In this study, I employed narrative inquiry supported by intersectionality theory to explore the experiences of 6 antiracist, White, feminist undergraduate women. A conceptual model of antiracist identity development emerged from the data. Participants described vivid experiences with guilt, shame, and fear that kept them from engaging in allied…

This study examined 110 intercultural experiences from 82 students attending six colleges and universities to explore how students' interpretations of their intercultural experiences reflected their developmental capacities for intercultural maturity. Our analysis of students' experiences confirmed as well as refined and expanded King and Baxter…

Through in-depth interviews with ten diverse participants, this phenomenological study explored the meaning, dimensions, and processes of spiritual struggle in college students' lives. The findings revealed that encountering contrast was the unifying dimension underlying students' spiritual struggle narratives. Contrast was apparent in students'…

This study examined how Mexican American women made meaning of their undergraduate activism and its potential implications on their development toward self-authorship. The developing political consciousness model emerged from their interviews to demonstrate the process of developing increasingly complex social knowledge, the shift of motivation to…

This inquiry describes the role of mentoring for undergraduate women survivors of trauma. It employed a comparative case approach. Interviews elicited stories from participants reflecting the role mentors have played in their life course and educational experiences. Four major themes emerged: Fantasy mentors, mentor as mirror, mentor as nurturer…

A qualitative study of 13 self-identified Black and African American college students across three institutions revealed important findings relevant for understanding the multifaceted and complex ways in which these students both perceived and made meaning of the multiple facets of their identities. Implications for the ways in which social…

This article describes three distinct yet interrelated elements of self-authorship: trusting the internal voice, building an internal foundation, and securing internal commitments. These elements, which emerged from longitudinal interviews with adults in their 30s, offer insights into the complexity and cyclical nature of self-authorship as well…

Narrative inquiry methodology was used to investigate self-perceived identities among 10 lesbian college students. Analysis of data from in-depth, open-ended interviews revealed the role of meaning-making capacity in determining the extent to which contextual influences shaped self-perceptions of sexual orientation identity and its relationship…

Annual informal conversational interviews (ten years) explore how young adults (N=39) take on responsibility, manage their affairs effectively, develop confidence, integrate and maintain identity, create meaning and organize experience, and make informed decisions in the face of societal demands and challenges. Higher education's role in promoting…

Through a series of interviews with 27 entering, high-risk college students, this study investigated the relation between self-authorship, coping style, and adaptation. Findings suggest high-risk college students enter with self-authored ways of knowing, but self-authorship disappears quickly as students have marginalizing experiences. Subsequent…