scholarly journals Parental Educational Attainment and Mental Well-Being of College Students: Diminished Returns of Blacks

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Black Families ◽  
Black College ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Black College Students ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Parental Educational Attainment ◽  
Mental Well Being

Background. According to the Minorities’ Diminished Returns (MDR) theory, the health returns of socioeconomic status (SES) are systemically smaller for Blacks compared to Whites. Less is known, however, about trans-generational aspects of such diminished gains. For example, the differential impact of parental educational attainment on differences in mental well-being between White versus Black college students remains unknown. Aims. With a national scope, this study explored racial differences in the effect of parental educational attainment on the mental well-being of college students in the United States. Methods. The Healthy Mind Study (HMS), 2016–2017, is a national telephone survey that included 41,898 college students. The sample was composed of Whites (n = 38,544; 92.0%) and Blacks (n = 3354; 8.0%). The independent variable was highest parental educational attainment. The dependent variable was mental well-being (mentally healthy days in the past month) which was measured using a single item. Age and gender were covariates. Race was the moderator. Logistic regression was used for data analysis. Results. In the pooled sample, high parental educational attainment was associated with better mental wellbeing, independent of race, age, and gender. Race, however, showed a significant interaction with parental educational attainment on students’ mental wellbeing, indicating a smaller effect of parent education on the mental wellbeing of Black compared to White college students. Conclusions. The returns of parental educational attainment in terms of mental well-being is smaller for Black college students compared to their White counterparts. To minimize the diminished returns of parental education in Black families, policies should go beyond equalizing SES and reduce the structural barriers that are common in the lives of Black families. Policies should also aim to reduce extra costs of upward social mobility, prevent discrimination, and enhance the quality of education for Blacks. As the mechanisms that are involved in MDR are multi-level, multi-level solutions are needed to minimize the racial gaps in gaining mental health benefits from higher socioeconomic levels.

Seeking Just Us: A Mixed Methods Investigation of Racism-Specific Support Among Black College Students

2021 ◽  
pp. 009579842110349
Author(s):  
Christopher K. Marshburn ◽  
Belinda Campos
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
College Students ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Black College ◽  
Black College Students ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Emotional Closeness ◽  
Specific Support

Social support is theorized to protect health against the negative effects of stress. However, findings are mixed regarding whether social support protects Black people’s psychological well-being against racism. The current mixed methods study examined racism-specific support (RSS)—social support in response to racism—in same- (Black/Black) and cross-race (Black/non-Black) friendships. We investigated whether 31 Black college students ( M age = 19.7, SD = 1.70; 74% women) had (1) racial preferences (same-vs. cross-race) for whom they sought RSS, and (2) whether perceptions of RSS’s helpfulness differed when provided by cross-race friends. Participants completed measures of emotional closeness to same- and cross-race friends and participated in focus group interviews discussing racism and RSS. Results found participants reported more emotional closeness to Black friends and non-Black friends of color relative to White friends. As predicted, 65% of participants preferred RSS from Black (vs. non-Black) friends. Participants’ qualitative responses ( n = 21–24) revealed Black (vs. non-Black) friends were perceived to better understand racism. These findings suggest RSS from Black friends, specifically, might benefit Black college students’ psychological well-being.

Black College Students’ Ethnic Identity and Academic Achievement: Examining Mental Health and Racial Discrimination as Moderators

2021 ◽  
pp. 009579842110342
Author(s):  
Eryn N. DeLaney ◽  
Chelsea D. Williams ◽  
Shawn C. T. Jones ◽  
Nicole A. Corley ◽  
Fantasy T. Lozada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Black College ◽  
Black College Students ◽  
And Gender

The purpose of the current study was to test the role that components of ethnic identity (i.e., exploration and resolution) play in academic achievement, and to examine mental health, racial discrimination, and gender as moderators of these associations among Black college students. Participants included 341 college students who identified as a Black/African American female or male ( M age = 18.4; SD = .34), and completed measures of ethnic identity, perceived racial discrimination, and mental health. Results indicated that higher levels of ethnic identity exploration were associated with a lower grade point average (GPA) among males with higher levels of depressive symptoms, but not among males with lower levels of depressive symptoms. Similarly, higher levels of ethnic identity resolution were associated with a lower GPA among males with higher levels of anxiety symptoms, but not males with lower levels of anxiety symptoms. Findings may have implications for clinical and educational interventions by highlighting the nuanced ways that ethnic identity, mental health, and gender affect Black college students’ academic achievement.

Sex and Grade-Level Differences in Need Achievement among Black College Students

1976 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marvin L. Schroth
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Grade Level ◽  
Black Families ◽  
Black College ◽  
Black College Students ◽  
Task Orientation ◽  
Major Purpose ◽  
Black Females ◽  
Grade Level Differences

The major purpose of the present study was to investigate sex differences among black college students in need for achievement ( n Ach). 60 freshmen and seniors who served as subjects were administered the TAT. A 2 × 3 × 2 factorial design was used with sex, task orientation, and grade level as the independent variables. The results showed black females to be higher on n Ach than black males and that n Ach increased with grade level. These findings were interpreted in line with a “matricentric structure of black families” hypothesis and “internal control” theory, respectively. Task-orientation conditions did not affect n Ach.

scholarly journals Impostor Phenomenon and Psychological Well-Being: The Moderating Roles of John Henryism and School Racial Composition Among Black College Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 195-227
Author(s):  
Donte L. Bernard ◽  
Shawn C. T. Jones ◽  
Vanessa V. Volpe
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Black College ◽  
Black College Students ◽  
Racial Composition ◽  
Impostor Phenomenon ◽  
John Henryism ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Predominately White

The impostor phenomenon (IP), or erroneous cognitions of intellectual incompetence, is a risk factor for poor psychological adjustment among Black emerging adults. Grounded in Lazarus and Folkman’s Stress and Coping Framework, the current study investigated John Henryism’s active coping and institutional racial composition as moderators of the association between IP and indicators of psychological well-being among 266 Black students (77% women; Mage = 19.87) attending predominately White institutions (PWIs) and historically Black colleges/universities (HBCUs). Hierarchical moderation regression analyses revealed that IP was associated with decreases in well-being indicators among students attending PWIs and HBCUs. Moreover, students who attended PWIs and reported higher levels of John Henryism (+1 SD) were most vulnerable to increases in social anxiety, particularly at higher levels of IP. Results suggest that the interaction between IP, John Henrysim, and institutional racial composition may negatively influence psychological well-being. We discuss how these findings can be used to inform clinical and educational practices to best support Black college students.

Differential factors affecting testing and career choices of Black college students

1972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald G. Taylor ◽  
Richard D. Grosz ◽  
Robert Whetstone ◽  
Catherine Joseph ◽  
Leon Willis
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Career Choices ◽  
Black College ◽  
Black College Students ◽  
Factors Affecting

Positive Psychology's Protective Role Against Suicide in Black College Students

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei-Chuan Wang ◽  
Oliver Johnson ◽  
Pius Nyutu ◽  
Elise Fleming ◽  
Gloria Wells ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Black College ◽  
Black College Students

Examining Psychosociocultural Influences as Predictors of Black College Students’ Academic Self-Concept and Achievement

2020 ◽  
pp. 009579842097979
Author(s):  
Samuel T. Beasley ◽  
Shannon McClain
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Academic Engagement ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Black College ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Black College Students ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Racial Centrality ◽  
Positive Direct

Using the psychosociocultural framework, this study concurrently examined the influence of psychological (academic self-concept and academic engagement attitudes), social (caring student-faculty relationships), and cultural variables (racial centrality and perceived university environment) on the academic achievement of Black college students. Participants were 247 Black collegians recruited from a large, Southwestern predominately White institution. Results of structural equation modeling largely supported hypothesized relationships between variables, accounting for 16% of the variance in grade point average (GPA), 75% of the variance in academic engagement, and 29% of the variance in academic self-concept. Results revealed two positive direct paths to GPA: (a) racial centrality and (b) academic self-concept; academic self-concept had a key role in facilitating indirect effects on academic engagement and GPA. Findings highlight multiple noncognitive predictors that can facilitate Black students’ academic functioning. Research and practice implications of these findings are outlined.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document