When racial trauma becomes functionally limiting: A conditional conceptual model of disability relevance in higher education.

OBJECTIVE

Race-based traumatic stress (RBTS) is increasingly recognized as a significant source of psychological and physiological harm among students in higher education; however, disability accommodation systems rarely address trauma rooted in racism. This article proposes a provisional, proposition-generating conceptual framework specifying conditions under which RBTS may be associated with disability-level functional impairment within higher education.

METHOD: Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship in trauma science, disability studies, and higher education policy, as well as a narrative account of lived experience as an illustrative feature, this conceptual analysis integrates existing theory to clarify how RBTS may disrupt functioning, which factors may exacerbate or mitigate such disruption, and when those effects may reach disability-level impairment. To align with disability services frameworks, the model distinguishes between transient distress and persistent impairment and situates disability relevance within interacting social, environmental, and institutional contexts rather than solely in an individual-centered framework.

RESULTS

The proposed model delineates pathways through which RBTS-related trauma processes may disrupt executive functioning, emotional regulation, and attention-key capacities for academic participation. Progression to substantial academic limitation is theorized to occur only when symptoms are clinically significant and persistent and meaningfully restrict academic functioning and when institutional recognition and support processes are insufficient to mitigate functional disruption. The model specifies testable propositions regarding boundary conditions, disclosure and documentation pathways, accommodation access, institutional recognition and response, and divergent educational outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

RBTS is not inherently disabling; rather, under conditions of sustained severity and demonstrable functional impairment, its effects may meet criteria consistent with disability frameworks in higher education. By specifying a conditional and empirically testable conceptual model, this article delineates how trauma-related impairment may, under defined circumstances, intersect with institutional accessibility frameworks and inform ethically grounded future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).