Cultural invalidations: Deconstructing the "acting White" phenomenon among Black and Latinx college students.

OBJECTIVES: The accusation of "acting White" (AW) represents a common cultural invalidation that youth of color encounter during adolescence. However, few studies have examined the broader implications of AW beyond academic achievement and it is unclear how multiple racial/ethnic groups internalize this invalidation during late adolescence. The present study addresses these gaps by examining the meaning ascribed to AW among a diverse sample of youth and evaluates whether interpretations of AW vary across demographic factors (race/ethnicity, gender). METHOD: We utilized a subset of participants (n = 282; 47% Black; 53% Latinx; 68% female) from the Minority College Cohort Study-a longitudinal investigation of minority college students. Qualitative responses were analyzed through content analysis. RESULTS: The AW construct was defined by four themes: speech/behavior, style/social preferences, cultural ideologies, and academics/success. AW was described most frequently in terms of speech patterns, while achievement/success was the least commonly described theme. Several important demographic distinctions are also highlighted and discussed. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that AW invalidations are interpreted in a similar fashion across diverse populations. Our sample defined AW in a manner that critically examined rigid racial/ethnic norms and stereotypes within U.S. society. Findings indicate that cultural invalidations, such as AW, should be examined more broadly because they are relevant for diverse populations and may yield significant psychological implications for individuals targeted by these threats. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Political activism and mental health among Black and Latinx college students.

OBJECTIVES: The current study investigates the utility of political activism as a protective factor against experiences of racial/ethnic (R/E) discrimination that negatively affect stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms among Black and Latinx college freshmen at predominately White institutions. METHOD: Data come from the Minority College Cohort Study, a longitudinal investigation of Black and Latinx college students (N = 504; 44% Black). We conducted multiple regression analyses for each mental health indicator and tested for interaction effects. RESULTS: For Black and Latinx students, the relationship between R/E microaggressions and end of freshman year stress varied by political activism. For Black students, the relationship between R/E microaggressions and end of the year anxiety varied by political activism. There was a significant interaction effect for depressive symptoms among Latinx students. CONCLUSIONS: Political activism serves as a protective factor to mitigate the negative effect of R/E discrimination on stress and depressive symptoms for Latinx students. For Black students, higher levels of political activism may exacerbate experiences of R/E microaggressions and relate to more stress and anxiety compared with Black students who are less politically involved. Findings point to the need for a deeper understanding of phenomenological variation in experiences of microaggressions among R/E minorities and how students leverage political activism as an adaptive coping strategy to mitigate race-related stress during college. (PsycINFO Database Record

Fine-Tuning Summer Research Programs to Promote Underrepresented Students' Persistence in the STEM Pathway.

Although the importance of undergraduate research experiences in preparing students for graduate study and research careers is well documented, specific examination of program components is needed to assess the impact of these programs on underrepresented (UR) students. The Leadership Alliance, a consortium of leading PhD-granting and minority-serving institutions (MSIs), has leveraged its diverse partnership to place UR students from MSI and non-MSI institutions in competitive research environments through its national Summer Research Early Identification Program. Using longitudinal pre/post data collected from student surveys, we applied social cognitive career theory as a conceptual framework to examine how research engagement, skill development, and mentorship aspects of a summer research program affect students' commitment to pursue research careers. Self-reported knowledge of research skills, time engaged in research activity, and students' understanding of and attitudes toward pursuing graduate study were measured in relation to the classification of students' home undergraduate institution, level of students' pre-existing research experience, and demographic factors. Our results provide evidence of specific programmatic components that are beneficial for UR students from varying academic and cultural backgrounds. This study describes important aspects of summer research programs that will contribute to students' ability to persist in science careers.

Getting them enrolled is only half the battle: college success as a function of race or ethnicity, gender, and class.

This study examines the gender and racial or ethnic gaps in college grades and graduation of a 1999 freshman cohort of students attending 24 selective predominantly White institutions (PWIs) and the factors that account for observed gaps. The study is guided by the question of whether gender, race or ethnicity, and socioeconomic status combine to affect college outcomes or whether they interact so that outcomes are more positive or adverse for one group than another. Gender gaps were observed for Black and Latino students. For Black students, the gender gap in degree attainment widened once sociodemographic factors were considered. In contrast, the gender gap for Latino students narrowed and became insignificant when sociodemographics were controlled. Additional within-group interactions were also evident. For example, the 6-year college graduation rates were higher for Black females than for males whose mothers did not have college degrees, but no gender gap existed when the mother had a college degree. These results show that among this sample of academically motivated students, the significance of gender depends on race and socioeconomic status. This suggests that improving minority success, especially for Black men at PWIs, requires extending the analysis beyond prior academic preparation to creating more supportive college environments.

Neighborhood effects examined through the lens of residential mobility programs.

Although researchers have consistently found that neighborhoods matter, relatively little is known about the processes through which neighborhood-level characteristics influence individual outcomes, and whether interventions targeting improving neighborhood characteristics will be beneficial for children. I examine whether relocating from high- to low-poverty neighborhoods affected low-income Black children's exposure to promotive developmental experiences. Participating families voluntarily relocated from high-poverty, minority segregated, inner-city Chicago neighborhoods to mostly White, low-poverty, suburban and Chicago neighborhoods. Data come from retrospective qualitative interviews with 22 Gautreaux One families an average of 15 years after initial relocation, and from interviews with 43 Gautreaux Two families as they relocated into their new communities. I find that children primarily benefited from the institutional versus the social interaction resources in their new neighborhoods. Furthermore, suburban placement was key in facilitating children's access to higher quality resources.

Fifteen years later: can residential mobility programs provide a long-term escape from neighborhood segregation, crime, and poverty?

We examined whether the Gautreaux residential mobility program, which moved poor black volunteer families who were living in inner-city Chicago into more-affluent and integrated neighborhoods, produced long-run improvements in the neighborhood environments of the participants. We found that although all the participants moved in the 6 to 22 years since their initial placements, they continued to reside in neighborhoods with income levels that matched those of their placement neighborhoods. Families who were placed in higher-income, mostly white neighborhoods were currently living in the most-affluent neighborhoods. Families who were placed in lower-crime and suburban locations were most likely to reside in low-crime neighborhoods years later.