Degree Date

2024

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Social Work and Social Research

Abstract

Limited research exists that examines the lived experiences of psychosocial stress among first-generation college students. I utilize a trauma informed conceptual framework using the acculturative stress model and concepts from collective trauma to describe how colleges can function as a microcosm of the real world and place first-generation college students at increased vulnerability on top of the normative developmental challenges of young adulthood. I conducted a qualitative research study using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) research design to gain insights from first-generation college students about their lived experiences related to psychosocial distress. This study included purposive sampling at one four-year college institution in the Northeast. A total of 13 undergraduate college students who identify as first-generation college students were interviewed using 60-90 minute semi-structured interviews that were audio recorded. The data was transcribed and coded using thematic analysis. One finding revealed a theme of first-generation college students renegotiating their intersecting identities that impacted feelings of connection and disconnection in college. Some identities were more salient than others in their home community and this saliency changed in college. The identities that stood out as most salient in college included identity as low-income, identity as a first-generation college student, and racial/ethnic identity. A second finding revealed a theme of sense of loss experienced by students that was nuanced, took time to identify, and took time to articulate. This sense of grief and loss and melancholia connected with fragmentation, splitting of the self, and intrapsychic conflict. These experiences resulted in students in this study feeling trapped in their circumstances. The third main finding revealed a theme of challenges with coping due to the intersectionality of identities, pattern of self-sufficiency and parentification, and dissociation of the self that made it difficult to recognize a need for help. University campuses, especially those with a history of exclusivity, may not hold diverse communities of students, may create a culture that devalues the identity of first-generation or of an ethnic and racial background, and may contribute to students’ sense of not belonging and psychosocial stress, particularly if they hold one or more intersecting marginalized identities.

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