Demographic inversion- when city neighborhoods gentrify with influxes of more affluent, mostly white, residents while nearby suburbs increasingly see influxes of Families of Color- has been a powerful trend (re)shaping metropolitan area neighborhoods and schools for the past two decades (Ehrenhalt, 2012; Frey, 2018). The New York City (NYC) metropolitan area, where Latinx people make up over a quarter of the population, has provided one of the starkest examples of this trend. While gentrification increased across Latinx neighborhoods in the City, the share of Latinx people living in metropolitan suburbs almost doubled. Yet, despite the growing presence of Latinx communities across NYC’s metropolitan area, and the country, we know surprisingly little about how contemporary Latinx parents decide where to live or send their children to school- decisions that are contributing to broader demographic inversion in metropolitan areas across the country. Informed by existing research in the field, this study utilized a comparative case study (CCS) (Bartlett & Vavrus, 2017) design that relied on interview data from 54 middle-class Latinx parents in the New York City metropolitan area and critical discourse analyses (CDA) of public commentary and documents to expand the public discourse and research on Latinx communities and demographic inversion. More specifically, the study explored how middle-class Latinx parents decided whether to stay in gentrifying neighborhoods or migrate to nearby outer-ring metropolitan suburbs and how their perceived racial identities, class status, and beliefs about the schooling of their children shaped these decisions. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted between Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 via Zoom with 28 parents who recently moved to outer-ring metropolitan suburbs from gentrifying City neighborhoods and 26 parents who still lived in gentrifying City neighborhoods at the time of their interview. Whether parents chose to stay put in gentrifying neighborhoods or leave to nearby suburbs, parents’ decisions about where to live and send their children to school were shaped by the broader context of gentrification and displacement in New York City and the social constraints that explicitly or implicitly informed their daily lives. Parents navigated racialized neighborhood change narratives; negotiated their racial, ethnic and class identities; and prioritized cultural ideologies about community and identity during their decision-making process. Furthermore, parents' experiences with gentrification and the factors they prioritized in the neighborhood and school choice process varied by their racial identities- whether they identified as white Latinx, Latinx/Puerto Rican/Dominican, or Black/Afro Latinx. Their racial identities shaped their understandings of the current costs of gentrification in the City context and whether they prioritized racial diversity in the neighborhood and school selection process in the suburbs. Above all else, however, the middle-class Latinx parents in this study aimed to stay put in the City neighborhoods they grew up in because of asset-based views they held about Latinx communities and yet, because of rising housing costs and cultural displacement, parents either left to the suburbs or stayed in precarious housing situations in the City. The findings from this study have implications for anti-displacement efforts taking place across gentrifying City neighborhoods in the United States, for how we address housing affordability from a regional perspective, and for how schools and local government can build on the asset-based perspectives of community and Latinx identity that echoed throughout parent interviews. Additionally, the varied experiences of Latinx parents in this study along the lines of racial identity and class have important implications for future research on Latinx communities in the United States that is more context-specific and engages with the specific experiences of the Latinx communities in that context to better inform more place-based policy interventions.

This research study invited teachers to participate in an inquiry discussion group in order to disrupt the racial silences that existed in a predominantly white school district. The ways Americans think, act, and talk about racism and white supremacy have become more complex over time as they have shifted from explicit to implicit (Bonilla-Silva, 2015). This is true in American society and also in America’s school systems, where racism has shifted from overt segregation (many school systems remain de facto segregated [Wells et al., 2014]) to covert colorblind silences (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Leonardo, 2004). Even though there have been efforts to disrupt racial silences in schools, previous attempts framed the problem in terms of culture rather than addressing race in explicit ways. These curricular initiatives (e.g., multiculturalism, culturally responsive and culturally sustaining pedagogy) introduced in schools were also problematic in that teachers were treated as technicians (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999), which assumed they could take these curriculum tools and implement them without questioning their own mindset or beliefs about race. Therefore, this study was a next step toward disrupting racial silences in educational settings by explicitly discussing race and positioning teachers as knowledge producers. For this research, intersecting theoretical ideas from Critical Race Theory, Critical Whiteness Studies, and inquiry as stance were used to strengthen an understanding of what happened when the silences that existed around topics of race in white educational settings were disrupted. Data produced in ten weekly inquiry discussion group meetings were analyzed using discourse analysis. Results of this analysis pointed to a gradual shift in the discourse, which suggested a shift in comfort with explicitly talking about race. These results were organized into three phases: discomfort of not knowing, embracing discomfort, and grappling toward change. It is important to note that this study also highlights the complexities of race work in predominantly white schools as is evidenced by the ways this shift was not always perfect (i.e., Discourses of white supremacy and colorblindness circulated throughout). Therefore, teachers in predominantly white educational settings, teacher educators, and educational researchers need to be prepared for tensions and contradictions that may arise when disrupting racial silences. Educators and researchers in the field should encourage educators to embrace the role of knowledge producer and also be aware of the ways “nice white women” typically engage in this work so that important steps toward disrupting the racial silences that exist in predominantly white educational settings can be achieved.

This thesis consists of three chapters. In the first chapter, I examine the effect of electoral outcomes on the tendency to overreport turnout among nonvoters, drawing on data from the Cooperative Election Study (CES) for presidential election years spanning from 2008 to 2020. Using standard regression analysis and propensity score matching, I examine whether nonvoters, especially those residing in swing states, are more likely to claim to have voted without corresponding records when the party they support loses the election. The results indeed indicate a higher likelihood of overreporting among nonvoters in swing states, especially when the party they support loses the election. In the second chapter, Maria Abascal, Delia Baldassarri and I explore how individuals generalize from a trustworthy versus untrustworthy interaction with strangers onto subsequent interactions. Specifically, we investigate if the generalization pattern varies depending on whether the partners in the interactions are coethnic or non-coethnic. We field a repeated trust game with White adults based in the US in which respondents are randomly assigned to experimental conditions that vary by (i) the race/ethnicity of the partners in the two rounds, (ii) the trustworthiness of the first-round interaction, and (iii) whether the partner in the second round is assigned by the experimenter or chosen by the participant. We find that the nature of the interaction does indeed affect subsequent behavior when it involves an outgroup member. Specifically, White respondents who have a negative experience with Latino partners in the first round are less likely to choose to play with another Latino player in the subsequent round. In contrast, the nature of interactions among White respondents paired with other White partners does not predict their behavior in the second round. Moreover, the nature of first-round interactions does not affect contribution amounts in subsequent rounds when partners are assigned by the experimenter. In the third chapter, I examine how concerns for the reputation of the group one belongs to influences prosocial behavior. Specifically, I explore whether members of minority groups exhibit greater sensitivity to the potential impact of their actions on group reputation when interacting with individuals from an outgroup, than would members of majority groups. I field a give-or-take dictator’s game with White and Asian adults based in the US and find that among a subgroup of respondents who are less experienced in online surveys and not suspicious of the existence of real partners (versus bots), minority (Asian) respondents are indeed more generous when assigned to the reputation condition than to the anonymity condition. However, a similar difference in behavior is not observed among majority (White) respondents. In other words, the results suggest that members of the minority are more conscientious of the reputational impact than are majority group members when interacting with a member of an outgroup.

Research suggests discrepancies between principals of color and White principals in their motivations and reflections on racism and how it shapes their philosophies, practice, and persistence in leading schools in historically underserved urban communities. Several scholars have discussed the pivotal role of early racial identity experiences in the beliefs and practices for Black and Latinx school leaders (Douglas, Wilson, and Nganga, 2014; Hernandez, Murakami, and Cerecer, 2014; Lomotey, 1989; Wilson, 2016). Scholars such as Gooden and O’Doherty (2015), Hines (2015), Theoharis and Haddix (2011), and Toure and Thompson-Dorsey (2018) have examined how White principals reflect on concepts of race in their work. These researchers call for further study, specifically on how White leaders’ reflection on race manifests in their beliefs and day to day practices. This serves as the impetus for this dissertation, which is framed by two research questions: 1. Why do some White principals choose to lead schools that serve historically underserved communities? What, if any, reflections on early racial experiences are common among these leaders? 2. How do the motivations and reflections on early racial experiences of White principals who chose to lead in historically underserved communities inform their leadership philosophy and play out in their practices? This study examines the role of racial literacy in the principal seat, specifically as White administrators attempt to enact leadership in low-income urban school settings that serve a majority of students of color. Using a significant body of literature as well as results from a qualitative study, it describes the journey of four White New York City charter school principals as they reflect on early racial experiences and what brought them to the principal seat. The study employs Toure and Thompson-Dorsey’s (2018) theories around the White racial frame in leadership and Khalifa’s (2018) culturally responsive school leadership (CRSL) framework to code leadership behaviors observed on site. The post-visit debrief allows insights into how the principals saw their work and the degree to which they centered racial equity in their beliefs and practice. The paper then examines the impact of recollections on racial experiences and motivations on White leader beliefs and practices via a racial autobiography and subsequent interview. It classifies leaders’ racial autobiography and interview data according to Helm’s (1995) White racial identity model. The study concludes by theorizing how its findings can be used to better understand the intersection between principals’ racial identity and practice. This study is significant because it draws close connections between Helm’s White racial identity model (1995) and Khalifa’s (2018) theories on culturally responsive school leadership. This can support future research that seeks to connect racial mindsets to practice. The results of this work can also inform more rigorous hiring practices so that districts and networks unearth race neutral mindsets in candidates. Otherwise, it is likely that we will see a continuation of the colorblind approach that has held back so many promising young students of color.

A groundbreaking narrative, which would come to be known as the theory of “deaths of despair”, emerged in 2015 from a study by Case and Deaton analyzing mortality rates in the United States between 1999 and 2013. They found an increasing trend in all-cause mortality rates due to drug poisonings, alcohol-related liver disease, and suicides, which they called “deaths of despair”, among non-Hispanic (NH) white Americans aged 45 to 54—this age group was called the midlife. Case and Deaton’s findings and their narrative about the hypothetical causes of their findings garnered significant attention. The authors of this narrative hypothesized that the observed increases in mortality rates were due to white individuals in midlife increasingly suffering from “despair” and proposed a causal link between increasing “despair” rates and increased mortality rates only among white Americans in midlife. Case and Deaton did not provide a clear definition of “despair”; they presumed that white Americans in midlife were hopeless about their prospects for the future compared to what their parents had attained. This provocative narrative persisted and gained momentum because it functioned as an explanation of recent events like the 2016 U.S. presidential election, rise in white nationalism, and far right extremism. These white-related events were thought to be expressions of an agonizing, poor, under-educated generation of white Americans increasingly suffering from hypothetical feelings of "despair”, which have led them to self-destructive behaviors and premature death. However, no study has investigated the central claim of this theory: whether there is evidence of an association between increased “despair” rates and increased mortality rates only among white individuals in midlife, particularly for those with low education. Moreover, there is little evidence of their hypothesis of an increasing epidemic of “despair” affecting only white Americans in midlife, particularly those with low education. The theory of “deaths of despair” can be understood through Geoffrey Rose’s framework of causes of incidence and causes of cases, which highlights the difference between between-population and inter-individual causes of disease. Rose’s argues that causes of incidence explain the changes in outcome rates between populations, and may be uniform and imperceptible within populations. On the other hand, the causes of cases explain why some individuals within a population are susceptible or at high risk of the outcome. Like Rose’s causes of incidence, the authors of the theory of “deaths of despair” argue that “despair” increased between the midlife white American population in 1999 and in 2014, which led to increased mortality rates. Conversely, this theory does not claim that some individuals are at higher risk of death due to “despair”, which would be analogous to causes of cases. Therefore, the contrast of interest to test the central claim of Case and Deaton’s theory of “deaths of despair” is a between-population contrast (causes of incidence). As such, this dissertation aims to test the claims of the theory of “deaths of despair” proposed by Case and Deaton at the right level (causes of incidence). I began by conducting a scoping review of the current literature providing empirical support to the different elements of this theory: 1) socioeconomic causes as causes of “despair”, “diseases of despair”, “deaths of despair”, and all-cause mortality, and 2) “despair” as the cause of “diseases of despair”, “deaths of despair”, and all-cause mortality. I found 43 studies that I organized and displayed in two graphs according to Rose’s causes of cases (individual-level causes of “deaths of despair”) and causes of incidence (between-population level causes of “deaths of despair” rates). In each graph, I showed the number of studies that provided evidence for the individual- or population-level elements of the theory of “deaths of despair”. Of these 43 studies, I found that only 13 studies explicitly stated that they tested this theory. Three studies provided different definitions of “despair”, which did not align with the previous vague definition provided by Case and Deaton about white individuals’ hopeless about their prospects for the future. Most studies provided individual-level evidence for “despair” increasing the likelihood of death and despair-related outcomes, which is analogous to a type III error—a mismatch between the research question and the level at which the studies’ design and analyses were conducted to answer that question. Further, no study addressed at the right level—between populations—the central claim of the theory of “deaths of despair”. This led me to review the literature around concepts similar to “despair” and propose a suitable indicator to test the claims of the theory of “deaths of despair”. I leveraged data from the National Health Interview Survey and the Centers for Disease Control mortality data to test whether increases in the prevalence of “despair” were associated with increases in all-cause mortality rates only among white individuals in midlife and whether this effect was bigger among low educated white individuals. To obtain a valid estimate of this association, I adapted econometric methods to develop a valid estimator of the association between increasing “despair” prevalence and increased all-cause mortality rates. After adjusting for potential confounders at the between-population level, I found that the trends in the prevalence of “despair” were negligible across all race and ethnic groups and that an increasing trend could not be identified. Further, I found no evidence that increasing prevalences of “despair” were associated with increased all-cause mortality rates among NH white individuals in midlife, or that this association was more pronounced for those with low education. Lastly, I conducted a similar analysis looking at the association between increased prevalences of “despair” and increased rates of “deaths of despair”. I replicated Case and Deaton’s observed increased rates of “deaths of despair” among white individuals in midlife. However, I found no evidence that increased prevalences of “despair” were associated with increased “deaths of despair” rates among white individuals in midlife or that this association was higher for those with low education. Together, these findings suggest that the claims about the causes of increased mortality rates among white Americans in midlife are at best, questionable, and at worst, false. My aim with this work is to challenge and provide a critical examination of the theory of "deaths of despair", which has fueled the narrative of a suffering white generation and justified recent problematic events as white individuals lashing out for being forgotten to despair and die. While Case and Deaton’s observed rise in mortality rates among whites is a reproducible fact, their narrative ignores other evidence of white racial resentment as the cause of rise in mortality among white individuals. With this work, I intend to help stopping the perpetuation of narratives that favor structural whiteness by promoting an unsubstantiated narrative of psychosocial harm experienced by white Americans. Ultimately, I hope this work helps shift the focus in public health away from Case and Deaton's findings, which may overshadow and detract from the stark reality that mortality rates for Black individuals significantly exceed those for white individuals.

This thesis is an analysis of the production of assimilation discourse, in terms of Aboriginal people’s and white people’s social relations, in a small selection of popular fiction texts from the 1950s and 1960s. I situate these novels in the broader context of assimilation by also undertaking a reading of three official texts from a slightly earlier period. These texts together produce the ambivalent white Australian story of assimilation. They illuminate some of the key sites of anxiety in assimilation discourses: inter-racial sexual relationships, the white family, and children and young adults of mixed heritage and land ownership. The crux of my argument is that in the 1950s and early 1960s the dominant cultural imagining of Australia was as a white nation. In white discourses of assimilation to fulfil the dream of whiteness, the Aboriginal people – the not-white – had to be included in or eliminated from this imagined white community. Fictional stories of assimilation were a key site for the representation of this process, that is, they produced discourses of ‘assimilation colonization’. The focus for this process were Aboriginal people of mixed ancestry, who came to be represented as ‘the half-caste’ in assimilation discourse. The novels I analyse work as ‘conduct books’. They aim to shape white reactions to the inclusion of Aboriginal people, in particular the half-caste, into ‘white Australia’. This inclusion, assimilation, was an ambivalent project – both pleasurable and unsettling – pleasurable because it worked to legitimate white colonization (Aboriginal presence as erased) and unsettling because it challenged the idea of a pure ‘white Australia’.

This study examined the differences in racial groups across perceived stress and perceived disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic among undergraduate and graduate students at a Northeastern Predominantly White Institution (PWI). The sample consisted of 268 students who completed a Qualtrics survey measuring perceived stress, perceived disruptions during COVID-19, symptoms of anxiety and depression, motivation approach and sustained attention in addition to demographics. Results indicated a significant difference in disruption as reported by Non-Hispanic White students with more sources of disruption than non-White and Hispanic students. When rating the extent of disruption, non-White and Hispanic students reported significantly greater levels of disruption. While there were no significant differences between racial groups in reports of perceived stress, all racial groups reported moderate levels of perceived stress, consistent with other researchers in the pandemic. Increased levels of perceived stress were correlated to higher levels of symptoms of depression and anxiety, greater difficulty sustaining attention and a stronger likelihood of using both prevention and promotion approaches. Those with lower economic circumstances reported higher levels of anxiety, greater difficulties sustaining attention, and were more likely to be motivated to not fail. Graduate students demonstrated significantly higher symptoms of anxiety than undergraduates and international students were more likely to be motivated to not fail than domestic students. These results demonstrate a need for university wide support to address student stressors.

Despite evidence highlighting the crucial role of principals in driving school change and creating equitable learning environments, there remains a need for more robust research and operational guidance concerning principal anti-racist leadership development and practice. Recent studies have indicated Principals were not only unprepared to lead in schools with predominantly minoritized students and unable to articulate meaningful discourse around racial equity and implement policy that would respond to racial issues, but they also had not received anti-racist leadership preparation and support. (Gooden & O’Doherty, 2015; Khalifa et al., 2016; Miller, 2021; Young et al., 2010). Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory study is to partly address this issue and contribute to the existing body of research on principal anti-racist leadership development and practice. I posed the following questions to guide my research: 1. How do urban secondary school principals say they have been prepared and supported to be anti-racist leaders? 2. How, if at all, do these principals say they implemented anti-racist practices in their schools? 3. How, if at all, do these principals say it is having impact on reducing racial disparities in their schools? This study examines principal perceptions and experiences receiving preparation and support to be anti-racist leaders, and the extent to which it may be used to inform practice and pedagogy for reducing racial disparities in schools. Specifically, as six principals attempt to enact anti-racist leadership in low-income urban secondary school settings serving a majority of students of color, this study utilizes insights from Welton et al. (2018) and draws upon a significant body of literature to examine their journey, reflecting on their anti-racist leadership development, practice, and impact. This study draws on the essential nature of anti-racist leadership, which involves recognizing the significance of race within educational settings, elevating racial awareness, and actively working towards dismantling racial disparities (Aveling, 2007; Brooks & Watson, 2019; Diem & Welton, 2020; Lewis et al., 2023). It examines racial identity development and self-reflection as integral components of anti-racist leadership preparation and development, and classifies participants’ interview data according to Cross’ (1995) The Psychology of Becoming Black" (Tatum, 1997) racial identity model and Helm’s (1995) White racial identity model. The study further explores the extent to which participants engage in anti-racist leadership practices and how they say it is having impact on reducing racial disparities in schools, by referencing Welton et al.'s (2018) anti-racist leadership conceptual framework. This framework, encompassing both individual and systemic levels - attitudes, beliefs, policies, and practices - guided my investigation into informing anti-racist principal practice for reducing racial disparities in schools. The study concludes by theorizing how its findings can be used to better understand the intersection between principals’ anti-racist leadership development, practice, and impact. This study is significant because it contributes towards operationalizing Welton et al.’s (2018) anti-racist leadership conceptual framework, elucidating principal anti-racist preparation, development, and practice, and methods to accomplish it. By investigating the extent to which participants engage in anti-racist leadership practices and their impact on reducing racial disparities within schools, this research offers practical insights for advancing racial equity in predominantly Black and Brown secondary schools. Such contributions not only provide valuable guidance for current principal anti-racist leadership practices, but may also spark new thinking and approaches for further research and ongoing efforts towards systemic improvement in anti-racist educational leadership.

Social and demographic changes have a tremendous effect on the care for older people to the effect that caring for older people might have become a rare commodity. Increased life expectancy during the past century has prolonged the period in which older people need care and has made family care giving an increasingly recurrent activity for adult children. After the demolition of the apartheid area in South Africa, most research focused on previously disadvantaged groups, namely Black and Brown people which resulted in a research gap regarding older White people. Little is known about older White people’s experiences of care in South Africa, as older White people are viewed as the minority group who were not previously disadvantaged. However, older White people’s vulnerability is increasing because poverty is currently escalating amongst older White South African people as a result of early retirement and retrenchment because of employment equity and the conversion goal of Black Economic Empowerment. The aim of this study was to explore older White people’s experiences of giving care to and receiving care from their children. A qualitative research approach with an explorative and descriptive nature was utilized for this study as the research question was aimed at understanding a subjective phenomenon. This research design allows the participants to give meaning to their own experiences. A case study design was followed during this research study in order to provide an in-depth description of older White people’s experience of care. The specific population for this study consisted of all White people older than 60 years, co-residing with their adult children and living in the Midvaal area of the Vaal Triangle, Gauteng. Data were collected through journaling and semi-structured interviews, with 10 older White people. Interviews were conducted on a one-on-one basis at the office of the researcher or at the houses of the participants. This ensured the preservation of the participants’ relationship with their children. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Data were reduced through thematic data analysis and emerging themes and categories were identified. The principles and strategies for enhancing the trustworthiness of the data were done through crystallization and neutrality. The results indicated that older White people’s experience of care can be summarized by means of physical, emotional and financial care. Most of the participants in this study were still physically independent from their children and they could attend to their own physical care. Emotional care was identified by the participants as the ultimate indicator of caring and this component contributed profoundly to their psychological well-being. The financial care component highlighted that older White people’s vulnerability is increasing and that poverty is more prevalent in older White people than what is reflected in current research. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Social and demographic changes have a tremendous effect on the care for older people to the effect that caring for older people might have become a rare commodity. Increased life expectancy during the past century has prolonged the period in which older people need care and has made family care giving an increasingly recurrent activity for adult children. After the demolition of the apartheid area in South Africa, most research focused on previously disadvantaged groups, namely Black and Brown people which resulted in a research gap regarding older White people. Little is known about older White people’s experiences of care in South Africa, as older White people are viewed as the minority group who were not previously disadvantaged. However, older White people’s vulnerability is increasing because poverty is currently escalating amongst older White South African people as a result of early retirement and retrenchment because of employment equity and the conversion goal of Black Economic Empowerment. The aim of this study was to explore older White people’s experiences of giving care to and receiving care from their children. A qualitative research approach with an explorative and descriptive nature was utilized for this study as the research question was aimed at understanding a subjective phenomenon. This research design allows the participants to give meaning to their own experiences. A case study design was followed during this research study in order to provide an in-depth description of older White people’s experience of care. The specific population for this study consisted of all White people older than 60 years, co-residing with their adult children and living in the Midvaal area of the Vaal Triangle, Gauteng. Data were collected through journaling and semi-structured interviews, with 10 older White people. Interviews were conducted on a one-on-one basis at the office of the researcher or at the houses of the participants. This ensured the preservation of the participants’ relationship with their children. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Data were reduced through thematic data analysis and emerging themes and categories were identified. The principles and strategies for enhancing the trustworthiness of the data were done through crystallization and neutrality. The results indicated that older White people’s experience of care can be summarized by means of physical, emotional and financial care. Most of the participants in this study were still physically independent from their children and they could attend to their own physical care. Emotional care was identified by the participants as the ultimate indicator of caring and this component contributed profoundly to their psychological well-being. The financial care component highlighted that older White people’s vulnerability is increasing and that poverty is more prevalent in older White people than what is reflected in current research. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014