journal_vol49no3 - 133

Well-Being Experiences of Resident Assistants
reduced concentration), emotional problems (guilt, helplessness), behavioral issues
(withdrawal, sleep disruptions), and physical manifestations (pain, rapid heart rate).
For RAs, secondary trauma can result from responding to incidents that involve suicidal
ideation, sexual assault, severe mental health issues, or death of family or friends
(Lynch, 2019) and can manifest as feelings of stress, avoidance, negative mood, and
reduced cognition (Lynch, 2017, 2019), each of which destabilizes several well-being
domains at once.
THE IMPORTANCE OF WELL-BEING FOR RESIDENT ASSISTANTS
WITH MINORITIZED IDENTITIES
Secondary trauma has a strong potential to contribute to burnout for all RAs (Lynch,
2019; McClure et al., 2022; Stoner & Zhang, 2017). Burnout refers to a culminating
work-based phenomenon classified by the World Health Organization (2019) as having
three measurements related to an occupational context: (a) mental and/or physical
exhaustion, (b) job withdrawal, cynicism, or apathy, and (c) diminished feelings
of job-related effectiveness. The propensity for burnout and secondary trauma may
be heightened for RAs with minoritized identities, who face additional pressures and
demands while serving in the role, and a growing body of research on RAs with minoritized
identities aids in understanding their experiences in this regard.
While intersectionality cautions against flattening individuals' experiences into a
single identity (e.g., Duran & Jones, 2019), several representative themes gleaned from
the extant literature on RAs with minoritized identities form the basis of current understandings
of the topic. First, RAs with minoritized identities are likely to encounter
peers, supervisors, and/or residents who hold biased views and expectations based on
stereotypes of their minoritized identity or identities (Harper et al., 2011; Hotchkins &
Dancy, 2017). Most often, this comes from racialized, heteronormative, and heterocisgendered
expectations that subject minoritized RAs to increased skepticism and scrutiny,
which dominant identity RAs do not face (Cousineau & Chambers, 2015; Posner &
Brodsky, 1993; Roland & Agosto, 2017). For instance, an RA with a Black or LGBTQ+
identity may have their authority questioned by white and/or straight students when
confronting a policy incident while on duty. Second, RAs with minoritized identities
may be expected to conform to racialized and gendered roles for the benefit of their
dominant identity peers, supervisors, and/or residents. Sometimes, this results in RAs
with minoritized identities being asked to account for otherwise absent identities in
tokenized and harmful ways (Harper et al., 2011; Roland & Agosto, 2017). Along these
same lines, RAs with minoritized identities encounter increased expectations to lead
conversations related to diversity, equity, and inclusion because of their minoritized
identity (Foste & Johnson, 2021; Johnson & Kang, 2006; Roland & Agosto, 2017). Finally,
these experiences can culminate in RAs with minoritized identities feeling increased
identity-based fatigue, which impacts other aspects of their campus experience and results
in their feelings of loneliness or burnout while in the role (Foste & Johnson, 2021;
Hotchkins & Dancy, 2017; Mollett et al., 2020; Smith et al., 2017; Tillapaugh, 2015).
130 The Journal of College and University Student Housing
journal_vol49no3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of journal_vol49no3
