Session: Collective Resistance: Examining the Social and Cultural Factors Shaping Youth's Sociopolitical Beliefs and Social Justice Action (Society for Social Work and Research 25th Annual Conference - Social Work Science for Social Change)

Historically, youth from racially marginalized groups have been central to movements that resist structural oppression and drive transformative social justice change. Yet, despite their social impact, there is limited empirical understanding about the factors that foster youth's social justice beliefs and actions (see Anyiwo, Palmer., et al., 2020 for review). The research studies presented in this symposium use quantitative and qualitative methods to address these gaps in the literature by 1) elucidating the factors that marginalized youth identify as motivations for action, 2) assessing the sociocultural factors that are associated with youth's sociopolitical beliefs and actions, and 3) identifying how youth conceptualize the meaning of their action for themselves and communities. Study one presents emically-derived factors, drawn from qualitative interviews, that shape youth's civic engagement. Study two quantitatively explores the relations between youth exposure to ethnic-racial messages in school and their citizenship ideologies. Study three quantitatively examines the associations between youth's engagement with hip-hop culture and their awareness, agency, and action. Finally, study four uses qualitative interviews to unpack the role of youth action in their healing from historical trauma. The breadth of research presented in this symposium contributes to an emerging body of research about the mechanisms underlying marginalized youth's motivations and actions to promote equitable social and community change.