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Abstract
This dissertation investigates how social network factors within organizations shape Black STEM students’ use of identity management strategies to cope with experiences of racialization within Historically White Colleges and Universities (HWCUs) and how these strategies shape their emotional outcomes, STEM engagement, and well-being. Synthesizing ideas from racialization, social networks, acculturation, and identity, I develop and test predictions based on W.E.B. Du Bois theory of Double Consciousness. Specifically, I argue that white institutional spaces evoke conflicting identity meanings and expectations requiring Black people to make strategic decisions about identity management to reduce this conflict in order to succeed in those spaces. I argue choices among identity strategies are constrained by social network dynamics and characteristics of organizational settings and that the use of these strategies differentially shapes well-being, emotions, and motivations to continue engagement with these spaces. This dissertation addresses three main questions: 1) How do social network factors and organizational characteristics impact identity management strategy use in organizations? 2) How are these strategies related to emotional experiences? And 3) What are the health and well-being consequences of enacting these identity strategies? Data for this project consists of a convenience sample of Black undergraduate STEM majors in the United States (N=167) collected across two survey platforms. The data include information on students’ identities, emotions, social networks, and well-being. Results of the first investigation indicate that social network structure and composition shape the likelihood that Black STEM students will use some identity management strategies but not others. Results of the second investigation show that these identity management strategies are differentially related to emotion, stress, and well-being outcomes. Limitations of the study include the small sample size and cross-sectional nature of the analyses. This dissertation expands our knowledge about the effects of dual identity processes and identity management on emotions, health, and motivation to engage with STEM contexts. The results of these investigations indicate that the relationships between social networks, organizational characteristics, and identity management are complex and highlight the importance of examining social, personal, and organizational factors to better understand racialized experiences within white spaces.