“There’s Obviously Something Wrong. Let’s Fix It.”: Meaning Making Narratives among College Students from Underrepresented Groups

by

Live Poster Session: Zoom Link

Danielle Greene
Danielle Greene

Danielle Greene is a junior (‘23) from West Nyack, New York. She is a Psychology major with a minor in Data Analysis. She is interested in psychological disorders in adolescents and how they affect sleep patterns. Danielle hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and eventually work with children and adolescents affected by the foster and juvenile justice systems. Outside of the lab, Danielle is the Volunteer Coordinator for Wesleyan Animal Defense league, and she is an amateur cartoon artist and baker.

Ignore this button 🙂
Jocelyn Maeyama
Jocelyn Maeyama

Jocelyn Maeyama ’22 is a senior from Los Altos, California. They are a psychology major interested in understanding well-being in marginalized groups. Outside of the lab, Jocelyn is an experimental poet and a director for Fusion Dance Crew, one of Wesleyan’s three hip hop dance teams. They will be pursuing a Master’s degree in Psychology through Wesleyan’s B.A./M.A. program next year.

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted individuals from marginalized communities and may have presented unique challenges for emerging adults who transitioned to college during the pandemic. The goal of the current study was to document the experiences of emerging adults from marginalized communities and to examine their ability to glean meaning from significant life experiences (i.e., turning points) during their first year of college. Participants were 24 emerging adults (Mean age = 18.98, SD = 0.47) belonging to socio-demographic marginalized groups in the U.S. Participants were interviewed via Zoom and completed a brief online survey. Participants were invited to “…describe an experience that stands out as a turning point – i.e., an event that marked an important change in your life.” Open-ended responses were coded for: ‘Type of Event’ and ‘Meaning-making’ (lesson or insight). The most common event type was “Relationships”, which included interpersonal experiences with family, friends, or romantic partners. Half of participants reported learning specific lessons relating to the context of their experiences, while one third reported gleaning more global insights from their turning point experiences. Future research should assess the role of meaning making in relation to identity development and psychological well-being.

Greene-and-Maeyama