Exploring Cognitive Reappraisal As a Mechanism of Resilience: The Role of Anti-Racism Engagement in Mitigating Suicidal Ideation in the Campus Context

Background: Racial discrimination acts as a chronic stressor that can trigger intense negative emotions. Without effective coping strategies, individuals may develop severe mental health symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, or suicidal ideation. According to cognitive reappraisal theory, individuals who frame discrimination as a systemic social issue—rather than a personal attack—tend to show greater psychological resilience. On college campuses, anti-racism engagement may be a reappraisal strategy, helping students reinterpret their experiences through a collective, justice-oriented lens. However, little is known about whether and how this engagement functions as a protective mechanism. This study defines anti-racism engagement as not to students’ personal activism but their perception of institutional-level anti-racism efforts. To address this gap, the study investigates (1) whether racial discrimination is associated with suicidal ideation, (2) whether Anti-Racism Engagement mediates this relationship, and (3) whether racial identity moderates the indirect effect, offering insights into culturally embedded resilience processes.

Methods: This study analyzed data from The Healthy Minds Study, a national survey on college student mental health, using responses from 87,615 students aged 18–29. A moderated mediation model (PROCESS Macro Model 7) was employed, where racial discrimination (IV) affects suicidal ideation (DV) via Anti-Racism Engagement (M), with racial identity (W) as a moderator. Bootstrapping (N = 5,000) was used to estimate confidence intervals for conditional effects. Control variables included sex at birth, education level, age, depression and anxiety symptoms, and LGBTQ+ identity.

Results: The analysis revealed that racial discrimination was positively associated with suicidal ideation (β = 0.3040, p < .001). Anti-racism engagement partially mediated this relationship (β = 0.0823, p < .001), indicating that students who reported higher levels of anti-racism engagement tended to report lower suicidal ideation despite facing discrimination. However, the strength of this mediating effect varied across racial groups. Non-Hispanic White students exhibited the strongest association (0.0830, 95% CI [0.0670, 0.1005]), followed by Non-Hispanic Black (0.0756, 95% CI [0.0601, 0.0922]), Hispanic (0.0689, 95% CI [0.0550, 0.0836]), and Asian students (0.0697, 95% CI [0.0478, 0.0932]). American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) students showed the weakest indirect effect (0.0509, 95% CI [0.0400, 0.0629]), suggesting that Anti-Racism Engagement was less strongly associated with reduced suicidal ideation in these groups. Further, racial identity moderated the link between discrimination and Anti-Racism Engagement. AIAN/NHPI (β = -0.3899, p < .001) and Non-Hispanic Black students (β = -0.1707, p = .0213) exhibited weaker associations, suggesting that systemic barriers and historical factors may influence their engagement in anti-racism efforts as a protective mechanism.

Conclusion: Anti-racism engagement was linked to lower suicidal ideation via a reappraisal pathway, though effect sizes varied by race. Weaker effects among AIAN/NHPI and Black students suggest systemic inequities in how efforts are experienced. Findings support integrating anti-racism into campus mental health strategies through culturally responsive approaches. This direction aligns with SSWR 2026’s theme of translating social work science into equitable, transformative policy.