Black Students’ Perceptions of Campus Climates and the Effect on Academic Resilience

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between general, academic, and racial campus climates and academic resilience among Black college students. This study also investigated the moderating role of civic engagement on the relationships between campus climates and academic resilience. Participants were 388 Black undergraduate students (76.8% women; 58.8% social, behavioral, and economic sciences majors; 87.4% enrolled full-time) attending a predominantly White university who completed an online survey. Results from moderated regression analyses indicated more positive perceptions of general and academic campus climates significantly predicted higher levels of academic resilience, but more positive perceptions of racial campus climate significantly predicted lower levels of academic resilience. Civic engagement moderated the relationship between general campus climate and academic resilience only. These findings can be used to inform coordinated efforts by university constituents to advance academic resilience among Black college students by improving general and academic campus climates, promoting more positive perceptions of general and academic campus climates, and promoting student civic engagement.