Campus racial climate and impostor phenomenon among Black college students: The mediating roles of social anxiety and self-esteem.

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; M age = 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.

In the late T960s, Black students at predominantly White colleges and universities reevaluated the education they received. Influenced by the emerging Black Power movement, they sought to make their institutions more receptive to their needs, representative of their culture, and relevant to their situation as Blacks in America. However, many institutions were slow to change or were resistant. This article documents the support systems Black students created to ensure their psychological and academic well-being at predominantly White institutions and examines how Black students of that era cede, fined what it meant to be a successful Black student. INTRODUCTION Black student activism at predominantly White institutions of higher education in the late 1960s and 1970s began as an active response to their situation. Not unlike Black students in predominantly White primary and secondary school settings, many Black college students felt alienated and disaffected from their new academic settings and experienced overt or veiled hostility from White classmates, faculty, and administrators. However, unlike younger children, Black college students were themselves able to force change at their respective institutions and help shape the nature, direction, and purpose of their postsecondary education. This article examines the influence of Black Power era students on the programs and policies at predominantly White colleges and universities (PWCUs). It begins with a brief history of Black educational efforts to highlight persistent and reoccurring themes. Next, it discusses the strategies and goals Black college students of the late 1960s and 1970s employed to ensure their psychological and academic survival at predominantly White institutions including the creation of Black student unions, Black Studies departments, Black cultural centers, and academic support services. These services, often initiated by the Black students themselves, were established to promote their greater retention, academic success, and resiliency at PWCUs. Finally, the article describes how Black students at these institutions redefined the notion of academic success consonant with the newly political nature of Black identity at the time, the shifting perceptions of what it meant to be a Negro or Black, and the re-examination of traditional models of individual achievement. It examines how Black students merged notions of academic excellence and notions of social justice to generate new understandings about their roles, responsibilities, and rewards. Of course, not all Black students participated in the protests that precipitated the institutionalization of support programs for Black students and other responses to the increasing Black presence on predominantly White campuses. However, many did participate to varying degrees. This article is concerned with those students who demanded that the campus climate, organizations, and curriculum be responsive to their reality as Blacks in America and took it upon themselves to establish within the nation's higher education system organizations and programs for that purpose. THE AFRICAN AMERICAN POSTSECONDARY EXPERIENCE: A BRIEF HISTORY The African experience in the Americas has been fraught with social subordination, political repression, and economic exploitation. Though overtly discriminatory laws such as the Black Codes and other Jim Crow mandates have been stricken from the public record in the United States, African American subjugation persists, albeit in a more covert manner, but often with same insidious effects. Despite these barriers, African Americans throughout history have struggled for liberation using whatever tools they could obtain. Recognizing that education and subjugation cannot coexist, African Americans early identified education as one of the most valuable means by which to improve their standing in the U.S. (Watkins, 1993). They subsequently molded their educational initiatives and curricular approaches to respond as effectively as possible to social, political, and economic conditions that could, at best, be described as tenuous and, at worst, be viewed as unjust and inhumane. …

This paper has several purposes: first, to examine enrollment figures for Blacks in college during the period from 1940 to 1972; second, to develop a statistic which the author feels is more significant than either enrollment figures or percentages in order to determine exactly what progress is being made by Black college students; and finally, using this new statistic to predict at what point in time Black students will exist on college campuses in the same proportion as Blacks in the population. Throughout this paper when I refer to Black college students I am referring to all Black students in colleges in the United States. I want to say at the outset that it has been difficult to obtain accurate data for the number of Black college students. This was especially true in the earlier period of the investigation. Another problem that develops when one examines available statistics on this subject is that slight deviations exist in the figures. From my observation, the deviations exist because certain statistics refer to the number of undergraduate Black students, and others refer to both undergraduate and graduate enrollment. The figures that are used in this paper have come from reports issued by the United States Census Bureau. It is at this point that I wish to express my thanks to Mrs. Mary F. Grady, Community Services Representative for the Chicago Office of the Census Bureau, for the assistance that she has given me over the past year in the collection of necessary data. Table I gives the known values of the percentage of Black college students and the percentage of Blacks in the United States during the period 1940 to 1972. The data in Table I show that the enrollment of Black college students has risen from 2 per cent in

Coined by researchers Dr. Pauline Clance and Dr. Suzanne Imes in 1978, the impostor phenomenon (IP) describes the experience of doubting one’s skills, intellect, and talents despite one’s many achievements. The phenomenon was originally studied amongst high-achieving White women from various professional fields and over time has been conceptualised as an internal psychological experience. As a result, recommendations to address IP have mostly focused on intervening at an individual or micro level. More recently, research on IP has expanded to include racially marginalised populations, including college students who identify as Black/African American. While more research needs to be done around how Black/African American students experience IP, recent studies have indicated a relationship between IP and experiences of racial discrimination for Black/African American students. Taking into consideration the collective history of racism, discrimination, and exclusion that Black students have faced within higher education institutions in the U.S. and abroad, and that they continue to currently face, the experience of IP may be more than just an internal psychological experience. The purpose of this paper is to provide a reframing in the way that IP is discussed as it relates to Black/African American college students. This paper argues that for Black students, the experience of IP is more than just an internal reaction but is instead a byproduct of structural racism and white supremacist norms that continue to be present within higher education today. Recommendations for how higher education institutions can begin to address IP at both micro and macro levels will also be discussed.

This chapter is written from my lens as a recent Historically Black College and University (HBCU) student leader and two-time graduate of an HBCU. I have governed, observed, and examined the treatment of Black HBCU college students and Black college students in general for more than six years. In this chapter, the disparate treatment of Black college students by police is explained based on critical race theory and my own personal accounts of interactions with police on HBCU campuses as well as Black students who attend predominately white institutions (PWIs). These experiences are explained within theory and can be used to train police officers in general and police officers on college campuses, specifically.

This study investigates the ways in which social context affects processes of black authenticity, resulting in shaky ground for authentic blackness among black college students at predominantly white institutions (PWIs). Because of normalized whiteness, black PWI students are negotiating authentic blackness in social contexts that limit black expression and identity through external pressure from nonblack students, in addition to experiencing intraracial pressures from black peers. These students must walk a thin line: they have to avoid being labeled as either “too black” or “inauthentically” black by nonblack students while simultaneously working to be seen as “black enough” by black peers, which highlights the precarity of black authenticity at PWIs. I use interviews and qualitative surveys of 44 black students at two PWIs and one historically black university (HBCU); the data from the HBCU are used to highlight contrasts between two school types. Results indicate that, as a result of tighter boundaries around blackness drawn by both black and nonblack peers, black PWI students experience behavioral constraints, limited options for ethnic identification, and believe that HBCU students see them as less authentically black. Conversely, HBCU students did not describe similar behavioral constraints or ethnic exclusion, and made no claims of inauthentic blackness for black PWI students. Overall, results suggest that the social contexts of PWIs significantly affect black students’ experiences with black authenticity.

INTRODUCTION The fate of the nation's collegiate Greek-letter organizations promises to be a major concern for student affairs professionals as the 20th century comes to a close. Many of the issues raised during the 1980s remain unresolved. Among these are questions about the legitimacy of life as it relates to the academic mission of higher education. On one hand, researchers such as Horowitz (1987), Maisel (1990), and a host of others claim that fraternities and sororities have no redeeming value and are detrimental to the development of college students. On the other hand, Wilder, Hoyt, Doren, Hauck, and Zettle (1978) conclude that there is no reason to believe that Greek-letter organizations have an adverse effect on the campus community. They and others (i.e., Miller, 1973) assert that are more conservative and more family- and peer-oriented--certainly not traits that any campus administrator would consider disruptive to daily collegiate activities. An even stronger argument favoring the viability of Greek-letter organizations emphasizes one of the positive qualities associated with or attributed to membership in a fraternity or sorority: leadership. Erwin and Marcus-Mendoza (1988), noting that students who are involved in campus organizations are more action-oriented, suggest that such participation relates directly to higher levels of both cognitive and leadership development. Their conclusions concur with the findings of Hughes and Winston (1987), who claim that the fraternity recruits (pledges) participating in their study came to value leadership more highly in their interpersonal relationships than did those students who did not join a fraternity or sorority (independents). It must be noted, however, that the majority of the students participating in all of the above-cited research were White. As yet, little consideration has been given to Black student members of traditionally Black fraternities and sororities. Fleming (1983) points out several factors that affect the achievement and retention of Black students, particularly those attending predominantly White institutions (PWIs). She notes that many of these students, especially Black males, exist in social isolation on predominantly White campuses. She also contends that they often lack the kinds of meaningful interpersonal relationships that foster academic and career achievement. Black students at PWIs, Fleming concludes, must therefore find constructive means of encouraging helpful peer contact rather than mutual avoidance (p. 156). Her findings seem to mesh with those of the studies that support the role and importance of Greek-letter organizations in collegiate life. If Black college students need to develop meaningful interpersonal relationships and if membership in a fraternity or sorority leads these students to develop stronger bonds with their peers and families, then it seems likely that these organizations would play a crucial role in facilitating and improving Black students' perceptions of the college environment, especially at PWIs. If being a Greek is a viable means for increasing students' motivation and performance as well as enhancing their cognitive and leadership development, then assessment of Black students' involvement in these organizations on predominantly White campuses seems particularly warranted. Thus, the purpose of the present study is to investigate the views held by two sets of college students, Black Greeks (hereafter referred to as members) and Black non-Greeks (hereafter referred to as nonmembers), on the role of Greek-letter organizations in leadership development. Four hypotheses accompany this study. The first is that similarities will exist across groups in their self-assessments of their leadership skills. The second is that members will hold more leadership positions than nonmembers. Third, similarities will be found across groups with regard to the self-reported value of leadership. …

Black college students deal with academic and racial stressors due to the racism they experience at Predominantly White Institutions (PWI). Mental health care resources are universally available at UCLA; however, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), the primary resource, is a mental health hub for 33,000+ students at UCLA. In this study, I explore how Black college students at UCLA view CAPS and utilize Black-run campus organizations to create their own “safe space.” Through a mixedmethods approach, I found that Black students do not utilize counseling resources because they are unwelcoming and there is a lack of culturally trained psychologists or Black psychologists available to discuss the imposter syndrome, microaggressions, and racism Black students experience. As a result, Black students take on the role of community organizers. Through the creation and maintenance of the Afrikan Student Union and other Blackrun campus organizations, Black students create safe spaces for themselves and provide race-based resources to maintain retention within their community.

Approximately one in five Black students report cannabis use, which is associated with academic challenges, mental health, and interpersonal problems. Understanding motivators to use cannabis among Black students at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) warrants more research. Perceived racial discrimination (PRD), believing one is treated unjustly due to race, is related to substance use and variables associated with poor coping, such as depression and anxiety. Given that research is unavailable for Black college students on the factor structure of the Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS) using chronicity-based coding, the first aim of the study is to examine the factor structure of the chronicity-based version of the EDS. The second aim is to investigate whether distressed coping is an intervening construct between PRD and cannabis use among Black college students. Participants, recruited from a midwestern PWI (N = 119), completed the EDS, the coping subscale of the Comprehensive Marijuana Motivations Measure, and reported past-year cannabis use. Factor analysis examined the measurement model of the EDS, while path analysis assessed the mediation models. A two-factor model assessing subtle and blatant PRD on the EDS fit the data. The path analysis revealed that distressed coping fully mediated the relationship between subtle PRD and cannabis use. Distressed coping did not mediate the relation between blatant PRD and cannabis use. Institutions might focus on reducing PRD and provide support to Black students to lessen its link to distressed coping and cannabis use.

Race- and university-specific norms associated with alcohol use among Black college students

Objective: Negative perceptions of institutional racial climate relate to worse mental health outcomes for Black college students. Yet, few scholars have considered how Black students’ perceptions of the institutional climate for other underrepresented groups may impact mental health. Participants and Methods: We drew on a national sample of Black college students across 15 institutions (n = 1188) to examine the effects of institutional diversity climate on students’ anxiety, depression, and positive mental health. Results: Black students who perceived the campus as more welcoming to first-generation reported higher positive mental health. Black students who perceived the campus as more welcoming to racial minorities, lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB), and low socioeconomic status (SES) students reported lower levels of depression and anxiety. Conclusions: Black students’ perceptions of the institutional diversity climate for other groups influences their mental health outcomes, and underscores the need for more research on individual-level differences in students’ mental health processes.

This qualitative, descriptive single case study examined Black graduate students’ perceptions of campus racial climate at a predominantly white institution (PWI) and how they were shaped by a president’s response to racialized incidents. A greater understanding of how Black graduate students’ narratives reveal how whiteness inhabits the PWI and the president’s responses to racism presented. Guided by the Multi-contextual Model for Diverse Learning Environments (MMDLE) and Critical Race Theory, I unpack whether or not Black graduate students are prioritized in presidents’ responses to racialized incidents and larger campus racial climate conversations. This study’s findings further illustrate the significance of the role of the presidency when addressing issues of race and racism, and how their responses have the power to disrupt or harm both the personal experiences of individuals and the broader campus racial climate for Black graduate students.

Data for this study emerged from a larger quantitative investigation of factors associated with the doctoral education of Black students attending selected historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). This article discusses the variance within and impact of faculty-student interaction on doctoral students' positive academic and social experiences as well as their perceived program persistence - their belief they would persist to graduation. Specifically, external engagement - social components for student success external to a student's program and research practices - was found to be the best predictor for both students' overall experience and perceived persistence in the program. Recommendations for the ways in which faculty and administrators can work more effectively toward enhancing faculty- student interaction and perceived program persistence for Black doctoral students, particularly at HBCUs, are offered. Keywords: HBCUs, doctoral, engagement, persistence INTRODUCTION Over the last 20 years, researchers have learned a considerable amount about the academic and social experiences, and graduation outcomes of Black students who attend historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Research studies (Jackson, 2001; Outcault & Skewes-Cox, 2002; Terenzini et al., 1997) have suggested that Black students who attend HBCUs perform better academically, develop more meaningful relationships with faculty and staff, are more engaged in the campus environment, and have a better sense of encouragement and connection than Black students who attend predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Furthermore, HBCUs have been cited as being able to provide Black students with an educational experience that is unattainable at PWIs (Allen, 1 992) and have been credited for fostering supportive and engaging environments (Hall & Closson, 2005) where Black students have a bolstered self-esteem and sense of ethnic pride (Hirt et al., 2006; Palmer & Gasman, 2008). Moreover, HBCUs have been some of the largest producers of Black postsecondary enrollment and degrees awarded in the nation (Collison, 2000; NCES, 2004). In 2001, Blacks at HBCUs earned the highest proportion of degrees awarded at each level - associate's, bachelor's, master's, doctor's, and first-professional - with 87% being bachelor's degrees (NCES, 2002). The role of HBCUs in graduate education has been equally impressive as they have been a critical force in the production of Black graduate and first professional degree recipients. In 2005, the National Center for Education Statistics showed HBCUs produced 6,900 master's recipients (5,034 for Blacks) accounting for roughly 10% of master's degrees awarded to Black students that year (NCES, 2005). HBCUs have also been a principal producer of Black doctorates; between 1992-93 and 1997-98, HBCUs increased their number of doctoral graduates by 15.2% (St. John, 2000). According to the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), Howard University has been the largest on-campus producer of Black PhD recipients in the United States, awarding more than 340 doctorate degrees in all fields of study over that time span (CGS, 2007). While critics question the contemporary relevancy and efficacy of HBCUs (Fryer & Greenstone, 2007; Riley, 2010; Sowell, 2006), proponents have contended that by virtue of the outcomes and findings from the aforementioned research, HBCUs have demonstrated that they have and continue to serve Black students with considerable effectiveness, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels (Flowers, 2002; Fountaine & Carter, 2011; Lemelle, 2002; Palmer, Hilton, & Fountaine, 2012; Palmer & Young, 2008-2009 see;). Inasmuch as Blacks have made solid progress in earning doctorates at HBCUs, optimism for the future may be premature at this time. Oftentimes, data collected on graduate student outcomes are at the aggregate levels and fail to single out the accomplishments of doctoral students versus master's students. …

Research indicates that Black male collegians tend to disproportionately seek out postsecondary educational opportunities at community colleges; despite this, a paucity of Black men actual transfer to four-year colleges and universities. In order to help facilitate transfer for Black male community college students, this article investigates the effects of student engagement on Black male students' self-reported likelihood of transfer. The implications of this study provides compelling context for institutional practice and future research to help community colleges be more intentional about improving transfer outcomes for among Black male students.Keywords: Black males, community college, transferCommunity colleges serve many functions and one of the primary functions of these institutions is to facilitate students' ability to transfer into four-year institutions of higher education. Students of color in general and Black males specifically are more likely to seek out postsecondary opportunities at two-year colleges (Wood & Williams, 2013). Of the vast majority of those who will attend two-year colleges, 81.9% will pursue their education at public community colleges. According to research (e.g., Bush, 2004), many Black men attend these institutions because they perceive that they can facilitate their social and economic mobility. A large number of community college students enroll with the intent to transfer into a four-year college or university. Specifically, 43 % of Black men indicate intent to transfer upon enrollment in the community college.Despite this, limited empirical research has investigated the likelihood of transfer for Black male community college students. One study that comes close is Nora and Rendon's (1990) research on factors predictive community college students' predisposition to transfer. Using data from students attending six community colleges in Texas, Arizona, and California, Nora and Rendon explored the applicability of Tinto's (1975) model of attrition on student's predisposition to transfer. Specifically Nora and Rendon (1990) were interested in the effect of academic (e.g., library use, interactions with faculty, attending campus lectures) and social integration (e.g., involvement in extra-curricular activities, seeking out special campus events, reading the college newspaper) on students' predisposition to transfer. Findings from their study indicated that students with greater levels of academic and social integration were significantly more likely to have transfer goals than their peers. A critical limitation to Nora and Rendon's (1990) research was that the sample included only Hispanic (74%) and White (26%) students. To this end, their study did not provide insight on Black students' predisposition to transfer. Despite these drawbacks, Nora and Rendon's study served as a conceptual guide for this research on predisposition to transfer among Black men.With this in mind, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of student engagement on Black male students' self-reported likelihood of transfer. Specifically, the effect of engagement on transfer likelihood focused on Black men who indicated a predisposition to transfer to a four-year college or university. Four types of engagement were explored, including: active and collaborative learning, faculty-student interaction, exposure to diversity, and usage of student services. Three primary questions guided this research:* Research question 1: Is there a significant relationship between Level 1 measures of engagement (with controls) on Black male community college students' self-report likelihood to transfer?* Research question 2: Is there a significant relationship between Level 1 and Level 2 measures of engagement (with controls) on Black male community college students' self-report likelihood to transfer?* Research question 3: Do engagement predictors at Level 1 have randomly varying slopes across colleges? …

Research from higher education and cultural studies that has examined the Black college student experience at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) is presented to assist counselors in understanding how Black college students' relationships with faculty, family, friends from home, and peers in Black student organizations can become assets or liabilities to their academic achievement and persistence. Implications are provided for assisting counselors in preparing Black students for, and supporting them while attending, PWIs.