Race-based trauma and post-traumatic growth through identity transformation

Abstract

Race-based trauma has been linked to multiple adverse health and mental health outcomes, including hypertension, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression. While the possibility of post-traumatic growth (PTG) has been investigated following other types of trauma, relatively less work has been done on PTG following race-based trauma. In this article, we present a theoretical framework integrating three areas of research: race-based trauma, PTG, and racial identity narratives. Based on the work on Black and Asian American identity and integrating theory and research on historical trauma and PTG, this framework posits that the transformation of externally imposed narratives into more authentic, internally generated ones can serve as an important influence that sparks PTG after racial trauma. Based on this framework, strategies and tools that enact the cognitive processes of PTG, including writing and storytelling, are suggested as ways to promote post-trauma growth in response to racial trauma.

The promotive and protective effects of parents’ perceived changes during the COVID-19 pandemic on emotional well-being among U.S. households with young children: an investigation of family resilience processes

“…Persistent, recurrent, and cumulative exposures of racism and discrimination constitute traumatic experiences ( Chin et al, 2020 ; Saleem et al, 2020 ), and Black and Latino(a) parents have long had to persevere through these traumatic experiences and continue supporting their families and young children. In this tenacious process of resistance, Black and Latino(a) parents might have been able to develop the processes of perceiving positive changes through deliberative rumination, creating redemptive narratives, and discovering deeper meaning prior to the pandemic ( Chin et al, 2023 ). Since racial/ethnic discrimination and inequalities were key components of challenges facing parents of color during the pandemic, these parents might have been able to leverage their previous experiences to better cope with the pandemic-posed stressors and perceive more positive changes, even though they were disproportionally, negative affected by the pandemic challenges.…”