UC Santa Barbara

Latina students exhibit high levels of academic resilience evidenced by increased rates of educational attainment despite social, cultural, and structural barriers. Although research has identified factors that positively and negatively impact their academic resilience, little attention has been given to the influence of identity. To address this gap in the literature, this qualitative study used an intersectional approach to examine the significance of gender and ethnicity to the academic resilience of Latina college students. Specifically, 15 Latina college students who self-identified as academically resilient participated in semi-structured interviews that explored how their experiences of academic resilience have been shaped by their gender and ethnic identities. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was used to analyze the data and yielded four themes, including: (a) perceptions of otherness, (b) utilizing cultural resources, (c) having purpose to overcome, and (d) self and identity development. Several subthemes were also identified. Based on the themes, it appeared that Latina students in this study experienced feelings of otherness due to their Latina identity. However, rather than renounce their identities, they leveraged their identities to help them persist and have motivation to overcome. Moreover, participants’ sense of self and views about their Latina identity were enhanced as a result of experiencing and overcoming adversity. Implications for education, clinical practice, and research are offered.