Faculty Affairs and Academic Programs
Nolan Krueger
Social Sciences; Public Policy; Public Affairs
Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology
UC Santa Barbara
Resistance as Health: When Activism Heals and When It Hurts for QTBIPOC Communities
For Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (QTBIPOC), activism is not just political expression but a condition of health and survival. Yet the same practices that generate collective strength can also cause exhaustion and strain. This project examines when activism supports flourishing, and when it undermines well-being in communities that sustain social movements. My lab has completed data collection for a national survey of ~900 QTBIPOC and 250 Non-QTBIPOC activists with preliminary analysis underway. Survey participants were invited to opt into a follow-up study, providing a ready pool for the qualitative phase which has not begun. This study offers the first empirical integration of Radical Healing, Healing-Centered Engagement, and an emergent Sankofa-Survivance model I am developing. Using latent profile analysis, nonlinear modeling, and explanatory sequential interviews, we will identify patterns of activist experience and mechanisms through which empowerment, collective hope, cultural connection, and movement “container” quality shape health outcomes. During the award period, I will complete analyses, conduct 20-30 qualitative interviews, and deliver three manuscripts, a public dataset, a codebook, and an Activist Health Playbook. Workshops across UC and California–with additional partners as appropriate–will pilot the playbook and refine it into a practical resource for organizers, educators, and community partners. Given restricted federal funding for equity-focused research, including the withdrawal of a planned NIMH funding mechanism, this award provides the bridge needed to complete a major body of work with significant societal impact.
