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Well-Being Experiences of Resident Assistants
. . . it becomes critical to envision well-being in higher education
as a multidimensional process that is individually experienced and
made sense of in relation to broad and localized environmental
conditions and interactions.
based on identity also produce negative socio-emotional outcomes (Anderson, 2021;
Ardoin & martinez, 2019; Hotchkins & Dancy, 2017; Renn & Reason, 2021; Schuster,
2021), generally as a result of minoritized identity-based fatigue (e.g., racial battle fatigue,
queer battle fatigue), that affect well-being (Foste & Johnson, 2021; Smith et al.,
2017; Wozolek et al., 2015).
Undergraduate students with minoritized identities serving as resident assistants
can be especially challenged by the taxing demands and responsibilities associated with
these unique peer leadership roles. They fulfill the multiple responsibilities of their RA
roles while simultaneously contending with other sociopolitical and campus climate
forces both inside and outside their residence hall communities, which affects various
facets of their undergraduate experiences, including the psychosocial dimensions of
their development (Schuster & Stalker, 2020). For example, as paraprofessional staff
in supporting roles, RAs may encounter negative interactions or comments directed at
their minoritized identity in their residence halls while still being expected to continue
to build community and interact with residents. However, identity-affirming campus
climates maintain the potential to support growth outcomes for minoritized RAs, including
identity development, community connections, and self-efficacy (Schuster &
Stalker, 2022). In spite of renewed interest in RAs' campus experiences, the well-being
of RAs with minoritized identities is not yet broadly understood in the literature. The
purpose of this paper is to center the well-being experiences of RAs with minoritized
identities throughout the performance of their job-related responsibilities.
THE IMPORTANCE OF WELL-BEING FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS
Well-being is a multifaceted concept that encapsulates eight overlapping core domains:
emotional, physical, social, intellectual, spiritual, financial, environmental,
and occupational (Myers et al., 2000). Each of these domains remains deeply connected
to the others, and they appear and are felt in individualized ways that are
influenced by people's environments, relationships, and identities (Myers et al.,
2000). The importance of well-being is particularly relevant to college students who
are commonly seeking purpose (Nash & Murray, 2010), belonging (Strayhorn, 2019),
and community (Azmitia et al., 2013) during their undergraduate years. Students
with clearer understandings of well-being concepts experience positive undergraduate
outcomes, including self-development, academic excellence, healthful choices
and behaviors, psychological adjustment, and post-graduation career satisfaction and
success (Mayhew et al., 2016).
Even so, significant proportions of today's college students encounter high degrees
of loneliness (Eisenberg et al., 2020), stress (Winerman, 2017), anxiety (Lee et al., 2021),
and financial uncertainty (McDaniel et al., 2015), which act as direct impediments to
128 The Journal of College and University Student Housing
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