The exclusionary nature of colorism and how it affects personal awareness of self- identity behooves us to explore the socio-psychological interplay of life choices and racial socialization. This exploratory research is positioned within the context of black males’ relationship preferences and sought comprehension of how and why their perceptions inform their choices and inclination for lighter skin tones. The manifestations of colorism in these men’s experiences influence their interactions with women and how they perceive themselves. Findings of this phenomenological study informed the researcher of various dynamics that shape interactions of race, gender and colorism and utilized Black Feminist Thought as an epistemological framework. Purposeful sampling was used for recruitment and narrative interview methods highlighted perspectives and experiences of twenty, Atlanta black males, aged 21 and older for an overall essence of their phenomenon. Hopefully, this work will prompt analytical conversations to extend research of colorism within similar group dynamics.

Thesis advisor: Janet E. Helms / Black women have been more likely to suffer from negative health conditions in comparison to Black men and White women. The biopsychosocial model might suggest that gendered racism and related stress may contribute to poor health, but the model has not been adapted to address the specific psychological factors that uniquely affect Black women’s health. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between gendered racism and eating and exercise practices of Black women in addition to examining racial and gender identity as potential mediators of the effects of gendered racism on health behaviors of Black women. Adult Black women (N= 153) were invited to complete measures that assessed gendered-racism experiences and stressors, racial identity (BRIAS), womanist identity (WIAS), and health behaviors. Multivariate multiple regression analyses revealed that more experiences of gendered racism were related to lower levels of emotional eating, but higher levels of uncontrolled eating and physical activity. WIAS Immersion/Emersion (idealization of women), WIAS Encounter (confusion regarding gender beliefs) and BRIAS Immersion (idealization of Black people) were significant mediators of these relationships. A post hoc canonical correlation analysis indicated that experiencing higher levels of gendered racism was related to greater use of less sophisticated racial and gender identity schemas, which were related to lower levels of emotional eating and higher levels of uncontrolled eating and physical activity. These results suggested that BRIAS and WIAS concepts should be integrated rather than treating them as separate sets of variables when investigating gendered racism. Collectively, the results of the main and post hoc analyses indicated that race and gender constructs were related to health practices, but not in explicable ways. Limitations of existing measures for studying this population are discussed and results are used to speculate about the implications of biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors on the health engagement practices of Black women. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Thesis advisor: Janet E. Helms / Multiracial people often experience challenges to developing positive racial identities and psychological well being in the racially stratified U.S. society. Research and theory suggest that contextual variables are important for the facilitation of positive adjustment for Multiracial individuals. However, despite the importance of social context, the majority of research has been limited by the use of small, non-generalizable samples, the lack of quantitative studies, a lack of consistent ways to measure these constructs, and researchers’ tendencies to examine well-being or racial identity in isolation. In addition, Multiracial identity typically has been assessed as a single racial identification categorization, rather than as the fluid racial identity process suggested by Helms’s (1995) People of Color (POC) racial identity theory. The present study proposed and examined a model that incorporated social context, racial identity, and well-being to better understand how Multiracial people develop racially and psychologically in a racially contentious society. Multiracial (Black/White and Asian/White) adults (N = 172) completed a demographic questionnaire, Multiracial Scales (Family Influence, Reflected Appraisals, Acceptance/Exclusion) created for this study, the Multiracial Challenges and Resilience Scale (Salahuddin & O’Brien, 2011), the People of Color Racial Identity Attitudes Scale (Helms, 2005), the Brief Symptom Inventory 18 (Derogatis, 2001), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larson, & Griffin, 1985). Multivariate multiple regression analyses (MMRAs) were conducted to examine relationships among social context (challenging and supportive) and psychological well-being, racial identity and well-being, and social context and racial identity. Results of the MMRAs favored supportive social contexts ( i.e., Acceptance by the White and Multiracial groups) as being related to better psychological well-being and challenging social contexts (i.e., Exclusion from the White racial group) as detracting from well-being. Conversely, challenging social contexts were more predictive of racial identity than supportive social contexts. Racial identity was also significantly related to psychological well-being. Results revealed differences between racial groups in the relationships among racial identity and well-being, such that Asian/White participants experienced greater life satisfaction and Multiracial pride than Black/White participants. Overall, the results of the analyses indicated support for the proposed model’s inclusion of social context, racial identity, and well-being in a single study. As anticipated, social context and racial identity were predictive of psychological well-being, and social context was predictive of racial identity. Results also provided preliminary evidence for the use of Helms’s (1995) POC theory with a Multiracial population. Methodological limitations and implications for future theory, research, and practice are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Thesis advisor: Janet E. Helms / Abstract Theorists contend that Black girls are mistreated in a manner consistent with racial and gender stereotypes, each of which is equally salient and negatively evaluated by society. Yet, very few empirical studies have investigated the question of how the girls are able to understand and integrate the racial and gender aspects of their identity and withstand the multiple forms of negativity (e.g. gender marginalization and racial oppression) to which they are exposed. The present study examined the socialization experiences of a sample of Black girls (N=14) enrolled in the 9th grade in a predominantly White high school setting. The girls participated in a semi-structured 25-week mentoring intervention intended to provide positive racial and gender socialization experiences. Pre-post interviews investigated the following themes: (a) the girls' perceptions of their experiences, (b) the relationship of these experiences to the girls' racial identity, and (c) the impact of the school-based intervention on Black girls' racial identity, self-concepts, and perceptions of their academic experiences. Participants completed self-report measures that assessed their racial identity, identification with school, and school-related experiences prior to and following the intervention, and a subgroup were interviewed before and after the intervention. "Regular" attendees (RA) were those who attended nearly all of the sessions, whereas "Non-regular" attendees (NRA) did not. Quantitative findings indicated that both RA and NRA participants reported an increase in positive perceptions of teachers. RAs also increased their level of school engagement and belief that their school experiences would have an impact on their future success, whereas NRAs did not. RAs' levels of Immersion racial identity (Black oriented) increased, whereas NRAs' Conformity (White oriented) increased. Qualitative findings suggested that participants who attended the intervention regularly developed a more sophisticated understanding of the ways that racial dynamics impacted their perceptions of school experiences. Methodological limitations, theoretical considerations, implications for future research and the development of race-gender focused educational interventions, and practice, are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology.

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.

Academic performance may be understood as the accumulation of interactions among several variables over time in specific situations. Aptitude theory describes cognitive ability, motivation, and personal affect as key variables in the explanation of performance. Racial identity may be another essential variable in explaining academic achievement for non-white students. Racial identity is described as the importance and understanding that African American students ascribe to belonging to a Black racial group in a society that is dominated by non-Black members. Investigating how the factors of racial identity (private regard, public regard, and racial centrality) are associated with the other key variables of performance may provide unique opportunities to support African American students in improving academic performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among the racial identity variables, academic intrinsic motivation, perceived school support, and academic achievement for African American students. This study was conducted with students (N=56) grades 11 and 12, from two schools in a single Midwestern metropolitan district. Students completed questionnaires to provide data regarding their perceptions of school support, academic intrinsic motivation, and racial identity. The school provided information regarding grade point average, number of advanced placement courses taken, and sixth grade standardized test scores. Hierarchical linear regression models were tested to investigate whether the racial identity factors moderated the relationships between academic intrinsic motivation and perceived school support on grade point average or the number of advanced placement courses taken when prior academic achievement was controlled. Significant interactions were found between racial centrality and perceived school support on academic intrinsic motivation. Significant interactions were also found for racial centrality and private regard moderating the relationship between academic intrinsic motivation and the number of advanced placement courses taken when prior academic achievement was controlled. The findings of this study suggest that racial centrality and private regard may be important for students with lower levels of academic intrinsic motivation and lower perceived school support. These students may benefit from interventions that support feeling positive about being Black and recognize the importance of race in students' self-concepts.

Skin-tone based social stratification has been characterized as an enduring part of the U.S. racial landscape (Hunter, 2002). Despite the plethora of research that examines the racial disparities in education (e.g., Reardon & Portilla, 2015), and an emerging literature finding that lighter skin-tones are associated with higher educational attainment among adults (Hunter, 2002) few studies have examined whether similar processes emerge during early childhood. Thus, grounded in Garcia Coll and colleagues’ (1996) integrative model, we tested whether skin-tone predicted children’s academic achievement, and whether these relations were modified by children’s ethnic-racial identification (i.e., positive ethnic-racial attitudes and centrality). Consistent with expectations, darker skin-tones were associated with lower math scores. Positive attitudes did not significantly moderate the relation between skin-tone and academic achievement. However, contrary to our hypothesis, high levels of ethnic racial centrality strengthened the association between skin-tone and academic achievement. Conclusions: These findings contribute to the literature by providing evidence for the early development of within race skin-tone based disparities in academic achievement and underscoring the need for further exploration of ethnic racial identification as protective or risk factors in the positive development of minority children.

acase@tulane.edu / Abstract Future racial socialization (FRS) is a future-oriented concept that speaks to how adolescents intend to racially socialize their own children. This future-oriented parenting decision has been associated with the existing racial socialization messages that adolescents receive from their own caregivers prior to becoming parents themselves. Research has posited that parental racial socialization is arguably one of the most important developmental processes for African American youth (Hughes, 2006), and has been largely conceptualized as a process between parents and children. However, a new force called Social Networking Sites (SNS) has entered our ecological world over the last 20 years; possibly catalyzing a shift to occur in the racial socialization processes of adolescents, especially the African American adolescents of today known as being a part of the Generation Z or as the iGeneration (approximately born 1995-2012). It is important to understand how SNS are altering the adolescent development processes so that we can understand its benefits and risks. This study is a secondary data analysis of archived data that examines the relation of Parental Racial Socialization to Future Racial Socialization (FRS) as moderated by SNS and Racial Identity (RI), in African American Adolescents. In the current study, the participants are 300 African American high school students in a large southern urban city. The students ranged in age from 13 to 19 years old and attended a predominately (98%) African American high school in the United States. Findings demonstrate that racial identity plays a significant role in the relation between PRS (cultural socialization type) and FRS, and when specifically examining African American girls, racial centrality (a subcomponent of racial identity) and SNS play a significant role in moderating the relation between two types of PRS and FRS. / 1 / Ashlee Yates

The purpose of this new materialist study was to examine the subject performativity of ‘biracial’ individuals in an interview setting in order to disrupt the humanist assumptions of racial identity in psychological research. I also sought to promote critical resistance to subjectification to examine ‘race’ without reifying participants’ raced subjects. Four research questions guided this study: How does the researcher, researched, and interview intra-activity serve to instantiate the biracial subject? Under what material alterations to the interview process do different subjects come to be? Which subjects come to be or fail to come to be in the interview intra-action? How does purposeful entanglement function during the interview process? In this experimental critical qualitative inquiry study, I interviewed five ‘black-white biracial’ undergraduate students three times each while enacting a series of agential cuts within and between each interview. By altering the flow of material during the interviews, I provoked multiple identity instantiations and analyzed the process of subjectification/individuation. Grounded in Barad’s agential realism, and guided by Simondon, Foucault, and Butler my analysis of this data suggests that humanist models of ‘racial’ identity are insufficient, and findings further suggest that a posthumanist and post-qualitative account of ‘biracial’ identity offers more insight into the performativity of ‘raced’ subjects. This research provides a path for psychological identity research to ethically evolve past the linguistic and ontological turns.