Date of Submission

Spring 2019

Academic Programs and Concentrations

Psychology; Psychology

Project Advisor 1

Frank Scalzo

Project Advisor 2

Kristin Lane

Abstract/Artist's Statement

The disparity between the academic success of Black males and their White peers in the United States is robust. Research supports the disparity is not only the result of low financial status but also racial and gender barriers that affect how Black males navigate academic environments.Intervention programs to improve Black males’ quality of life through mentorship and motivationenhancement have impacted the academic success of Black males greater than those that provide financial resources. Yet, these interventions do not target Black males in primarily white education settings where academic stressors are greater, racial and gender barriers more commonplace and ability to successfully cope with stress is crucial to academic success. Although research supports that the use of maladaptive coping strategies by Black males negatively impacts academic success, few intervention programs have focused on improving college stressor coping strategies. Thus, the proposed intervention utilizes the concept of metacognitive feedback, or the process of “thinking about how one thinks”, to instruct black men on how to use help-seeking as an adaptive and problem focused coping strategy. The intervention supports cognitive and behavioral change by instructing black men to consider how negative attitudes, discouraging subjective norms and low perceptions of control affect coping strategy. After the semester-long course students in the intervention should report higher intentions to seek out professional counseling services. Significant results for this proposal could potentially increase Black males use of available college help services, enhance this populations overall well-being and be a primary factor contributing to greater academic success.

Open Access Agreement

Open Access

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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