Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

6-2026

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Psychology

Advisor

Yana Kuchirko

Committee Members

Erika Y. Niwa

Kevin L. Nadal

Lulu Song

Kristen Gillespie-Lynch

Subject Categories

Developmental Psychology | Social Justice

Keywords

racialized emotions, Asian Americans, ethnic-racial identity, discrimination, COVID-19, master narratives

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the central role of racialized emotions in shaping how Asians/Asian Americans (A/AA) experience, interpret, and respond to racism, yet these emotional processes remain underexamined in psychological research. Rather than treating emotions as outcomes of discrimination, this dissertation conceptualizes racialized emotions as dynamic processes through which structural racism is experienced, interpreted, and embodied in everyday life. This framework positions racialized emotions as a key mechanism linking racialized social contexts to identity development and mental health. Across three studies using qualitative and quantitative methods, I examine how racialized emotions shape racial meaning-making, ethnic-racial identity, and psychological well-being among Asian and Asian American individuals.
Study 1 used a phenomenological approach to examine how A/AA women and gender-expansive individuals experienced racialized emotions during COVID-19, showing that emotions function as epistemic signals through which racialization becomes knowable. Study 2 employed reflexive thematic analysis to identify variation in racialized emotional responses, demonstrating how emotions serve as moral interpretations of belonging, injustice, and resistance. Study 3 quantitatively tested the role of racialized emotions in mental health, showing that they significantly predict depressive symptoms and are indirectly associated with self-esteem through ERI, even when accounting for ERD.
Together, these findings demonstrate that racialized emotions are not simply reactions to racism but central processes in ERI development and psychological functioning. By positioning racialized emotions as the link between structural racism and individual well-being, this dissertation advances psychological theory and highlights emotional experience as a site of both vulnerability and resistance.

Download

Share

COinS