The Old Dominion University Community is invited to the dissertation defense of

Büşra Vurkun, M.A.

Ph.D. Candidate in Education (Counseling)

July 14th, 2026

9-10:30am

Room 2304, Education Building

Zoom Link: https://odu.zoom.us/j/2434485007

Project Title

The mediating role of hope in the relationship between everyday discrimination and depression among college students.

ABSTRACT

Research shows that marginalized populations experience disproportionately higher psychological distress (Budhwani et al., 2015; Bailey et al., 2019). Everyday discrimination, defined as chronic interpersonal mistreatment such as microaggressions and disrespect, is associated with greater depression and lower psychological well-being (Essed, 1991; Calabrese et al., 2015). Although the negative effects of discrimination are well established, less is known about protective factors that may reduce these outcomes. One such factor is hope, conceptualized by Snyder et al. (1991) as agency thinking and pathways thinking and linked to lower depression and greater resilience (Arnau et al., 2007; Banks et al., 2008). This study examined whether hope mediated the relationship between everyday discrimination and depression among college students. A cross-sectional, non-experimental design was used with 352 college students who completed the Everyday Discrimination Scale, Trait Hope Scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Structural equation modeling was used to test mediation and measurement invariance across White and BIPOC participants (Byrne, 2016). Findings supported configural, metric, and scalar invariance. Everyday discrimination was positively associated with depressive symptoms, while hope negatively associated with depression. However, hope did not mediate the relationship because discrimination was not significantly associated with hope. These findings suggest that discrimination and hope may relate to depressive symptoms through separate pathways and highlight the importance of culturally responsive interventions that address discrimination while strengthening students’ psychological resources.

Committee members:

Jeff Moe, Ph.D., Counseling and Human Services (Committee Chair and Methodologist)

Alan ‘Woody’ Schwitzer, Ph.D., Counseling and Human Services (Member)

Tony Perez, Ph.D., STEM Education and Professional Studies (Member)

*A copy of the proposal can be obtained by contacting Jeff Moe at jmoe@odu.edu.