trauma (Carter, 2007; Comas-Diaz et al., 2019; Helms et al., 2010), the sequelae and correlates of racism (Alvarez et al., 2016; Pieterse & Powell, 2016), and types of racism (Harrell, 2000), as well as practical experience (Comas-Diaz, 2016). However, few studies describe these constructs from participants’ lived experiences using qualitative methodology (Carter et al., 2005; Truong & Museus, 2012). Further, no studies to date have invited participants to define racial trauma for themselves.

Thus, while we know racist stressors may eventually lead to racial trauma, we do not know what Black collegians mean when they use the term. The purpose of this study was to determine how Black students at a southeastern PWI define racial trauma. This study thematically analyzed the definitions of 26 Black collegians to present the components of racial trauma they described and produce two composite definitions of racial trauma: one for academic use and one for community use. These findings extend the rich scholarship on racial trauma and can guide the development of additional measurements and interventions for preventing and healing racial trauma in a highly targeted and influential group (Nelson, 2019).

Race-based Stress and Racial Trauma Research

Race-based stress occurs through direct or vicarious instances of racism (Anderson & Stevenson, 2019) and can progress into long lasting adverse impacts such as anxiety, depression, and a pessimistic outlook – racial trauma (Carter et al, 2005; Williams et al., 2018). Individual trauma can lead to lasting effects on the person’s emotional, social, physical, and spiritual well-being (Bryant-Davis, 2007; Williams et al., 2018). Historical group trauma may also be recalled as a racist stressor (Helms et al., 2010). For Black people, this can include the recollection of enslavement, colonialism, and state-sanctioned violence.

Although scholars have discussed the psychological impact of racism for decades (Clark et al., 1999; Harrell, 2000), racial trauma and closely related constructs emerged when Bryant-Davis and Ocampo (2005) offered three components counselors should consider for minority trauma: (1) the repeated nature of the event, (2) the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim, and (3) public humiliation. Bryant-Davis and Ocampo (2005) categorized experiences of racism as traumatic and nontraumatic and compared them to other experiences that are known to be traumatic, such as rape and domestic violence. They concluded that racism has some parallels to rape and domestic violence in areas related to motivation, effects, responses of the survivor, consequences for the perpetrators, and societal response (Bryant-Davis & Ocampo, 2005). That same year, Carter et al. (2005) provided evidence that racism as a stressor contributes to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress-like symptoms for people of color.

In a major contribution where the term racial trauma was first introduced, Carter (2007) evinced that PTSD does not completely conceptualize the impact of racist stressors, characterizing the many types of racist stressors that induce racial trauma and associated symptomology. Carter’s (2007) conceptualization of race-based traumatic stress was constructed from Carlson’s (1997) theory of traumatic stress and forensic psychology, which emphasized the emotional injury that follows a racist stressor is not dependent on physical harm from violent or life-threatening experiences. In response to this article, Bryant-Davis (2007) added intersecting oppressions may precipitate multiple forms of trauma or oppression.

Helms et al. (2010) further clarified the definition of racial trauma, noting the stress of obvious life-threatening experiences may be apparent to service providers and researchers who often overlook the trauma of vicarious or historical experiences of racism and chronic stress due to microaggressions. They emphasized clinicians need to consider racism and systemic ethnoviolence as catalysts for trauma-related symptoms. These psychology theorists introduced the construct of racial trauma conceptually and empirically; however, their scholarship did not include definitions informed by participants.

More recently, authors of the 2019 American Psychologist special issue on Racial Trauma: Theory, Research, and Healing (Comas-Diaz et al., 2019) provided a current articulation of the process and effects of racial trauma. However, even in this landmark special issue, the components of racial trauma were not defined by participants (Comas-Diaz et al., 2019). For example, drawing from Carter and Muchow’s (2017) definition, Liu and colleagues (2019) reiterated racial trauma is the manifestation of emotional and psychological symptoms after chronic exposure to race-based stressors. Racial trauma and race-based stress were used interchangeably in the special issue introduction and defined as “events of danger related to real or perceived experience of racial discrimination” (Comas-Diaz et al., 2019). They then described the symptoms, ongoing nature, and collective, cumulative impact of racial trauma.

Contrarily, other racism scholarship differentiates race-based stress from racial trauma (Clark et al., 1999; Harrell, 2000; Williams et al., 2019). For example, Clark et al.’s (1999) biopsychosocial model of perceived racism and Harrell’s (2000) conceptualization of racism-related stress describe race-based stress as a stress response to racism (whether perceived or overlooked) that may eventually, but not necessarily, lead to what was later coined racial trauma.

Although the presented literature highlighted salient components of racism responses that reflect stress and trauma symptomology across racial groups, these quantitative and conceptual papers could be complemented by a qualitative approach. That is, to gain an additional perspective on these terms, the literature would benefit from experientially-based, participant-driven definitions of racial trauma. Because psychologists must continue to develop culturally informed healing modalities, assessments, and research methods to accurately evaluate and treat racial trauma (Comas-Díaz et al. 2019), the definition should be grounded in the awareness that Black experiences are also informed by the generation and environmental contexts in which they live. Black collegians at PWIs frequently experience racism (Meyers et al., 2020; Pieterse, et al., 2010), so racial trauma scholarship should be augmented by their personal meanings given their involvement in racial justice movements such as Black Lives Matter (Hargons et al., 2017).

Current Study

Studies have determined racism is a negative social determinant of health (Williams et al., 2019), related to the most severe outcomes that extend beyond symptomology, such as cardiovascular disease (Havranek et al., 2015), early mortality (Chae et al., 2015), and mental health diagnoses (Pieterse et al., 2012). Thus, having Black collegians define racial trauma may further elucidate the mechanisms that lead to these negative outcomes. As a complement to existing theoretical and quantitative studies, this qualitative study sought to fill a methodological gap in the racial trauma scholarship.

Methods

From a constructivist-interpretivist paradigm (Ponterotto, 2010) and a Black feminist qualitative research framework (Evans-Winters, 2019), the present study elicited Black collegians’ definitions of racial trauma. Constructivist-interpretivist paradigm presupposes words can create one’s reality; participants’ definitions can convey an additional way of knowing the constructs under inquiry that is as valuable as those forwarded by racism scholars (Ponterotto, 2010). A Black feminist framework emphasizes the value of studying Black experiences from a Black standpoint to disseminate Black epistemology (Evans-Winters, 2019). Black feminism divorces research from White supremacist capitalist heteropatriarchy (hooks, 2009), which oppresses Black women and shackles Black men between White patriarchal ideals and subordinated Black masculinity (Segal, 2007). Through a Black feminist framework, Black people of all identities may find validation and affirmation. Thematic analysis, a six-phase process for systematically analyzing qualitative data, within a constructivist-interpretivist paradigm, is a “creative rather than technical process,” (Terry et al., 2017, p. 20) resulting from engagement with the dataset, analytic skills, experiences, and worldview. Below, we articulate our positionality, followed by procedures and analysis used in the research process.

Positionality Statement

Through a Black feminist framework (Evans-Winters, 2019), describing and defining racial trauma by participants and scholars is a redistribution of definitional power (Sue et al., 2008) in the mother tongue of Black Vernacular English (BVE) - one representation of Black epistemology. The predominantly Black research team (four Black faculty, five Black students, and three White students) further situates the study’s Black epistemology. However, even as a Black woman researcher leading a team of predominantly Black researchers, our class socialization as advanced degree holders/pursuers shapes our tone and diction specific to psychology journals (Evans-Winters, 2019). The findings reported in this study will employ BVE, which may explain the experience of racism with more resonance for non-academic Black audiences (Saldaña, 2014). Co-constructing the definition integrated both valuable linguistic styles: for peer-reviewed journals and for community settings (Saldaña, 2014). The impetus for the study emerged out of the Black researchers’ lived experiences of racism, drawing on the personal as professional (Evans-Winters, 2019) – a Black feminist value.

Participants

In this IRB-approved study, 26 Black collegians were recruited as a purposive sample to describe and define racial trauma. Participants’ ages ranged 18–27, with a mean of 21.2. There were 10 men and 16 women. Ethnically, the sample was predominantly Black American. One participant reported Ugandan ethnicity and two reported biracial identities (Black and White). Participants were eligible if they identified as Black, were 18 or older, were enrolled in a degree program at the university, and spoke English.

Procedures

From March 2018 – May 2019, research team members recruited participants by distributing flyers on campus, listservs, and in group chats for Black students. Potential participants emailed the first author to express willingness to participate. The second author screened participants and scheduled interviews.

Following informed consent, an audio-recorded semi-structured interview was used to elicit participants’ definitions of racial trauma. The answers to two question, and related discussion, were analyzed for this study: How do you define race-based stress? How do you define racial trauma? To minimize the possibility of researcher influence, participants did not receive a definition of race-based stress or racial trauma before responding. Participants received the questions in consecutive order and were encouraged to share their understanding of the terms. Interviews, conducted by two researchers, lasted between 50–80 minutes, averaging 70 minutes. Due to a malfunction with the audio recording device, two participants’ interviews were not audio-recorded; however, their demographic data were collected, and memos related to their interviews were captured. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and pseudonyms replaced participants’ names. Research memos capturing impressions, observations, and reactions of the researchers were written following each interview. The memos and transcripts were part of the data corpus for this study. Participants received a $20 gift card.

Data Analysis

An inductive, latent thematic analysis (Terry et al., 2017) within a constructivist-interpretivist paradigm (Morrow, 2005; Ponterotto, 2010) and a Black feminist qualitive inquiry framework (Evans-Winters, 2019) was used to systematically organize, code, and represent these data. Inductive thematic analysis allows the collected data to inform the analysis, rather than to impose a priori theory. Latent coding denotes a more interpretive lens, where researchers interpret participants’ expressed meanings to analyze underlying patterns within the dataset. This type of analysis held importance when articulating composite definitions of racial trauma. The six phases of thematic analysis detailed below include: 1) familiarizing with the data, 2) generating codes, 3) theme development, 4) reviewing potential themes, 5) defining/naming themes, and 6) writing the report (Terry et al., 2017).

In phase one, familiarizing with the data, (Terry et al., 2017), we transcribed verbatim and read the transcripts at least twice, kept research memos, and discussed transcripts and memos in research team meetings prior to coding. As part of Black feminist qualitative inquiry (Evans-Winters, 2019), we named our intersectional identities, both privileged and marginalized, as well as the position these identities afforded us as researchers. Black research team members processed the experience of collecting these data, resonating emotionally with what participants shared and articulating how our identities were an asset to the study, as they allowed us to establish trust and rapport (Evans-Winters, 2019; Ponterotto, 2010). White research team members were also invited to process what their presence as researchers meant for data quality and research process trustworthiness, as well as reactions related to their Whiteness. Throughout all phases, we considered how the sociopolitical climate influenced participants’ interviews and our interpretation of the transcripts. A series of racist incidents happened in the state during data collection, including the murder of two Black elders by a White man in a nearby city and White nationalist propaganda at the PWI.

In phase two, participants’ definitions of race-based stress and racial trauma were initially coded in units of one to four sentences, depending on the nature and length of the response. In phase three, codes were again read aloud and attached quotes were discussed within the research team. Emergent components of racial trauma were co-constructed as team members interpreted the latent meaning of various quotes in phase four. A conceptual model (see Figure 1) was created to represent key components of the constructs (Terry et al., 2017). Key components provided by students were expanded and developed through interpretation and synthesis into two composite definitions of racial trauma in phase five. Additionally, phase five required several revisits to the data corpus to expand and check the composite definition against the entire data set. This manuscript represents phase six.

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

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Conceptual Model of Racial Trauma

Trustworthiness

This study employed constructivist-interpretivist markers of credibility (Morrow, 2005; Ponterotto, 2010). First, we selected a purposive sample of Black students based on evidence of who is affected by racism (Feagin & Sikes, 1995). Second, a collaborative team approach to data collection and analysis addressed fairness and researcher bias through ongoing reflexive conversations. Third, two researchers were present in the room during interviews, who then triangulated observations and fidelity to the study protocol. Fourth, ontological authenticity meant participants’ definitions were expanded and enhanced through our interpretation and extant research. Fifth, researcher reflexivity throughout the process was an ongoing function of weekly research team meetings and manuscript writing. Along with researcher reflexivity, interviews, observations, and research memos contributed to triangulation by providing three unique sources of data drawn from several researchers. The research team retained these data sources to organize and compare the data (Nowell et al., 2017). Last, as most of the co-authors identify as Black, our lived experience strengthened the data analysis and representation process (Evans-Winters, 2019).

Results

Defining Racial Trauma

Many students had not heard of the terms race-based stress or racial trauma before, although they had reportedly experienced them. For instance, Elliott described “personally encountering a situation where it feels like other people are commenting or acting because of your race.” Unique and Victor reported feeling “stressed” or “triggered” by racial situations or experiences. There was some overlap in participants’ personal examples and definitions. A few participants thought race-based stress and racial trauma were the same. For example, Melody stated that race-based stress and racial trauma were “probably the same,” and Xenia expressed that they “were similar.” Other participants drew a connection between race-based stress and racial trauma, articulating a pathway from the former to the latter. For example, Rhonda stated racial trauma would “come after the race-based stress.” Farrah expressed that racial trauma was “that effect afterward of being in a racial situation.” So, we synthesized definitions into the construct of racial trauma similar to Comas-Diaz et al. (2019) by including the way race-based stress can become racial trauma. Bella captured the relationship between the constructs, saying:

Stress and trauma - I feel like there’s definitely some similarities. But, stress can happen every day, ‘cause I mean white people stress me out all the time, but I’m not always traumatized by them. And I’d say there’s gonna be stress with the trauma, but there’s not always trauma with the stress. Because, I can have an interaction with someone and okay that kind of stressed me out, but I can move past it. But, I’d say probably this semester has been traumatic in a way just because it was like, I had to keep going back to class. So, it was repeated stressors and also like zero support from the class.

Similar to Bella’s description, our analysis of the data explicated the relationship between the two constructs within the composite definitions we report in the discussion. Overall, three components of racial trauma were elucidated: temporal, intensity, and frequency.

“Sticking with”: Temporal Component

The temporal component of racial trauma is represented by how one experiences the impact of racism over time. Shalina said, “racial trauma is something that’s been affecting you. It happened to you because of your race. And then from that point forward, if it wasn’t necessarily addressed or healed from, it’s something that stays with you.” Emphasizing the “been” in BVE suggests the longevity of the symptomology, indicating the effects of the racist stressor extended beyond a typical stress reaction and recovery period. For example, if racism was simply affecting a person, without the emphatic “been”, it would suggest the person was experiencing race-based stress, which may dissipate. Participants noted that racial trauma differs from race-based stress based on temporality. Quinita also spoke to the temporal component, suggesting racial trauma, “is something someone endures,” whereas race-based stress is “isolated.”

Allen defined racial trauma and provided an example of what type of racist stressor may lead to racial trauma, stating it leaves “a lasting negative imprint on somebody, like for a Black person it may be a police encounter.” His use of the word “lasting” again represents an extended duration of symptoms. Several participants mentioned the media as a racist stressor leading to a “lasting negative imprint” over time. For example, Nathan mentioned the news and Rhonda named “watching movies or seeing videos on Facebook” as a potentially traumatic stressors over time. Deidra described the temporal component of racial trauma as, “something that just sticks with you. I know you think about it all the time.” Her definition insinuated rumination or preoccupation, cognitive symptoms that may arise following a racist stressor.

According to these participants, the enduring temporal impact is potentially mitigated by coping (“dealing” or “addressing”) and healing or increased based on the intensity and/or frequency components. Winona defined racial trauma as, “chronic stress from racial encounters…that they haven’t dealt with, so it just sticks with them and builds up.” She suggests that coping or healing, forms of “dealing with” the race-based stress, may reduce chronicity and accumulation of stress. Similar to Winona, Nathan stated racial trauma, “is detrimental to your health because the longer it takes for you to become self-aware of issues that you have, the longer it’ll obviously take for you to get help and to get better.” He suggested that increased self-awareness about the ways racism affects the individual may facilitate their help-seeking and sense of wellness. Melody highlighted the “sticking with” temporal component, describing racial trauma as, “going through like a situation that’s racist, and it impacts your life so much that it sticks with you.” Her definition also articulated the relationship between this theme and the theme to follow “suffering severely,” as she suggests the intensity of the impact causes the longevity of the symptomology. Thus, participants indicated that one determining factor between race-based stress and racial trauma is the how long one experiences symptoms.

“Suffering Severely”: Intensity Component

The intensity component of racial trauma represents the severity of a racist stressor or the resulting symptoms. Some racist stressors may be more severe, which increases the likelihood of experiencing racial trauma. Additionally, someone may experience intense symptomology, regardless of how the racist stressor was appraised. Corrine said, “I guess I would define it as the stress that’s put on a person by being attacked for how they identify racially or ethnically. I could see it being verbal, possibly physical too, but I guess at that point it borders assault.” In this case, the assaultive nature represented a more intense racist stressor, with physical assault being more severe than verbal attack. However, she noted that systemic racism may also be intense. “Like if you know your White counterpart is getting paid more than you even though you have higher education or more experience…So even things like that I feel like are included.”

Shalina recalled a severe encounter with police brutality her friend experienced as an example of what type of racist stressor might cause racial trauma.

My friend got pulled over by police and put on the ground. So now, moving forward, every time he gets pulled over by police, he’s like, ‘I need to do this, this, this, and this.’ So, I think it’s something that affects you forever if you don’t heal from it.

The intensity of being, “put on the ground,” by police influenced how longstanding her friend’s racial trauma has been. Further, connecting to the previous theme, Shalina suggested especially intense experiences may lead to symptomology that lasts “forever”, drawing a relationship between “sticking with” and “suffering severely”. Additionally, her definition and others had a latent hypothesis that healing from racial trauma is possible.

Zedrick provided an example of a less severe racist stressor that did not cause him racial trauma but did induce physiological and affective race-based stress reactions.

One of the girls in my group drives a Jeep. So, I parked behind her and was looking at the stickers just curious of what I would see. She got her initials, and she’s got this huge sticker that’s “Trump-Pence”. I was like, “I liked you! I really did!” Now I’m going into the meeting, and all I could think about was her voting for Trump. It was nothin’ that she did except for the sticker on her car, and I was just like dang it shouldn’t have that much of an effect on me, but I really had to calm down.

Zedrick experienced “having an attitude,” agitation, and withdrawal from his White group member in response to the Trump-Pence sticker on her Jeep.

Elliot indicated that although he had not experienced racism directly, for people who had experienced racism, especially children, “it really affects you.” His use of the emphatic “really” in BVE represented the intensity of the symptomology; whereas an absence of said emphasis may have suggested race-based stress, the addition of it distinguished racial trauma. Elliot also suggested the developmental stage at which one experiences a racist stressor may determine how severely they suffer. Lilly noted that suffering from racial trauma is so severe that it “transcends from one person to the next.” She used the example of Black women dying more often from childbirth than White women, suggesting that was also racial trauma.

In addition to severe physical symptoms, severe psychological symptoms included decreased confidence, motivation, and identity crisis. Ivy said, “you get a lack of confidence from it. Maybe lack of motivation because you feel like it’s not worth it. You’ll probably have a self-identity crisis. Probably want to be someone you’re not.” Hasaan shared “it makes you feel insecure or some type of way about your ethnicity or race.” Hasaan’s use of “some type of way” in BVE denotes the complexity of the psychological symptoms which at times can be hard to put into words despite experiencing them. Farrah also discussed the complexity of psychological symptoms stating, “I don’t even know how to react. How are you going to keep your composure, but at the same time not feel disrespected or be disrespected?” To summarize this theme, Gloria indicated that racial trauma is “the trauma you’re enduring or suffered…stemming from your race.”

“Repeating Regularly”: Frequency Component

The frequency component of racial trauma represented the number of racist stressors one has experienced, heard about, or witnessed. Quinita said, “When I think of racial trauma, it repeats. It’s repetitive more so than just a stressor.” She also noted, “I seen my mom go through it…it’s more than an isolated event.” Quinita suggested that racial trauma occurred by repeated racist stressors, whereas race-based stress would be experienced following an isolated racist stressor. She connected the frequency component of racial trauma to her intersectional identity as a Black woman stating, “this is trauma that as a Black woman, as a Black individual I face, because this is something that happens over and over.” Her definition indicated there was a cumulative impact from multiple stressors.

Paulina indicated that even vicarious exposure to racism may induce racial trauma if it is frequent. “I’ve never experienced anything firsthand, but all the shootings that are going on in the news, seeing that kind of constantly is kind of distressing.” By Paulina’s definition, witnessing or hearing about racist stressors through media may cause race-based stress but seeing them “constantly” may lead to racial trauma. Rhonda suggested that all Black people experience racism and it’s a “recurring experience”. She articulated the frequency component as:

to be exposed to consistent racism and to know that it’s consistently happening. You might not really think about it, but you know down the line you - I mean I feel like and I’ve heard this, so I’m not really sure if it’s true - I’m pretty sure you can develop PTSD from like watching something…solely from experiencing racism.

Rhonda heard and believed that the experience of racism could lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, given the frequency and consistency of racist events in the lives of Black people. Lilly concurred with the repetitious nature of exposure to racist stressors. “It’s just… like a cycle… Seen it once, you’ll see it again.” (Lilly). Lastly, Terrance acknowledged, “I feel like all Black people, to a certain extent, have been traumatized by racism in different ways,” suggesting that racism in its myriad forms are a common, expected stressor in the lives of Black collegians.

Discussion

While several published works define and describe the symptoms and sequalae of race-based stress and racial trauma (Bryant-Davis, 2007; Carter, 2007; Clark et al., 1999; Comas-Diaz et al., 2019; Williams et al., 2019), few studies have inquired about the definitions of these constructs through the voice of research participants. Given the hostile racial climate of predominantly White universities (Nelson, 2019), we purposefully selected a sample of Black students attending one such institution for this study. The purpose of this study was to examine how 26 Black collegians defined race-based stress and racial trauma. Findings from the current study align with and expand upon extant definitions of racial trauma.

Components of Racial Trauma

Many participants had not heard of the terms race-based stress or racial trauma before. Thus, this research study was the first time participants conceptualized these constructs, with real-life, personal examples. Participants saw these constructs as similar or related, which aligned with Comas-Diaz et al.’s (2019) racial trauma conceptualization. Thus, we define racial trauma below as a synthesis of the two definitions.

These participants defined racial trauma through three primary components: temporal, intensity, and frequency. The temporal component of racial trauma includes how one experiences the impact of racism over time. Participants suggest the duration, or length of time, one experiences symptoms following a racist stressor determines whether it is race-based stress or racial trauma. Furthermore, these participants agree with Carter’s (2007) definition that racist stressors “might be frequent or intense,” with either frequency or intensity functioning to increase how long one experiences the effects of racism (p. 37).

The intensity component refers to the perceived severity of symptoms and the racist stressor, which can range from verbal racial microaggressions to racially violent acts. Participants indicated a differential intensity based on whether verbal v. physical racial assault occurred. However, they did not indicate that only physical assault met criteria for severity, similar to Bryant-Davis’ (2007) assertion that “a stressor does not require physical contact for it to be severe or traumatizing” (p. 137). Our findings are also consistent with Carter (2007) and Bryant-Davis (2007), highlighting the relevance of symptom severity in distinguishing race-based stress from racial trauma.

Finally, the frequency component includes the number of racist stressors one has experienced. Participants identified the cumulative impact of racism, such that repeated racist stressors were more likely to turn race-based stress into racial trauma, similar to the definition proposed by Lui et al. (2019) regarding symptom chronicity over time. Other scholars found frequency of racial discrimination was positively related to an increase in dissociative symptoms (Polanco-Roman et al., 2016) and a higher likelihood of psychological concerns (Blackmon et al., 2019; Pieterse, et al., 2012). Different from Carter’s (2007) definition, yet similar to Helms et al. (2010) conceptualization, participants indicated racist stressors did not need to be sudden or unexpected to induce racial trauma. These participants advanced that the consistency of racism lead it to be an expected life experience, but it could still be stressful or traumatic.

Paradies (2006) proposed that exposure to racism consists of four components, three of which these participants emphasized: timing, intensity, frequency, and duration. Although one participant in the current study did indicate that racist stressors occurring during childhood may be more impactful than those that occur in adulthood, most participants did not take timing into account when defining racial trauma. However, definitional power of these students is substantiated by their descriptions of the other three components Paradies (2006) identified but did not describe. Additionally, participants highlight the utility of coping strategies, “dealing with,” and healing interventions to reduce or eliminate race-based stress, indicating the belief racial healing is possible. Jernigan et al. (2015), French et al. (2019), Mosley et al. (2020), and Williams et al. (2019) offer suggestions on how to heal racial trauma internally, collectively, and systemically, although an overview of these strategies is outside the scope of this paper. Taken together, participants’ definitions informed two composite working definitions of racial trauma that can be used to inform future research, therapy, and outreach with Black collegians.

Academic Definition of Racial Trauma

Racial trauma is the experience of enduring cognitive, affective, and/or somatic responses to racism, including race-based stress reactions and subsequent race-based stress symptoms, that may manifest based on the intensity and/or frequency of racist stressors a person has experienced or witnessed. Not every racist stressor leads to racial trauma, but those that are especially intense or frequent are more likely to elicit racial trauma. The absence of a repertoire of coping or healing strategies increases the likelihood that race-based stress symptoms may progress to racial trauma. For example, overreliance on a singular coping strategy, whether adaptive or maladaptive, is insufficient to protect against the accumulation of race-based stress. While it is not the responsibility of the injured to heal themselves, given disproportionate distribution of health resources, the ability to individually and collectively intervene (which includes resistance) does facilitate symptom reduction and promote racial healing. Healing racial trauma, therefore, requires comprehensive intervention on the multiple components involved in Black people’s conceptualization of racial trauma (See Supplemental Material for the Community Definition of Racial Trauma).

Treatment Implications

Given the prevalence of racism at PWIs (Meyers et al., 2020; Pieterse, et al., 2010), there is a need to consider how these findings can inform conceptualization, assessment, measurement, prevention, and treatment of racial trauma among Black collegians. First, it is important to make definitions of racial trauma accessible through academic and non-academic language. Psychologists can increase awareness of racial trauma through informational pamphlets and workshops focused on healing racial trauma to Black collegians. Clinicians may use this definition to conceptualize how racism affects their Black clients’ well-being.

In addition to utilizing quantitative measures such as the Race-Based Traumatic Stress Symptom Scale (RBTSSS; Carter et al., 2013) that assesses race-based stress symptoms, scholars could create assessments to examine the components – timing, intensity, and frequency – of racial trauma among Black students. This assessment can be utilized when students seek services at university counseling centers, particularly after racist stressors occur or in future research. Our findings also suggest a need to conduct future qualitative and mixed methods research on racial trauma. Participatory Action Research (PAR) is a collaborative way to involve students in building community and bringing about social change through healing programming, inclusive policies, and culturally-congruent mental health services in community, workplace, and institutional settings (Akom, 2011).

Given the temporal component of racial trauma, using adaptive coping or healing strategies after a racist stressor occurs can mitigate the risk of developing racial trauma symptomology. For example, seeking emotional and social support and engaging in critical activism after watching senseless murders of unarmed Black people have been noted to help Black individuals self-soothe and cope with their race-based stress (French et al., 2019). Treatment interventions for healing racial trauma could also include mind-body interventions such as mindfulness meditation (Watson et al., 2016), given the psychophysiological nature of racial trauma.

Limitations and Future Directions

Limitations to the current study exist. First, we did not explicitly assess the racial identity and racial socialization of participants. This assessment may have further explained how their racial identity informed their definitions (Anderson & Stevenson, 2019; Carter & Reynolds, 2011). Future research should assess these two constructs to undergird the depth of some participants’ knowledge and exposure to the existing definitions of racial trauma. Second, Bryant-Davis (2007) also asserts the intersectional experience of multiple oppressions may differentially impact the process through which race-based stress becomes racial trauma, so having participants define racial trauma in the context of their other social locations, including gender, ethnicity, sexuality, and socioeconomic status, is an empirical next step. Third, allowing White researchers to participate as co-interviewers may have been a limitation. Although there was always at least one Black researcher to mitigate potential stereotype threat or researcher bias, future studies should opt to conduct interviews using Black researchers to avoid the potential for Whiteness to inform the defining process (Haviland, 2008). Future research should also use this inductively co-constructed definition of racial trauma, which includes three components of racial trauma, to deductively examine Black students’ experiences of, reactions to, and definitions of racial trauma.

Achieving generalizability was not a goal of this constructivist research study (Morrow, 2005); however, future research may pursue generalizable results under a post-positivist research paradigm (Ponterotto, 2010) by expanding the sample to enumerate the responses or determine the definition’s resonance among Black people with a variety of social locations. For example, research suggests middle-class Black people are more likely to report experiencing racial discrimination than their lower socioeconomic status Black counterparts (Nelson, 2019). A broader sample may be able to determine how those differences inform racial trauma definitions. Future research may also reveal whether college-educated Black people are more likely to, or differentially, experience racial trauma. Lastly, this study allowed participants to define racial trauma for themselves. Since some participants acknowledged minimal exposure, a future study may first allow participants to define racial trauma, then provide the above definition as a prompt for further discussion. This may elicit additional ideas about what racial trauma is and how it is experienced.

Conclusion

Existing research has provided many constructs related to racism, including the racist stressors that may cause racial trauma, race-based stress symptoms that may be included within racial trauma, and race-based stress coping or healing strategies that may prevent, reduce, or heal racial trauma. This study complements that literature by identifying participants’ definitions of racial trauma, grounded in the voice of Black collegians at a PWI. #Racialtraumaisreal (Jernigan et al., 2015), and its consequences are evidenced in Black health, educational, economic, and sociopolitical outcomes. Service providers in each of these fields may use this study to conceptualize how to use their practice to dismantle racism’s enduring impact.

Supplementary Material

Community Definition of Racial Trauma

Public Significance Statement:

It is important to know how Black collegians define racial trauma, because many are affected by various forms of racism, and some are actively involved in racial justice movements. In this study, Black students defined racial trauma as stress that sticks with them, severely affecting how they think and feel, based on the number of times they experience or the intensity of racist stressors. Because definitions have power to shape reality, this definition can empower Black students to continue identifying, healing from, and dismantling racism’s negative impact and prepare mental health professionals to engage in outreach and therapy related to racial trauma.

Acknowledgments:

We express gratitude to Black student organizations at the University of Kentucky for disseminating our flyers during the recruitment process. Many thanks to the participants who shared their stories with members of the research team.

Funding Information: The authors did not receive funding for authorship, the development of the research, or publication of the research.

Footnotes

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest related to authorship, the development of the research, or publication of the research. The third author is a NIDA T32 trainee at the University of Kentucky under the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) T32DA035200 (PI: Rush). The funding agency had no role in study design, data collection or analysis, or preparation and submission of the manuscript. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes.

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Supplementary Materials

Community Definition of Racial Trauma
NIHMS1645209-supplement-Community_Definition_of_Racial_Trauma.docx (12.3KB, docx)

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