Critical consciousness represents the transformation from a passive target of oppression to an active agent with greater capacity to analyze and negotiate conditions of oppression. It has been considered as an antidote for oppression that can liberate people from oppressive ideologies and empower them to challenge social injustice. Despite that critical consciousness has often been discussed in pedagogical literature and applied in community interventions, very few studies have attempted to empirically examine the psychological benefits brought by critical consciousness. The three articles in this dissertation aim to understand whether and how critical consciousness functions as an internal resource for psychological resilience (article 1), social resistance (article 2), and civic development (article 3).

Article 1 examines the resilience effects of critical consciousness in protecting against stigma-related stressors among a sample of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals. Findings showed that LGBT individuals with higher level of critical consciousness were likely to resist the internalization of negative stereotypes associated with their sexual identity, which could buffer the effect of felt stigma on psychological distress. Drawing on the sociopolitical development theory, article 2 utilizes cross-sectional and prospective cohort research designs to examine the liberating and empowering mechanisms through which critical consciousness gives rise to collective action for LGBT rights. Results indicated that critical consciousness were associated with lower level of oppressive ideology and higher level of collective efficacy among LGBT individuals and cisgender heterosexual individuals. This in turn contributed to stronger intention to participate in collective action to resist sexual orientation-and/or gender identity- (SOGI-) based oppression. Grounded on the empowerment theory, article 3 investigates the effect of critical consciousness and sociopolitical control on civic engagement and well-being among emerging adults in Hong Kong and mainland China using cross-regional and cross-lagged panel designs. Findings indicated that sociopolitical control but not critical consciousness was related to greater civic engagement and better well-being among emerging adults.

Theoretically speaking, this dissertation fills the literature gap by empirically revealing the benefits of critical consciousness on psychological resilience to oppressive experience and collective resistance to social injustice. The present research is a significant endeavor in providing quantitative evidence on the effects of critical consciousness. It extends the scope of critical consciousness from the reflection of oppressive experiences to the recognition of oneself as the perpetrators of oppression. As effective social change requires collaborative efforts between different groups in the society, it is equally important to understand the effects of critical consciousness on members of oppressed and dominant groups.

Practically speaking, critical consciousness can serve as a target for intervention in different settings. Findings indicate the potential of cultivating critical consciousness as a resilience resource among students and clients with oppressed identities in educational and clinical settings to transform their oppressive experience and protect them from poor mental health. In addition, it informs civil society organizations and advocacy groups on the ways to enhance public awareness of oppressive systems and promote participation in collective action to eradicate unjust social arrangements by leveraging critical consciousness. Given that oppression is deeply entrenched in hegemonic ideologies and unequal power relations, only with praxis (i.e., reflection and action) can wellness and justice be simultaneously achieved.