Intersectional Stigma and Occupational Engagement Among Racialized Higher Education Students: A Qualitative Study
View abstract on PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.Intersectional stigma, related to mental illness and race/ethnicity, influences how racialized students engage in occupations. Addressing this stigma is crucial for improving mental health care and fostering inclusion in higher education.
Area Of Science
- Mental Health Disparities
- Sociology of Health
- Occupational Science
Background
- Intersectional stigma of mental illness and race/ethnicity exacerbates health disparities among US students.
- This stigma shapes experiences of inclusion and belonging, necessitating research into its impact on occupational engagement.
Purpose Of The Study
- To investigate the relationship between intersectional stigma and occupational engagement in racialized higher education students.
- To explore how the combined stigma of mental illness and race/ethnicity affects students' participation in meaningful activities.
Main Methods
- Qualitative descriptive study employing semi-structured interviews.
- Thematic analysis was used to analyze data from 13 racialized students with mental illness.
- Theoretical frameworks included gradient rationality for stigma and moral economics of occupations for engagement.
Main Results
- Four emergent themes: identity negotiation, mental health journey, intersectional stigma experiences, and occupational engagement (including mental health care and community participation).
- Findings indicate that stigma and identity are fluid, influencing occupational engagement.
- Racialized students navigate complex social and personal factors impacting their participation.
Conclusions
- Intersectional stigma and racial/ethnic identity are dynamic, guiding occupational engagement among students.
- Understanding these fluid processes is vital for developing culturally sensitive mental health interventions.
- This research informs occupational therapy and public health efforts to address mental health crises in higher education.
Related Concept Videos
Humans are very diverse and although we share many similarities, we also have many differences. The social groups we belong to help form our identities (Tajfel, 1974). These differences may be difficult for some people to reconcile, which may lead to prejudice toward people who are different. Prejudice is a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on one’s membership in a particular social group (Allport, 1954; Brown, 2010). Prejudice is common against people who...
Adolescents from ethnic minority backgrounds face a multifaceted journey in forming their identities, shaped by the intersections of cultural expectations and personal exploration. For these adolescents, identity formation involves not only typical developmental challenges but also navigating the perceptions and attitudes of the majority culture. As they grow, adolescents in ethnic minority groups often become increasingly aware of stereotypes, social biases, and discrimination, all of which...
Often, psychologists develop surveys as a means of gathering data. Surveys are lists of questions to be answered by research participants, and can be delivered as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally. Generally, the survey itself can be completed in a short time, and the ease of administering a survey makes it easy to collect data from a large number of people.
Surveys allow researchers to gather data from larger samples than may be afforded by...
The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) was first proposed by Susan Fiske and her colleagues (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick & Xu, 2002; see also Fiske, 2012 and Fiske, 2017). The SCM specifies that when someone encounters a new group, they will stereotype them based on two metrics: warmth—or that group’s perceived intent, and how likely they are to provide help or inflict harm—and competence—or their ability to carry out that objective. Depending on the warmth-competence...
When we hold a stereotype about a person, we have expectations that he or she will fulfill that stereotype. A self-fulfilling prophecy is an expectation held by a person that alters his or her behavior in a way that tends to make it true. When we hold stereotypes about a person, we tend to treat the person according to our expectations. This treatment can influence the person to act according to our stereotypic expectations, thus confirming our stereotypic beliefs. Research by Rosenthal and...
There are many research methods available to psychologists in their efforts to understand, describe, and explain behavior and the cognitive and biological processes that underlie it.
In 2011, the New York Times published a feature story on Krista and Tatiana Hogan, Canadian twin girls. These particular twins are unique because Krista and Tatiana are conjoined twins, connected at the head. There is evidence that the two girls are connected in a part of the brain called the thalamus, which is a...

