Striving to Succeed: Racial Socialization as an Adaptive Mechanism for African American College Students' Academic Outcomes

• In Event: Park Central Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: Campus Climate for Students of Color at Predominantly White Institutions

Abstract

Attending predominantly White institutions (PWI) has been associated with certain challenges of academic success in African American college students. Although there are challenges, mechanisms such as racial-ethnic socialization (RES) may be adaptive. The current study investigates how RES mitigates the effects of racial discrimination on the academic outcomes of 282 African American college students attending a PWI. This study used reports of multiple sources of racial discrimination and collected data on two dimensions of RES. Results indicate that there were negative linkages between racial discrimination and academic outcomes, however, both RES dimensions mitigate the effects of peer discrimination in high school on academic engagement in college for African Americans. Implications for RES interventions to enhance academic achievement will be discussed.

Author

• Meeta Banerjee, California State University - Northridge