Racial differences in predictors of critical action among college students

Abstract Social and political activities take many forms with some efforts centered on the promotion of social justice. Critical consciousness underlies many social justice efforts. Critical consciousness refers to the perception of social and economic inequities and engagement in actions to reduce inequities. Diemer's model of critical consciousness suggests that critical reflection, efficacy, and critical action are interrelated. Additionally, researchers have demonstrated that experiencing discrimination is an important predictor of critical action. The goal of the current study was to examine predictors of critical action and determine if these predictors differed for Black and White students. College students reported critical reflection (perceptions of inequality), internal (personal) efficacy, external (government responsiveness to people) efficacy, discrimination, and critical action. For the Black students ( n = 165), critical action was positively predicted by discrimination and external efficacy. For the White students ( n = 418), critical action was positively predicted by discrimination and critical reflection. To further elucidate these findings, participants were asked to describe why they chose to either work to reduce injustice or why they chose not to get involved. The themes for students that reported they work to reduce injustice centered on values. They stressed the importance of fairness and justice, they reported a sense of responsibility to help others and to make the world better. Even when experiencing discrimination, they reported a desire to protect others from similar experiences. Themes from participants who do not get involved focused on the self. Students reported the desire to avoid conflict, fearing repercussions, lacking interest, and lacking resources. These findings demonstrate the diversity in predictors of critical action among college students. Efforts to support emerging adults social/political engagement may need to be refined to fit the participants being addressed.