Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / AIM Racial identity has been shown to buffer against the effects of racial discrimination among African Americans. Recently, researchers have developed a more comprehensive assessment of racial identity through the construction of profiles. These profiles help better identify combinations of racial identity that are most protective, as well as those that have the potential to increase risk. To date a majority of the research has been conducted on internalizing and academic outcomes, with limited research on externalizing outcomes, such as substance use. The current study aimed to fill this gap in the literature. METHODS 345 African American college students (80.0% female, 88.4% USA-born, and Mage=21.56) completed measures on racial identity, racial discrimination, internalizing symptomology, academic motivation, and substance use. RESULTS Four racial identity profiles were identified and labeled race-focused (n=228), multiculturalist (n=64), integrationist (n=38), and undifferentiated (n=15). Several direct effects were observed. Multigroup analysis, stratified by profile, revealed several direct relationships between racial identity profiles and outcomes. The probability of being in the multiculturalist profile was negatively associated with depression and stress and positively associated with academic motivation. The probability of being in the race-focused profile was positively associated with cannabis use and the probability of being in the integrationist profile was negatively associated with academic motivation. Being in the undifferentiated profile was not significantly related to any of the outcomes. Two specific moderating effects were also observed; individuals in the integrationist profile were significantly lower in academic motivation as a result of racial discrimination than individuals in the race-focused profile (b=0.10, SE=0.05, p=0.046). Individuals in the integrationist profile were also higher in stress as a result of racial discrimination than individuals in the race-focused profile, however this effect was only trending toward significance (b=-0.14, SE=0.08, p=0.080). CONCLUSION Based on these results, there is evidence for the differential direct and moderating associations of racial identity profiles with various health and behavioral outcomes, such that some appear protective whereas others increase risk. These findings can be used to inform future research related to racial identity and interventions for African Americans experiencing racial discrimination.

Master of Arts / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / Spencer D. Wood / In the wake of Barack Obama becoming the first nonwhite President of the United States and the diminishing instances of explicit racism, a number of Americans believe that the United States has surpassed race and therefore racism (Neville et al. 2000; Nayak 2006; Brayboy et al. 2007; Gawronski 2008; Quillian 2008; Wise 2009; Bonilla-Silva 2010; Gusa 2010; Ikuenobe 2010; Moras 2010; Gainous 2012). On the surface, the problem of overt racial discrimination has dramatically declined, yet, there are key studies that argue that new and subtler forms of racism are still prevalent (Feagin 2000; Krysan 2000; Sydell and Nelson 2000; Swim et al. 2003; Leach 2005; Henkel et al. 2006; Williams and Land 2006; Anderson 2007; D’Andrea and Daniels 2007; Sue et al. 2007; Gawronski et al. 2008; Wise 2009; Gainous 2012; Torres-Harding et al. 2012). This thesis will focus on assessing the dimensions of present-day racism and racial prejudice by replicating and updating Forman’s (2004) study of racial apathy. Using data from 2011 Monitoring the Future Survey, I explore the persistence of racial apathy, which proposes that the blatant racial discrimination of the past has manifested into racial indifference and lack of caring for existing racial inequalities (Perry and Shotwell 2009; Forman 2004; Forman and Lewis 2006; Gafford 2010; Maly et al. 2012). Consistent with previous research, this study finds that the expression of racial apathy has continued to increase, but also that political preference, gender, father’s education level and religiosity affect one’s level of racial apathy.

Thesis advisor: Anderson J. Franklin / Previous research on intergroup relations between racial groups primarily focused on relations between Whites and various ethnic minority groups, studies on relations between ethnic minorities have been neglected and underexamined (Bikmen, 2011). Allport’s (1954) intergroup contact theory suggested that when the groups in contact are perceived to have similar status, contact could lead to reduced prejudice and improved intergroup relations. Asian Americans and African Americans occupy different status positions on the U.S. racial hierarchy. Although their relative status positions are important factors to consider in understanding their evaluations and interactions with each other, the influence of racial psychological factors are also important to consider because they may influence how status is perceived. Thus, the current study investigated how racial socialization, racial identity, and racial stereotypes influence contact between Asian Americans and African Americans. U.S.-born Asian American (N = 190) and African American (N = 304) adults completed an online survey containing a demographic information sheet, the Racial Socialization Influences Scale (Harrell, 1997), the People of Color Racial Identity Attitudes Scale (Helms, 1995), the Negative Attitude Toward Asians Scale (Ho & Jackson, 2001), the Anti-Black Scale (Katz & Hass, 1988), the Intergroup Contact Measure (Stathi & Crisp, 2010), and the Behavioral Intentions Scale (Esses & Dovidio, 2002). Results from multivariate multiple regression analyses suggested that racial socialization, particularly exposure to racially diverse environments, was positively related to the frequency and quality of contact, as well as willingness to engage in future contact for both Asian Americans and African Americans; whereas race-related discussions was associated with African Americans’ endorsement of Asian stereotypes. In addition, the study showed that racial identity schemas partially mediated the relationship between racial socialization and intergroup contact, and the relationship between racial socialization and racial stereotypes. Finally, findings revealed that African Americans reported more willingness to engage in future contact with Asian Americans than Asian Americans reported with African Americans. Discussions included methodological limitations, and implications for research and practice. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Thesis advisor: Janet E. Helms / Supervision may be an ideal format for training psychologists to be racially and culturally responsive because supervisors can tailor interventions to fit supervisees’ individual developmental needs. Nevertheless, over 30 years ago, counseling psychology researchers began identifying harmful effects of racially and culturally unresponsive supervision from the perspectives of supervisees. Missing from the literature has been empirical evidence from the perspectives of supervisors themselves. Moreover, research has failed to explore the influence of context (i.e., mental health sites) on supervision that addresses race and culture. The present study explored supervisors’ perspectives and experiences as they pertained to (a) providing racially and culturally responsive supervision, (b) the racial climate of their mental health work environments, and (c) influences of their institutional racial climates on their supervision practices as they pertained to race and culture. Interviews with psychologists, who identified as Black (n = 4) and White (n = 4), were analyzed using directed content analysis guided by the Racial Identity Social Interaction Model. Core domains and themes from the analysis drew connections between the supervisors’ perceptions of the racial climate of their institution and the challenges of supervising on race and culture. Findings from the study highlight the ways in which supervisors in mental health settings attempt to protect their supervisees in environments in which they often feel unprotected. Limitations and implications of the study for supervision theory, research, and practice are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Few researchers have examined the contributing factors to racial identity development for White Americans. In order to better understand White racial identity development, the current study was designed to use Helms’s (1990) theory of White racial identity development to examine the associations between racial attitudes and status profiles of White racial identity, with particular interest in color-blind racial attitudes (i.e., the belief that race is a non-issue in modern society) and belief in a just world (i.e., the view that the world is fair and just). To gain further insight into profiles of White racial identity, additional social attitudes were included in the analyses, including social dominance orientation and internal and external motivation to avoid prejudice, as well as demographic variables. A sample of 350 White American adults recruited from Amazon’s MTurk completed measures of racial identity, racial attitudes, social desirability, and demographic information. K means cluster analyses were conducted to create five status profiles of White identity. Among all study variables, cluster group membership was primarily defined by color-blind racial attitudes, social dominance orientation, and age. Results revealed color-blind racial attitudes were the strongest variables across all five clusters, even those in which the primary racial identity status was autonomy. Belief in a just world, on the other hand, did not appear to be a prominent factor in determining cluster membership in the current study. These results pointed to implications for both research and theory on White racial identity statuses, given that participants who were autonomous were also high in color-blind racial attitudes, which is inconsistent with current conceptualizations of the autonomy ego status. The results indicated the possibility of an ego status prior to autonomy and hold implications for identifying additional statuses of White racial identity within Helms’s (1990) model. The study results hold further implications for future research in the exploration of connections between White racial identity and multicultural counseling competence.

African American youth experience individual and institutional level discrimination (e.g., Berkel et al., 2009; Jones, 1997). These experiences negatively impact their overall well-being (e.g., Harris-Britt et al., 2007; Wang & Huguley, 2012). African American parents use racial socialization to teach their children strategies to cope with racial discrimination (e.g., McAdoo, 2002; Peters, 1997). Given the positive impact of racial socialization on the negative outcomes associated with discrimination (e.g., Bynum et al., 2007), more work is needed to understand how contextual factors influence this process. The current study used qualitative methods to examine racial socialization in response to two levels of school-based discrimination. Directed content analysis was used on transcripts from ten focus groups of African American parents (N= 73). Results indicated that parents provided similar cultural socialization messages in response to both levels of discrimination whereas preparation for bias messages differed. Implications for preparing youth for school-based discrimination are discussed.

Empirical studies have shown that white racial attitudes tend to predict racial policy support. It has also been established that the relationship between whites' espoused racial tolerance and their support for ameliorative racial policies is imperfect, due to the principal-policy gap which characterized misalignment between individuals' espoused values for racial equity and their limited support for policies aimed at achieving those ends. Less consideration however, has been given to how the principal-policy gap changes over time. Using data from over 14,000 respondents who participated in the General Social Survey from 1994 through 2018, I show that the principal-policy gap is persistent, and that distances between principal and policy decline and expand over time. Using OLS regression models to analyze a sample of white adults, I find that the link between individuals' expressed liberal racial attitudes and their support for racial policies changed over the 24-year span. A noticeable narrowing of the principal-policy gap is also evident in the latter years of the sample. The reduction in the gap from 2014 through 2018 suggests that the influence of social movements like BLM may have been driving this trend.

This dissertation is a qualitative study of racially ambiguous people and their life experiences. Racially ambiguous people are individuals who are frequently misidentified racially by others because they do not resemble the phenotype associated with the racial group to which they belong or because they belong to racial/ethnic groups originating in different parts of the world that resemble each other. the racial/ethnic population of the United States is constantly changing because of variations in the birth rates among the racial/ethnic groups that comprise those populations and immigration from around the world. Although much research has been done that documents the existence of racial/ethnic mixing in the history of the United States and the world, this multiracial history is seldom acknowledged in the social, work, and other spheres of interaction among people in the U.S., instead a racialized system based on the perception of individuals as mono-racial thus easily identified through (skin tone, hair texture, facial features, etc.). This is research was done using life experience interviews with 24 racially ambiguous individuals to determine how race/ethnicity has affected their lives and how they negotiate the minefield of race.

Recent racial attitude research has focused on whites' increasing support for the principles of racial equality and lack of support for programs meant to bring about racial equality. As one explanation for this gap some researchers have hypothesized that a new form of symbolic racism with origins in early-learned feelings of individualism and antiblack affect is taking the place of traditional prejudice. According to symbolic racism theory, whites oppose programs such as affirmative action out of moral resentment toward blacks for not living up to traditional protestant values. However, longitudinal studies of racial attitudes continue to focus on whites increased support for the principles of equality. No study has focused on symbolic racism over time. Using data from the American National Election Studies I analyze symbolic racism among whites from the years 1986-2000 by decomposing the time trend into its attitudinal change and cohort replacement components. Results of the analyses support the view that symbolic racism is not decreasing, and has actually increased slightly since 1986. Results of the analysis do not support the view that symbolic racism has origins in early-learned feelings such as antiblack affect. In fact, the effect of antiblack affect on symbolic racism is decreasing over time as symbolic racism is increasing. Based on this finding, an alternative conceptualization of symbolic racism that places the origins of racial prejudice in competition between groups for status and not in feelings and emotions is offered. / Master of Science

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