White College Students Research Articles

Ideology Matters: College Students’ Emotional Reactions to the Killing of Trayvon Martin

Building on previous theory and research, we explored the associations among race, intergroup ideologies and emotional reactions to the killing of Trayvon Martin and the acquittal of George Zimmerman among 298 Black and White college students. We also examined the indirect effect of ethnocultural empathy on the links between race, intergroup ideologies, and emotional responding. Using latent class analysis, we identified three latent intergroup ideological classes: Racial Hierarchy-Enhancing Ideology, Universal Hierarchy-Enhancing Ideology (i.e., above sample mean color-blind racial ideology and or social dominance orientation) and Critical Reflection Attenuating Ideology (i.e., above sample mean critical consciousness). Membership in the Critical Reflection Attenuating Ideology group was associated with greater prosocial emotional responding as compared to the two hierarchy-enhancing latent groups. Finally, ethnocultural empathy had an indirect effect on the links between race, latent intergroup ideological classes, and emotional responding.

Demographic differences in perceived social norms of drug and alcohol use among Hispanic/Latinx and non-Hispanic White college students

Social norms are a modifiable treatment target that can decrease problematic alcohol use among college students. However, little is known about how social norms may be related to cannabis, opioid, and stimulant use. Further, it is not known how these relations might differ by gender and race/ethnicity. This study sought to examine the role of descriptive social norms of two peer reference groups (close friend and acquaintance) in relation to personal substance use among four substances (opioids, alcohol, cannabis, and stimulants), and if these relations may be moderated by gender or race/ethnicity in a sample of Hispanic/Latinx (H/L) and Non-Hispanic White (NHW) students. Participants were primarily H/L (58%), women (70%), and freshman (47%). Findings indicated that higher perceived peer substance use was associated with higher personal use for alcohol and cannabis. Higher perceived close friend stimulant use was associated with higher personal stimulant use, although perceived acquaintance stimulant use was not associated with personal stimulant use. There was no association between perceived peer opioid use and personal opioid use. Men had a stronger positive association between perceived peer cannabis use and personal use. Women had a stronger positive association between perceived acquaintance stimulant use and personal use. H/L students had a stronger positive association between perceived peer cannabis use and personal use. NHW had no significant association between perceived peer opioid use and personal use. Findings suggest that men and H/L students may be more susceptible to peer influences on cannabis and opioid use.

Nested, Place and Relational Multiple Social Identities among Latinx and White College Students in California, USA

Nested, Place and Relational Multiple Social Identities among Latinx and White College Students in California, USA

White Student Comfort and Conflict in Experiential Racial Dialogues

Background: White students are both curious and sometimes apprehensive about engaging in dialogues about race. Purpose: We investigate white university students’ experience of comfort and conflict in racial interaction in inter- and intragroup dialogues. Methodology/Approach: We analyzed student papers written at the beginning and end of the dialogue as well as their post-semester interviews, for their hopes/fears, classroom racial experiences, and learnings. Findings/Conclusions: White students in two types of semester-long dialogue courses reported issues of relative comfort and conflict as they explored their own and others’ racial histories and outlooks. They reported feeling safer in the white-only (intragroup) dialogues, as they learned about white culture and privilege; they also lamented not having racialized “others” to learn from. White students in the interracial (intergroup) dialogues often reported more discomfort, risk, and tension, as they learned about the impact of white culture and privilege on students of color, as well as about racism as a white problem. Implications: We draw implications for educational practice that include dissonance and conflict as stimuli for student learning and the use of experienced-based pedagogical techniques that encourage student sharing, critical reflection on narratives and encounters, and mutual participation.

Campus Racial Incidents, Hate Crimes, and White Male and Female Students’ Racial Attitudes

ABSTRACTDespite popular claims that the United States has reached a “post-racial” era—one in which race no longer matters for determining one’s life chances—college students continue to have strong views toward whether or not racial discrimination is still a major problem in this country. Utilizing multilevel modeling on data merged from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program’s (CIRP) 2005 Freshman Survey (TFS) and 2009 College Senior Survey (CSS), as well as the Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data System (IPEDS) and the Office of Postsecondary Education Campus Safety and Security database, this study examined individual and institutional predictors of white male and female college students’ senior-year views on whether racial discrimination is still a major problem in the United States, with a particular focus on campus racially biased incidents and hate crimes. Results show that having a reported hate crime on campus did not have a significant association with white students’ senior-year views, while a higher level of news coverage of campus racially biased incidents significantly predicted white women’s senior-year views on racial discrimination. Implications of the findings with respect to higher education research, policy, and practice are discussed.

Avoiding the Issue: University Students’ Reponses to NFL Players’ National Anthem Protests

This article examines how 32 mostly white university students understand the NFL players’ protests. We argue students processed the protests (and protesters) through a racialized lens of whiteness that led to two modes of interpreting the protests: the protests are unpatriotic and the protests are patriotic. These categories are primarily based on how students account for African-American NFL players’ resistance to white supremacy and their own whiteness. We propose these student’s responses demonstrate a denial and avoidance of race, which many understand as a personal experience with racism, even when discussing a racially charged protest movement. Further, competing discourses of patriotism animate their positions on the protests, but also limit their understandings of the protests and the operation of white supremacy.

Bicultural stress, coping, and psychological functioning among Mexican-descent and White college students.

The present study investigates associations between bicultural stress, coping, and responses to stress (RTS) in relation to depressive symptoms and self-esteem for Mexican-descent and non-LatinxWhite college students. With a sample of 268 Mexican-descent and non-Latinx White college students, two multiple-mediation path models and two moderation models are examined. The hypothesized mediation models were both supported indicating higher bicultural stress is associated with higher reporting of engaged and disengaged forms of coping and RTS. Engaged coping was associated with mental health resiliency while disengaged coping and RTS contributed to vulnerability. Disengaged and secondary engaged coping were mediators in the depressive symptoms and self-esteem models. In terms of moderation, disengaged coping and RTS were both moderators in the bicultural stress-depressive symptoms relationships. College students' reactions to bicultural stress may either promote mental health resiliency through engaged strategies or increase vulnerability through disengaged coping and involuntary RTS.

Mental health and substance use among women and men at the intersections of identities and experiences of discrimination: insights from the intersectionality framework

BackgroundIntersectionality theory focuses on how one’s human experiences are constituted by mutually reinforcing interactions between different aspects of one’s identities, such as race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. In this study, we asked: 1) Do associations between intersecting identities (race and sexual orientation) and mental health (depressive symptoms) and substance use (alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana) differ between men and women? and 2) How do single or intersecting self-reports of perceived racial and/or sexual orientation discrimination influence mental health and substance use outcomes for men and women? We compared results of assessing identities versus experiences of discrimination.MethodsMultivariable regressions were conducted on cross-sectional data from 2315 Black and White college students. Predictors included measures of sociodemographic characteristics and experiences of discrimination. Outcomes included past 2-week depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), past 30-day alcohol use, past 30-day tobacco use, and past 30-day marijuana use.ResultsIntersecting identities and experience of discrimination had different associations with outcomes. Among women, self-reporting both forms of discrimination was associated with higher depressive symptoms and substance use. For example, compared to women experiencing no discrimination, women experiencing both forms of discrimination had higher depressive symptoms (B = 3.63, CI = [2.22–5.03]), alcohol use (B = 1.65, CI = [0.56–2.73]), tobacco use (OR = 3.45, CI = [1.97–6.05]), and marijuana use (OR = 3.38, CI = [1.80–6.31]). However, compared to White heterosexual women, White sexual minority women had higher risks for all outcomes (B = 3.16 and CI = [2.03–4.29] for depressive symptoms, B = 1.45 and CI = [0.58–2.32] for alcohol use, OR = 2.21 and CI = [1.32–3.70] for tobacco use, and OR = 3.01 and CI = [1.77–5.12] for marijuana use); while Black sexual minority women had higher tobacco (OR = 2.64, CI = [1.39–5.02]) and marijuana use (OR = 2.81, CI = [1.33–5.92]) only. Compared to White heterosexual men, White sexual minority men had higher depressive symptoms (B = 1.90, CI = [0.52–3.28]) and marijuana use (OR = 2.37, CI = [1.24–4.49]).ConclusionsOur results highlight the deleterious impacts of racial discrimination and sexual orientation discrimination on health, in particular for women. Future studies should distinguish between and jointly assess intersecting social positions (e.g., identities) and processes (e.g., interpersonal experience of discrimination or forms of structural oppression).

The Influence of Racial Identity on White Students' Perceptions of African American Faculty

Due to the underrepresentation of African American teachers and college faculty, students have limited to no interaction with Blacks as authority figures in the classroom. When White students in particular face African American faculty in class, they often exhibit negative attitudes and inappropriate behavior. Using racial identity development and critical race theory, we seek to understand how White college students perceive African American professors and from where those perceptions stem. In considering the social and educational context in which students live, our study explores the ways White students perceive Black professors and how students' racial identity development influences their perceptions.

Does Gottman's Marital Communication Conceptualization Inform Teen Dating Violence? Communication Skill Deficits Analyzed Across Three Samples of Diverse Adolescents.

Communication skill deficits are thought to contribute to teen dating violence (TDV), parallel to the inclusion of these throughout prevention curricula. Communication research among adolescents is highly underdeveloped, although a preliminary study utilizing Gottman's marital communication conceptualization found that a majority of negative communication behaviors predictive of marital distress were also associated with relationship aggression among primarily White college students. Our aim was to replicate this study with diverse samples of adolescents (50.3% Latino, 23.5% Black; Mage = 16.06). Urban high school youth, pregnant and parenting youth in residential foster care, and youth in urban after-school programs self-reported on their use of maladaptive and adaptive communication behaviors, relationship quality (i.e., satisfaction, commitment), and emotional, physical, sexual, relational, and threatening dating violence. Across samples, maladaptive communication and particularly flooding (i.e., the tendency to become overwhelmed, leave the argument) and the four horsemen (i.e., a cascading and negative communication sequence) were associated with higher likelihood of multiple types of TDV. Relationship quality was associated with decreased likelihood for TDV among high school and after-school youth samples, but with increased likelihood among youth in foster care. Results indicate that youth utilize a wide range of both adaptive and maladaptive communication behaviors, and that similar maladaptive patterns predictive of relationship distress in young adulthood and in marriage are also associated with distress in adolescents' dating relationships. Equipping youth with adaptive communication skills as part of a comprehensive approach to reducing TDV and enhancing healthy relationships is meaningful for diverse adolescents. Further research is warranted concerning youth's perceptions of relationship quality and risk of TDV.

Understanding meaning and racial prejudice: Examining self-transcendence and psychological inflexibility in a sample of White college students

Recent research suggests that meaning in life relates to processes of social judgments and could facilitate relationships between racially diverse individuals. At this time however, there is no study that examines factors that influence the relationship between meaning, racial prejudice, and values. To fill this gap, the present study examined whether (1) self-transcendence and (2) psychological inflexibility mediates the relationship between perceived meaning in life and prejudice. The study was conducted with 253 White students (females, 77.9%; males, 22.1%) from a university located in the southern United States. Standard path-analytic approaches through the macro PROCESS program were used to examine a parallel mediational model. Results evidenced that self-transcendence and psychological inflexibility had a significant indirect effect on the relationship between meaning in life and prejudice, and that reversely, meaning also functioned as a mediator of self-transcendence and prejudice and psychological inflexibility and prejudice. Findings suggest that among White college students the effect of meaning on prejudice changes in the context of self-transcendence and psychological inflexibility, and that without self-transcendence and psychological flexibility, meaning could actually result in greater prejudice.

Parental Educational Attainment and Mental Well-Being of College Students; Diminished Returns of Blacks.

Background. According to the Minorities’ Diminished Returns (MDR) theory, the health returns of socioeconomic status (SES) are systemically smaller for Blacks compared to Whites. Less is known, however, about trans-generational aspects of such diminished gains. For example, the differential impact of parental educational attainment on differences in mental well-being between White versus Black college students remains unknown. Aims. With a national scope, this study explored racial differences in the effect of parental educational attainment on the mental well-being of college students in the United States. Methods. The Healthy Mind Study (HMS), 2016–2017, is a national telephone survey that included 41,898 college students. The sample was composed of Whites (n = 38,544; 92.0%) and Blacks (n = 3354; 8.0%). The independent variable was highest parental educational attainment. The dependent variable was mental well-being (mentally healthy days in the past month) which was measured using a single item. Age and gender were covariates. Race was the moderator. Logistic regression was used for data analysis. Results. In the pooled sample, high parental educational attainment was associated with better mental wellbeing, independent of race, age, and gender. Race, however, showed a significant interaction with parental educational attainment on students’ mental wellbeing, indicating a smaller effect of parent education on the mental wellbeing of Black compared to White college students. Conclusions. The returns of parental educational attainment in terms of mental well-being is smaller for Black college students compared to their White counterparts. To minimize the diminished returns of parental education in Black families, policies should go beyond equalizing SES and reduce the structural barriers that are common in the lives of Black families. Policies should also aim to reduce extra costs of upward social mobility, prevent discrimination, and enhance the quality of education for Blacks. As the mechanisms that are involved in MDR are multi-level, multi-level solutions are needed to minimize the racial gaps in gaining mental health benefits from higher socioeconomic levels.

Using Racial and Class Differences in Infant Mortality to Teach about White Privilege: A Cooperative Group Activity

A considerable amount of research across the past several decades has documented the emergence of a new racial ideology of “color-blindness” as well as evidence that white college students have difficulty recognizing the racial privileges that are obscured by this color-blindness. To address this, we developed a cooperative group White Privilege Activity that used racial and class differences in infant mortality to help students recognize the existence of white privilege. Fielding this in two mass lecture sections of Introductory Sociology, we found that exposure to content on white privilege along with the utilization of cooperative learning group exercises promoted a greater understanding of white privilege for both white and nonwhite students. Furthermore, we found that the racial composition of cooperative learning groups had a significant impact on white students’ racial privilege attitudes.

Electronic Partner Aggression Victimization: Its Frequency and Relation to Offline Partner Aggression and Psychological Functioning

We investigated the frequency and types of electronic partner aggression (EPA) victimization and its relation to offline partner aggression (PA) and psychological functioning. The sample was comprised of 200 predominantly White (73.5%) Canadian university students (83.5% women; 18–23 years of age) with dating experience. EPA occurred in 67.5% (verbal) to 86.5% (coercive control) of the sample. EPA and offline PA victimization were positively associated (ps < .05) and frequently co-occurred. Higher levels of PA were generally associated with higher levels of internalizing, externalizing, and total problems, with offline sexual aggression and coercive control EPA subtypes being most predictive of poor psychological functioning (ps < .05). Findings indicate that many emerging adults use communication technology to aggress against their romantic partners, that such aggression appears to be part of a larger pattern of PA and is most deleterious when coercive control is present, and that assessment of and prevention and intervention initiatives for PA need to consider both electronic and offline aggression.

Relationship intentions, race, and gender: Student differences in condom use during hookups involving vaginal sex

Objective: To examine the relationship between race, gender, and pre-hookup relationship intentions and college students’ participation in condomless vaginal sex. Participants: 3,315 Black and White college students who participated in the Online College Social Life Survey (OCSLS). Methods: Secondary data analysis of the OCSLS using Chi-square and multiple logistic regression analyses. Results: The model revealed that students who did not want a relationship with their hookup partners and students unsure of their relationship intentions were more likely to use condoms during their last vaginal hookup. Further, White and Female students were less likely to have used condoms during their last vaginal hookup.Conclusions: White and female students, as well as students desiring romantic relationships with hookup partners may be at risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) due to decreased condom use. However, more research is needed to explore the factors driving STI disparities facing Black students despite higher condom use.

Affirmative Action Attitudes of Whites: Evidence from a List Experiment Survey in Brazil

Recently in Brazil, public policies have begun to be implemented to reduce discrimination and promote the inclusion of excluded social groups based on a specific individual characteristic: race. However, there is little public consensus about such policies, especially among whites. In this work, I look at the racial attitudes towards affirmative action among white college students. I make use of new research methods for the empirical study of socially sensitive issues and ask whether these attitudes stem from prejudice, conflicts between social groups or individual political predispositions. Furthermore, I ask what is the relationship between political knowledge and such racial attitudes. I use the list experiment method because of its potential to offset the under-representation of opinions and attitudes. This approach allows respondents to be indirectly questioned, ensuring greater sincerity in their answers and, hence, providing more accurate portrayal of attitudes. This study shows that white respondents’ answers on affirmative action policies are strongly affected by social desirability. Only 6% of white respondents agreed that it is important to have a quota policy for blacks at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). Individuals with greater political knowledge tend to express greater support for affirmative action and hold more coherent racial attitudes Results also reveal that negative racial attitudes and political predispositions are both determinants of the white student’s attitudes towards affirmative action policies.

Troubled Divisions of Labor: Race, Identification, and Rhetorical Activity in the 1964 Freedom Summer Project

In 1964, the Student Nonviolence Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a predominantly Black civil rights organization, recruited hundreds of volunteers, mostly white college students, to work with them in Mississippi for the summer with two goals in mind. First, they aimed to use the volunteers’ social connections in order to garner federal support for their work in Mississippi. Second, they aimed to collaborate across racial lines while maintaining Black leadership. While they worked toward both goals, they only achieved the first, which resulted in short-term gains and long-term damage.

Racial differences in college-student drinking

ABSTRACTRacial differences in drinking motives, protective behavioral strategies (PBSs), alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related problems were examined among college student drinkers (N = 443: 296 [66.8%] White, 147 [33.3%] Black). Survey participants were recruited from large undergraduate sociology classes and residence halls at the university. Key differences between Black and White college students in drinking behaviors, reasons for drinking (i.e., motives), and the use of PBSs were observed. These racial differences have implications for the implementation of prevention/intervention programs intending to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems among college students.

The moderating effect of alcohol use on protective and risky sex behaviors among college students in the Southeast United States

ABSTRACTObjective: College students are a high-risk population for new human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) diagnoses. Although condom use self-efficacy and HIV knowledge can protect against risky sexual behavior (RSB), these same protective factors have been shown to exacerbate RSB. The influence of alcohol use can further complicate these protective factors to influence RSB. Participants: 689 African American/Black and non-Hispanic White college students attending a public university in the Southeast United States. Method: This study sought to examine the relations between condom use self-efficacy and HIV knowledge with RSB and the moderating effect of alcohol use. Results: Findings showed positive associations between RSB and HIV knowledge and alcohol use. Unexpectedly, low frequency drinkers with high condom use self-efficacy were at increased risk for RSB compared to high frequency drinking counterparts. Conclusions: Findings point to the need to target prevention services for low-risk drinkers in college settings.

The Decision to Shoot Black Suspects in Brazil: The Police Officer’s Dilemma

Reports of Amnesty International (2015) indicate that Brazilian police are among the most violent in the world, and that such violence victimizes, above all, black citizens. Using the “First Person Shooter Task” (FPST), developed by Correll et al. (2002), we analyzed in three studies the impacts of suspect skin color on the Brazilian civilian and military police decision to shoot. The first study involved 97 white college students. The results indicated the presence of racist shooter bias: participants shot a black armed suspect faster than a white one and took longer to shoot an unarmed black suspect than a white one, and also made more mistakes not shooting the armed white man than the armed black man. In the second study, 60 male military police officers (MP) participated, 10 of them were white, 41 brown and 9 black. All police officers had 3 months of police service. The results indicated again the presence of racist shooter bias, but only in the response times. There was no effect of the participant’s skin color. The third study was conducted with 58 male MPs, 11 of them were white, 37 brown and 10 black, all with more than 10 years of police service. The same pattern of study 2 was found. The general results demonstrate that levels of racist shooter bias of police officers are not higher than that of civilians. The data are discussed considering the risk of racism in making extreme life and death decisions.