Discrimination and Academic Motivational Beliefs: The Mediating Role of Trauma Symptoms

Racial and ethnic minorities are often burdened with stressors that can have a detrimental impact on their psychological well-being, like discrimination. Prior research suggests that increased exposure to discrimination is associated with poor academic motivational beliefs or costs, (i.e., perceived sacrifices or obstacles associated with academic tasks), while little research has investigated the role of trauma in this association. Trauma symptoms can follow direct and indirect confrontations of racism and be exacerbated with repeated exposure to discrimination, impacting one’s perception of their ability to achieve academically. The purpose of this study is to understand the potential role trauma may have in the association between discrimination and academic motivational beliefs. The Race-Related Events Scale (RRES), Trauma Symptoms of Discrimination Scale, and Values of Education scale were used to further unpack these relationships. Participants of this study included N= 562 (Mage=19.3, SD=1.84) undergraduate students at two Minority-serving, large, public Southeastern research universities. Mediation analysis was conducted to understand the role of trauma symptoms in the relationship between discrimination and academic motivational beliefs. The current study found that trauma symptoms exacerbate these processes. Study findings, implications, and future directions are further discussed.