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African American students are graduating from high school and enrolling in higher educational institutions at greater rates than in previous years (U.S. Department of Education, 2009). Yet, they have not achieved the same level of academic success as their racial counterparts (American Council on Education, 2010; Ross, 2012). Ultimately, this disparity has resulted in only 17.7% of the African American population 25 years of age and older having at least a Bachelor’s degree (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2012). Many researchers have employed comparative study designs to explore this disparity. Additionally, researchers commonly study academic success through the exploration of intrapsychic or environmental contributing factors. As a result, limited studies examining the confluence of these factors exist in the literature, and the impact of these contributing factors is not clearly understood. This study seeks to explore the predictive factors of academic success among African American students by attending to both intrapsychic and environmental factors without the comparison of African American students to students from other races/ethnicities. Employing Tinto’s longitudinal model of institutional departure (Tinto, 1993) and positive psychological approaches, this study will use multiple foci and strengths to answer the research question: Do racial identity, goal commitment, and institutional climate predict academic success among African American college students? Academic success was measured in this study by academic adjustment, social adjustment, and self-reported grade point average (GPA). Data consisted of 240 African American freshmen from colleges and universities across the nation. Participants completed an online survey that assessed their perceptions regarding racial identity, institutional climate, goal commitment, academic adjustment, social adjustment, and GPA. The results showed that racial identity and institutional climate predicted academic adjustment and social adjustment, but not GPA. Goal commitment predicted academic adjustment, social adjustment, and GPA. When all predictors were combined in the same regression analysis, academic adjustment, social adjustment, and GPA were each predicted and unique significant contributors to the explained variance in those analyses emerged. These findings may help address some of the gaps in the literature regarding academic success among African American students These results can aid in the understanding of the impact of racial identity, institutional climate, and goal commitment among African American college students. Additionally, these results may to the creation of environmental conditions that can facilitate a connection and commitment to higher educational institutions and thus, adaptive academic and psychological outcomes.

Stephan and Stephan (1985) introduced intergroup anxiety theory which encompasses situations in which people interact with individuals from different racial, ethnic, cultural backgrounds, namely the "outgroup". In the present study, the researcher aimed to compare intergroup anxiety of International students and African-American students when they expected to interact with ingroup members versus outgroup members, namely White-American students. The participants were presented with pictures and demographic information of hypothetical participants and were told that they would interact with these other participants in a nonverbal game. It was expected that intergroup anxiety would be lower when participants expected to interact with ingroup members, compared to the condition when they expected to interact with outgroup members. The results indicated that anxiety towards ingroup members was not significantly different from the anxiety towards outgroup members. It was found that African-American students had significantly lower levels of trait anxiety compared to International students. / Department of Psychological Science

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2007. / Jacqueline Rouse, committee chair; Glenn T. Eskew, Vicki Crawford, Patricia Sullivan, committee chairs. Electronic text (195 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Nov. 9, 2007; title from file title page. Includes bibliographical references (p. 178-195).

Thesis (M.A.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Psychology, 2006 / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Nov. 20, 2008) Includes bibliographical references (p. 90-99). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Douglas Sloan. Dissertation Committee: Thomas Leemon. Bibliography: leaves 188-199.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2009. / Directed by Ceola Baber; submitted to the Dept. of Teacher Education and Higher Education. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed May 18, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-143).

This study identified and described the experiences of twelve African American men that influenced the choice to participate in postsecondary education. This qualitative study used a phenomenology framework to determine 1) the formation of predisposition in the college choice process, 2) the messages received about college from influential people, and 3) perception and interpretation of the importance of a college degree. The overall theme arising from the data is that the college choice process was complicated and inconsistent; however, ten of the twelve participants completed some type of postsecondary training. Deficient messages about postsecondary education manifested as low parental support for college attendance, low academic expectations, withholding of important information from school officials and little or no exposure to postsecondary institution campuses or students. Influential people for the participants ranged from parents to themselves, and from a combination of characteristics from different people, to peers, to no one. The informants did not consistently identify their role model as the one who influenced them to attend college. The perception of the value of a college degree varied among the participants. Some described the degree as a requirement for success; others felt that strengthening family and achieving financial independence was more important.