Relations Among Racial Identity Attitudes,Perceived Stressors,and Coping Styles in African American College Students

This study expanded on previous research with African American college students at predominantly White institutions by examining the theoretically relevant but unexplored relations among racial identity attitudes and (a) both general and culture-specific stressors and (b) problem-focused coping styles. Ninety African American college students at a predominantly White university completed the Black Racial Identity Attitudes Scale, Black Student Stress Inventory, Problem Solving Inventory, and Problem-Focused Style of Coping Scale. A series of multivariate regression analyses revealed that specific racial identity attitudes were statistically significant predictors of both general and culture-specific stressors. In addition, one racial identity attitude status (immersion/emersion) was a unique predictor of general perceived stressors and problem solving. Results suggest the importance of racial identity schemata as a critical factor in predicting stress and coping responses of African American students at predominantly White institutions. The findings also underscore the utility in distinguishing between general and culture-specific stressors, which traditionally have been ignored in the psychological literature.     

“I am because we are:” collectivism as a foundational characteristic of African American college student identity and academic achievement

This study extends current research on African American college student achievement by focusing on collectivism, a key characteristic of African American racial identity. Collectivism serves as the framework for analysis of students’ beliefs about the purpose of higher education, conceptualization of their roles and responsibilities as students, and the ways that students measure academic success within the context of a predominantly White university. Given that a conflict between students’ background and the culture of the university environment can exist, the findings offer educators insight into the unique experiences and achievement aspirations of African American college students and strategies to effectively mentor and support them.     

Racial identity beliefs and academic achievement: does being black hold students back?

The examination of a student’s racial identity beliefs along with the extent to which being Black is a central part of his or her self-concept provides a novel, insightful approach to understanding the relationship between racial identity and academic achievement (Chavous et al., 2003,). Using Sellers et al. (1998a) Multi-dimensional Model of Black Identity (MMBI) as a framework, this study investigated racial centrality, public regard and private regard beliefs in relation to the grade point average of African–American high-school students. A total of 289 African–American students from a large urban district participated in this study. Cluster analyses conducted on the three subscales of the MMBI on separate samples of 9th and 12th grade students replicated three of four racial identity profile groups previously identified by Chavous et al. (2003). Additionally, among both 9th and 12th grade students, Alienated students achieved significantly higher grade point averages than did Idealized students.     

Sociocultural theories,academic achievement,and African American adolescents in a multicultural context: a review of the cultural incompatibility perspective

Some theories have posited that African American youth are academic underachievers because of sociocultural factors. We label this point of view the cultural incompatibility perspective. Ogbu’s oppositional culture theory and Steele’s stereotype threat theory are selected as popular examples of this viewpoint. A critical review of the literature on these particular theories was conducted. It was concluded that there is limited empirical support for the cultural incompatibility perspective on African American academic achievement. This raises questions about the focus on academic underachievement among African Americans versus high achievement among other ethnic/racial groups. Implications of the empirical findings on the incompatibility perspective for the role of African American culture in Black student achievement are discussed.     

Ratings in Black and White: does racial symmetry or asymmetry influence teacher assessment of a pupil’s work habits?

Racial asymmetry, the circumstance of having a teacher’s race differ from that of his or her student’s race, is often considered important because most Black students are taught by White teachers. This paper analyzes data from a nationally representative sample of students and teachers to ascertain the extent to which Black and White teachers differ in their evaluations of the work habits of their Black pupils. Unlike most other investigations on this topic, we explored the likelihood that subject matter and school demographics influence teacher-student relationships beyond the more visible factors of racial symmetry or asymmetry. Our analyses of NELS: 88 data using this framework reveal an inconsistent racial effect on teachers’ evaluations of Black students. The ratings of African American pupils by both Black and White teachers seem to be influenced by both the academic subject they teach and the demographic characteristic of the school. We discuss these findings and suggest avenues for further study.

Racial Identity,African Self-Consciousness,and Career Decision Making in African American College Women

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among racial Identity, African self-consciousness, and career decidedness in 212 African American women classified as first year or senior at an historically Black university and a predominantly White university. It was hypothesized that senior women at both institutions would have higher levels of racial identity and African self-consciousness and would be more career decided than first year women. The findings provided partial support for the hypothesis.     

Cultural Mistrust,Ethnic Identity,Racial Identity,and Self‐Esteem Among Ethnically Diverse Black University Students

Cultural mistrust, ethnic identity, racial identity, and self‐esteem were examined among African (n = 26), African American (n = 110), and West Indian/Caribbean (n = 24) university students. African American students' scores were statistically different from those of African and West Indian/Caribbean students on cultural mistrust, racial identity, and ethnic identity measures. There were no statistically significant differences on self‐esteem among the 3 groups. Results did indicate that cultural mistrust, ethnic identity, and racial identity accounted for 37% of the variance in self‐esteem for African American students. Implications for practice and future research directions are discussed.     

Stereotypes in the classroom's air: Classroom racial stereotype endorsement,classroom engagement,and STEM achievement among Black and White American adolescents

Initiatives promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in predominantly White contexts, including STEM fields, have primarily relied on approaches to increase the representation of minoritized individuals. However, an increase in the representation of minoritized individuals is only one step of the process, as the present study suggests that explicit beliefs about particular racial groups’ abilities also matter. The present article examined whether classroom racial stereotype endorsement about science and math disadvantaged Black American adolescents relative to their White American peers. Across two longitudinal studies with 533 and 1,189 adolescents (N-adolescents = 1722; N-classrooms = 86; 45% Black American, 55% White American; 51% females; M-age = 13–14), classroom pro-White/anti-Black stereotype endorsement in the fall term predicted better science and math achievement scores for White American adolescents and lower science and math achievement scores for Black American adolescents at the end of the academic year. Student- and teacher-reported student engagement in science and math classrooms mediated the longitudinal relations between classroom pro-White/anti-Black stereotype endorsement and students’ achievement scores. Results suggest that classrooms may be important conduits for communicating racial stereotypes that create racially hostile STEM learning environments.

Research Highlights

• Using a longitudinal sample of 1722 adolescents enrolled in 86 classrooms, the present study examined the consequences of classroom racial stereotype endorsement during adolescence.
• White American adolescents demonstrated favorable achievement scores in science and math when their classmates endorsed traditional, or pro-White/anti-Black, stereotypes.
• Black American adolescents showed worse achievement scores in science and math when their classmates endorsed pro-White/anti-Black stereotypes.
• Classroom engagement mediated the longitudinal relations between classroom pro-White/anti-Black stereotype endorsement and achievement scores for both Black and White American adolescents.

     

Impact of learning orientation on African American children's attitudes toward high-achieving peers

This study examined Ogbu's widely accepted thesis that African American students reject high academic achievement because they perceive its limited utility in a world where their upward mobility is constrained by racial discrimination. Boykin's psychosocial integrity model contends that Black students value high achievement but that discrepancies between their formative cultural experiences and those imposed in school lead them to reject the modes of achievement available in classrooms. Ninety Black children completed a measure of attitudes toward students who achieve via mainstream or African American cultural values. Participants rejected the mainstream achievers and embraced the African American cultural achievers. Moreover, they expected their teachers to embrace the mainstream achievers and reject those who achieved through high-verve behavior. Results suggest that Boykin's thesis is a needed refinement to Ogbu's ideas. They indicate that Black children may reject not high achievement but some of the mainstream cultural values and behaviors on which success in mainstream classrooms is made contingent.     

African American students' ratings of Caucasian and African American counselors varying in racial consciousness

African American college students (63 female, 30 male) rated vignettes of counselors varying in racial consciousness (high vs. low) and race (African American vs. Caucasian). Participants then completed a counselor rating scale and the Racial Identity Attitude Scale (Short Form; T. A. Parham & J. E. Helms, 1981). African American counselors were rated more favorably than White counselors, and high racially conscious counselors were rated more favorably than low racially conscious counselors. The African American counselor with high racial consciousness was rated the most favorably. Several significant correlations were found between participants' racial identity attitudes and their ratings of counselors. Implications for the training of both African American and White counselors are considered.     

Race and Nation: How Racial Hierarchy Shapes National Attachments

We contend that the boundaries and nature of national attachments are shaped by the position of one's group within America's racial order, with higher status yielding more racially exclusive forms of identity. We test our claims in the realm of xenophobia. Using an original survey of African Americans (n = 1,000) and Whites (n = 1,000), we assess national pride, nationalism, nativism, and racial identity, plus affect toward various immigrant groups. We establish that national attachments have racially varied meanings, thereby producing sharp differences in each racial group's response to foreigners. Although national pride is unrelated to White antipathy toward outsiders, nationalism and nativism increase White hostility to immigrants—except when they are White. In contrast, national pride diminishes African American hostility to Black and non‐Black immigrants, while nativism is generally unrelated to Black antipathy to outsiders. Finally, while nationalism heightens xenophobia among Blacks, this sentiment envelops all foreigners—including African immigrants. We discuss our results' implications for theories of national attachment in intergroup settings.     

Exploring the Links Between Racial Identity Attitudes and Psychological Feelings of Closeness in African American College Students

The relationship between racial identity attitudes and psychological closeness to various African American groups was examined in 171 African American college students at a predominantly White southeastern university. The data were collected using the Racial Identity Attitude Scale (Helms & Parham, 1985), and a scale measuring Perceived Psychological Closeness to African Americans. The closeness scale is a 14-item instrument that was found to represent (in this sample) psychological closeness to 4 African American groups. Internalized racial identity attitudes indicated positive feelings toward various groups of African Americans. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that internalized racial identity attitudes were predictive of psychological closeness to African Americans, although this varied somewhat depending on the subgroup.     

Black and White Tokens in Academia: A Difference of Chronic Versus Acute Distinctiveness1

Token status effects, also called distinctiveness, include feelings of racial/gender awareness, representativeness, and accountability. In this multimethod three-part research, it is argued that Black students in a predominantly White university feel chronically distinctive, whereas White students may feel acutely distinctive when they are in the numerical minority. However, this acute distinctiveness is situation specific. First a pilot study confirmed that Black and White females differ in their reports of distinctiveness. Study 1 showed that Black students feel chronically distinctive and that they are often “solos” in classrooms. Study 2 tried to separate race and solo status effects on distinctiveness by experimentally manipulating group solo status. Results indicate a main effect for solo status and also a main effect for race on feelings of distinctiveness across solo conditions. Applications of this research for the token literature and for distinctiveness theory are discussed.     

I'm a Jesus girl: coping stories of Black American women diagnosed with breast cancer

Breast cancer continues to be the most diagnosed cancer for all women, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, in the United States. Incidence rates are 1 in 8 for an American woman being diagnosed. Moreover, statistics indicate that every 13 min an American woman dies from complications related to breast cancer. Despite all the gains made in the area of cancer research, Black American women continue to have a 67% higher mortality rate than their White counterparts. There is no preparation for a diagnosis of breast cancer. Upon hearing the words: you have breast cancer, a woman’s life is forever altered. The woman’s initial reactions of denial and/or anger yield to strategic responses. These responses may strengthen the woman’s resiliency both during and following treatments. Research indicates that Black Americans, specifically Black American women, exhibit greater religiosity/spirituality than do other racial/ethnic groups. In addition, the use of religiosity/spirituality by Black Americans increases during a crisis. This qualitative study examines how religiosity/spirituality was utilized as a coping mechanism by a group of Black American women following their diagnoses of breast cancer.     

A multilevel model of educational expectations of secondary school students in the United States

Using the Educational Longitudinal Survey of 2002, we investigate variation in factors that contribute to Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White students’ educational expectations. Separate multilevel models demonstrate group variation in student and school-level influences. Academic and school factors explained the most variation in White students’ expectations. School characteristics were least predictive of Black student expectations. For Hispanic students, the overall influence of family socioeconomic status (SES) was explained by school level SES. These results support research on student-level predictors of expectations and present new evidence of school-level predictors. The impact of academic track perceptions on expectations is established, as are the effects of certain experiences and school contexts, especially sports participation and Catholic/private school attendance. A model comparing all four groups supported the separate group models and also revealed that student-level factors have a weaker influence on Asians and high crime neighborhoods inflate the expectations of Hispanics but not similarly situated Black students.     

An Examination of Stereotype Threat in a Motivational Context

This study was conducted to explore 2 potential boundary conditions of the stereotype threat effect. First, we sought to determine if threat would occur for a test administered in a motivational context where consequences were linked to test performance. Second, we examine if the threat elicited by 1 test would generalize to a different measure administered in the same testing session. Using a 2 (control vs. threat) × 2 (order of administration of a personality and intelligence test) × 2 (Black vs. White) between-subjects design, we found that threat can influence test scores, but the relationship between threat and test scores is dependent on both domain identity and racial identity. Interestingly, we found that changes in racial identity (assessed before and after the test) had a significant and positive relationship with cognitive ability test performance for Black test-takers, but not for Whites. It seems that Black individuals who dis-identified themselves from their race (during the course of the testing) were able to perform better on the cognitive ability test. Finally, we find that those in the threat condition performed significantly better on the personality test than those in the control condition, suggesting that threat can generalize and influence performance on tests for which no stereotype exists. Implications of these results for research and practice are discussed.     

Resilience from Childhood Stressors: The Role of Cultural Resilience,Ethnic Identity,and Gender Identity

This study examined the potential influence of cultural resilience, ethnic identity, and gender identity on resilience processes across diverse racial/ethnic groups of young women. A sample of 200 women who attended a large state university were studied, of whom 50 self-identified as White, 50 as African American, 50 as Asian or Asian American, and 50 as Latina. Results indicated significant racial/ethnic differences in childhood stressors experienced by the women such that African American, Asian/Asian American, and Latina women reported more overall childhood stressors and more stress associated with racism and sexism than their White counterparts. Furthermore, ethnic identity search and an androgynous gender identity contributed to greater resilience. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

An investigation of the social identity model of collective action and the 'sedative' effect of intergroup contact among Black and White students in South Africa

Two studies investigated the role of intergroup contact in predicting collective action tendencies along with three key predictors proposed by the social identity model of collective action (SIMCA; Van Zomeren, Postmes, & Spears, 2008). Study 1 (N= 488 Black South African students) tested whether social identity would positively, whereas intergroup contact would negatively predict collective action and support for policies benefiting the ingroup. Study 2 (N= 244 White South African students) predicted whether social identity would positively predict collective action benefiting the ingroup, and intergroup contact would positively predict support for policies to benefit the Black outgroup. Both studies yielded evidence in support of the predictive power of social identity and contact on collective action and policy support. Additionally, Study 1 confirmed that intergroup contact moderated the effects of social identity on relative deprivation, and relative deprivation on collective action. Overall findings support an integration of SIMCA and intergroup contact theory, and provide a fuller understanding of the social psychological processes leading to collective action.     

Reducing the Effects of Stereotype Threat on African American College Students by Shaping Theories of Intelligence

African American college students tend to obtain lower grades than their White counterparts, even when they enter college with equivalent test scores. Past research suggests that negative stereotypes impugning Black students' intellectual abilities play a role in this underperformance. Awareness of these stereotypes can psychologically threaten African Americans, a phenomenon known as “stereotype threat” (Steele & Aronson, 1995), which can in turn provoke responses that impair both academic performance and psychological engagement with academics. An experiment was performed to test a method of helping students resist these responses to stereotype threat. Specifically, students in the experimental condition of the experiment were encouraged to see intelligence—the object of the stereotype—as a malleable rather than fixed capacity. This mind-set was predicted to make students' performances less vulnerable to stereotype threat and help them maintain their psychological engagement with academics, both of which could help boost their college grades. Results were consistent with predictions. The African American students (and, to some degree, the White students) encouraged to view intelligence as malleable reported greater enjoyment of the academic process, greater academic engagement, and obtained higher grade point averages than their counterparts in two control groups.     

Differences in Black and White American College Students�� Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men

Differences in attitudes toward lesbians and gay men (ATLGM) held by Black and White Americans have rarely been studied systematically despite anecdotal evidence suggesting that Black Americans may be less accepting of lesbians and gay men than are White Americans. We tested the hypothesis that Black American??s ATLGM would be less positive than White Americans?? using data collected from 60 Black (36 female, 24 male) and 62 White (25 female, 37 male) students from a public university in the Midwestern United Sates. We found that Black students held generally neutral ATLGM whereas White students?? attitudes were slightly positive. This difference was mediated by racial group differences in right-wing authoritarianism.