"More in solidarity": COVID-19-related racism and critical consciousness among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.

This study examined how Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) described their experiences and impacts of COVID-19-related racism, contextualized in a broader history of sociopolitical oppression. Guided by Cheng, Kim, et al. (2021) tripartite model of collective psychosocial resilience, we further hypothesized that COVID-19-related racism might be a catalyst for AANHPIs developing critical consciousness to resist racism. AANHPI adults (n = 448; Mage = 26.43) were asked how their lives were impacted by anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic and completed survey measures on sociodemographic factors and critical consciousness. We employed mixed methods triangulation with data transformation. Five themes were identified from open-ended responses using structured tabular thematic analysis: personal experiences of racism reenacting the perpetual foreigner narrative in a broader historical context of structural racism; vicarious racism reflecting the collective nature of identity-based harm; impacts of racial trauma on mental health and identity; heterogeneity of racialized experiences across AANHPIs; and cultivation of collective resilience and resistance through critical consciousness. Themes were quantified and related to measures reflecting critical consciousness dimensions, specifically critical reflection (perceived inequality, egalitarianism), critical motivation, and critical action using linear regression. Racial trauma impacts and cultivation of collective resistance were associated with perceived inequality. Vicarious racism was associated with critical motivation. Personal experiences of racism and cultivation of collective resistance were associated with critical action. To the extent that racial trauma was experienced collectively, AANHPIs fostered critical consciousness of discrimination as a common fate and were pulled toward community caretaking, solidarity, and collective action. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).