Professional Black Men and Women: Attainment of Terminal Academic Degrees

Abstract

Family background and personality characteristics of black professionals who held doctorates were examined for possible commonalities and sex differences. 30 black men and 34 black women from a variety of professional fields participated in this mail survey which included demographic items and personality scales. The majority of the sample had educated mothers who were employed during their childhood. In addition, the professionals held traditional religious affiliations, had small numbers of children, and their spouses typically were college graduates. The professionals were highly motivated and self-oriented individuals who were tolerant of differences in moral and personal values. Women were even less conventional than men. The women were likely to be unmarried and childless; they also had parents with more education. In general, however, with respect to personality measures, few differences existed between the men and women.