Sheretta T. Butler-Barnes

Impact of Violence and Relationship Abuse on Grades of American Indian/Alaska Native Undergraduate College Students

Violence and relationship abuse are pervasive public health problems that have a range of negative effects, with exceptionally high prevalence among ethno–racial minority youth. This study assesses the prevalence of these types of violence among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students and examines the impact of victimization on academic performance of AI/AN and non-AI/AN student populations using self-reported college health survey data. Results show that students who identified fully or partially as AI/AN reported markedly higher rates of all types of violence/abuse than did other students, and students who had experienced violence/abuse had lower grade point averages (GPAs) compared with those who had not. Recommendations for future research and direct practice with AI/AN students are discussed.

The Protective Role of Religious Involvement in African American and Caribbean Black Adolescents’ Experiences of Racial Discrimination:

For many Black adolescents, racial discrimination increases the risk of developing adverse psychological outcomes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the interrelationships among religious involvement, racial discrimination, and psychological outcomes among a nationally representative sample of African American adolescents and Caribbean Black adolescents from the National Survey of American Life. Multiple regression models were used to determine the interactive effects of religious involvement and racial discrimination experiences on Black adolescents’ psychological outcomes. Findings indicate that religious involvement was a protective factor for Caribbean Black adolescents but not African American youth. The implications of these findings underscore the varied roles of religious involvement for African American and Caribbean Black adolescents.

Social Belonging and College Retention: Results From a Quasi-Experimental Pilot Study

Educators, policymakers, and institutions have worked for decades to increase rates of college graduation, but about half of students who enter college drop out without completing a bachelor’s degree (National Student Clearinghouse, 2014). Although the rate of student attrition is higher in the United States than in any other industrialized nation (Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2011), about 30% of U.S. students will drop out during their first year of college (Schneider, 2010). Persistence and retention point to an array of negative individual-level consequences that can have implications for society in general. Higher education persistence and retention programs seek to avoid the negative consequences of attrition by offering support for students (Habley, Bloom, & Robbins, 2012; Tinto, 2006). Models of academic and social integration provide the conceptual foundations for such programs (Lee, Donlan, & Brown, 2010; Longwell-Grice & LongwellGrice, 2008; Wolf-Wendel, Ward, & Kinzie, 2009). Those models reflect the evidence that integration within a campus community and an individual-level sense of belonging are important dimensions of student persistence in higher education (Hoffman, Richmond, Morrow, & Salomone, 2002; Palmer, Wood, Dancy, & Strayhorn, 2014; Strayhorn, 2012). Walton and Cohen (2007) described social belonging as a central human need to have positive relationships with others. The alternative, acute belonging uncertainty culminating in social exclusion in the long term, results in poor health and many wellness issues. Within college systems, some racial minorities (e.g., African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans) and stigmatized groups (e.g., firstgeneration or sexual-minority students) question their social belongingness (Hobson-Horton & Owens, 2004; Hollifield-Hoyle & Hammons, 2015; Walton & Cohen, 2011). Interventions similar to the one in this study that affirm and cultivate social belonging can positively affect student behavior over time and may have broad relevance as university programs are increasingly focusing on reten tion (Patterson, & ButlerBarnes, 2015). For instance, Walton and Cohen (2007) tested a social-belonging intervention that exposed students to statements about social difficulties in college. Findings indicate that the intervention successfully protected participants’ sense of belonging and that overall academic performance was better among participants than among nonparticipants. A randomized controlled trial subsequently replicated the findings on academic performance using a sample comprising African American and

American Indian/Alaskan Native College Dropout: Recommendations for Increasing Retention and Graduation

Throughout the United States, the college dropout rate among American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) students in public universities is the highest compared to any other student group. Researchers have identified this problem and offered reasons for it, but few have made specific efforts to disrupt the continued dropout rates. This article identifies and discusses three recommendations to address the dropout problem from a systems, rather than individual, perspective: (1) living and learning communities, (2) social belonging intervention, and (3) self-regulated learning activities. Studied with minority students, these endeavors show promise for retaining underrepresented students, specifically AI/AN students. To disrupt the long-term problem of dropouts among the AI/AN population, adjustments within public university systems must be part of the effort.

Religiosity and Coping: Racial Stigma and Psychological Well-Being among African American Girls

This study examined how having a relationship with God served as a protective factor between racial stigma beliefs and psychological well-being. A church sample of African American adolescent girls (N = 117, Mage= 15) completed measures on racial stigma, psychological well-being, and reports on having a relationship with God. After controlling for adolescent age, family income, and church attendance, positive racial beliefs and having a relationship with God were associated with a healthier psychological well-being. Findings also revealed that having a relationship with God and internalizing healthier racial beliefs were associated with a healthier psychological well-being, whereas reporting higher levels of having a relationship with God served as a protective factor for African American girls when internalizing moderate levels of racial stigma. Overall, results suggest that having a relationship with God can serve as a coping mechanism and promote a healthier psychological well-being for African American adolescent girls.

Stress, stressors, and substance use: Differential risk for hookah use among African American college students.

Abstract Using differential, multivariable risk models, we assessed the contribution of substance use and stress/traumatic events to hookah use among African American college students (n = 1,402) using data from the Fall 2012 American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA) II. Lifetime hookah use was 24.8%, with 34.2% of lifetime users having done so in the past 30 days. Compared to nonusers, hookah users had significantly higher use rates of alcohol, marijuana, other tobacco, and other drugs. Furthermore, hookah use was more likely among those with cumulative stress, yet less likely among older students. An implication is that prevention messages may need to be tailored for African American college students and particularly target younger students, substance users, and those with cumulative stress. These findings also inform policy discussions regarding hookah use on college campuses.

Parenting Patterns, Racial Discrimination, and African American Adolescents’ Psychological and Academic Outcomes

Declines in academic engagement and psychological well-being, which are common for many adolescents, may be exacerbated among some African American adolescents because of exposure to racial discrimination. While discrimination can have negative effects on the development of minority children, some develop adaptive qualities to better cope with discrimination. These qualities can contribute to psychological well-being and better academic outcomes. This research brief, by PRC faculty research associate Fatima Varner and colleagues, reports on a study that examined whether there were groups of families with different combinations of parenting, specifically involved-vigilant parenting and parental racial socialization (i.e., messages about race). Next, the researchers examined whether parenting profiles, racial discrimination, and adolescent gender independently or interactively predicted adolescent academic and psychological outcomes.

Comparing Associations Between Perceived Puberty, Same-Race Friends and Same-Race Peers, and Psychosocial Outcomes Among African American and Caribbean Black Girls:

Despite indications that adolescent peer relations is a mediator of associations between early pubertal timing and psychosocial problems, extant studies have not explicitly examined race or ethnic-related variables that shape the peer experiences of early developers. This study compared associations between pubertal timing, same race-friends, same-race peers, and psychosocial outcomes (school bonding, academic grades, externalizing behaviors, and peer deviancy) among a nationally representative sample of African American (n = 412) and Caribbean Black (n = 195) girls aged 13 to 17 years (Mage = 15 years). Results indicated that girls who perceived that their development was early relative to their peers reported better academic grades. Having more same-race friends were associated with school connectedness and fewer externalizing behaviors among girls who perceived that their development was early relative to their peers, whereas late-developing girls felt more bonded to school and engaged in fewer externalizing behaviors when they report fewer same-race friendships. These findings did not vary by ethnic subgroup. Findings suggest race-related variables (in this case number of same-race friends) provide important insight for understanding perceived pubertal timing effects within this population.

Academic Identity: A Longitudinal Investigation of African American Adolescents’ Academic Persistence

Adolescence is a vulnerable period for the development of academic identification and academic persistence, particularly among African American adolescents. The present study investigated how cultural assets (i.e., private regard and racial centrality) and academic assets (i.e., academic curiosity and academic self-esteem) influence African American adolescent boys’ (n = 109) and girls’ (n = 153) academic persistence over time. Additionally, we explored whether oppositional academic identity mediated the relationships between academic and cultural assets and academic persistence. Data were drawn from a cross-sectional longitudinal study. Results indicated significant direct effects of academic assets on academic persistence at Times 1 and 2 for boys and at Times 1, 2, and 3 for girls. Furthermore, oppositional academic identity mediated the relationship between boys’, but not girls’, cultural assets and academic persistence at Time 1. These findings have implications for understanding the role of assets in the lives of African American youth.

Racial discrimination experiences and African American youth adjustment: The role of parenting profiles based on racial socialization and involved-vigilant parenting

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to test whether parenting profiles based on racial socialization and involved-vigilant parenting would compensate for or moderate associations between racial discrimination experiences and academic outcomes and psychological well-being among African American adolescents. Method: Participants were 1,363 African American adolescents (Mage = 14.19; 52.3% female) from 3 Midwestern suburban school districts. Latent profile analysis was used to examine whether there were distinct combinations of parenting. The relationships among racial discrimination experiences, parenting profiles, and adjustment were examined using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: Three distinct parenting profiles were found: moderate positive (n = 767; moderately high involved-vigilant parenting and racial barrier, racial pride, behavioral, and egalitarian messages, and low negative messages), unengaged (n = 351; low racial socialization messages and moderately low involved-vigilant parenting), and high negative parenting (n = 242; high negative messages, moderate other racial socialization messages, and moderately low involved-vigilant parenting). Racial discrimination experiences were negatively associated with youth adjustment. Moderate positive parenting was related to the best academic outcomes and unengaged parenting was associated with more positive academic outcomes than high negative parenting. Moderate positive parenting was associated with better psychological well-being than unengaged or high negative parenting although the benefits were greater for adolescents with fewer racial discrimination experiences. Conclusions: Distinct patterns of racial socialization messages and involved-vigilant parenting contribute to differences in African American youth adjustment.