Keisha M. Love

Parental Attachments and Psychological Distress among African American College Students.

African American college students attending predominately White institutions often encounter stressors that their Caucasian peers do not experience. Because of these unique stressors, African American students are more prone to experience psychological distress. Identifying factors that counteract psychological distress among these students is vital to increasing their sense of well being. This study examined parental attachments as a buffer against psychological distress among African American college students. Results demonstrated that maternal figures who were overprotective and controlling perpetuated psychological distress, whereas paternal figures who were warm and caring served as a buffer against psychological distress. Implications for mental health providers and college student personnel are discussed.

An Offender Version of the Working Alliance Inventory-Short Revised

The series of Working Alliance Inventories remains the most extensively researched and utilized instruments to measure the working alliance. However, these instruments have not been normed and validated among individuals on probation or parole. Therefore, this study provides psychometric properties for a modified, offender version of the Working Alliance Inventory-Short Revised (WAI-SR) with a sample of individuals on probation and parole. Results reveal that a single factor model should be used with an offender population. Results also indicate the WAI-SR has strong reliability and validity with this particular population.

Testing an Attachment Model of Latina/o College Students’ Psychological Adjustment

The present study examined the influence of attachment relationships on the psychological adjustment of Latina/o university students (N = 80) attending predominantly White institutions of higher education.A path analysis conducted to test a hypothesized model of parent and peer attachment, self-esteem, and psychological distress indicated that the final model provided good model-to-data fit, explaining 21% of the variance in self-esteem and 50% of the variance in psychological distress. Furthermore, bootstrapping procedures suggested that perceptions of self-worth mediated the relationships between parent and peer attachment and psychological distress. Results indicate that attachment theory may provide a useful framework from which to conceptualize the psychological adjustment of Latinas/os attending predominantly White institutions of higher education. Implications for universities and helping professionals are discussed.

Anti-Black racism, self-esteem, and the adjustment of White students in higher education.

The present study examined the negative consequences of racism to White university students. It was hypothesized that anti-Black racism would impact students’ selfesteem, college social adjustment, and college personal-emotional adjustment above and beyond academic adjustment. It was further expected that self-esteem would mediate the relationship between racism and college adjustment. In a White university student sample, students reporting attitudes reflecting a combination of overtly racist and egalitarian attitudes toward Blacks also reported lower levels of self-esteem and college social adjustment. Furthermore, self-esteem mediated the relationship between anti-Black racism and college social adjustment. Findings inform the multidimensional nature of negative consequences of racism to Whites in higher education. A discussion of implications from this research with regard to the creation of diverse and culturally sensitive university environments is presented.