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Colorism continues to be a relevant topic of study because of its capacity to stratify within a marginalized community. The color hierarchy that values light complexions over dark specifically affects African-American women as these women are often treated and evaluated based solely on physicality. Empirically, women with light skin experience greater success in relationships, education, and employment. Furthermore, they report high levels of confidence. This quantitative study examines how colorism affects African-American college women's social capital and self-esteem. Utilizing Cooley's concept of the looking glass self as well as Gofiftnan's concept of stigma, a theoretical framework is established showing how society's judgments of dark-skinned African- American women negatively affect their self-perceptions. Results indicate that colorism is still a sensitive and complex phenomenon in the lives of African-American women.

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This study examined the potential to commit harm by youth aged 11-16 in relation to the mass media, substance use, and self-evaluation. A questionnaire was designed to examine selected variables associated with youth who commit harm to others. The research sample consisted of 186 students who attended an elementary school and a middle school located in a southern metropolitan area. Analysis of variance was used to analyze the data collected. The research indicated that two of the three hypotheses tested were statistically significant including substance use and self-evaluation. There was no statistically significant relationship for self-evaluation and mass media. Although there was not a statistically significant relationship regarding mass media, it can be concluded from the data that adolescents' behaviors are somewhat affected by their daily viewing of television. An important implication of this study is not just the need for further research, but also the need for an enhanced focus on practical solutions to reverse the observed potential to harm others. Previous literature on adolescents and their potential to harm others has explored an array of factors; however, a decrease in youth violence continues to be a most challenging goal for all involved in juvenile rehabilitation and resocialization.

This thesis examined the relationship between participation and locus of control among urban African-American youth aged five to nine. The sample consisted of forty boys and girls who participated in a federally sponsored program. The program’s major goal is to provide environmental education and forestry career information to urban minority children to stimulate an interest in natural resources preservation as well as in opportunities within this field. Subjects completed the Children’s Nowicki-Strickland locus of control scale before and after participation in the environmental education program. Data were analyzed using the paired T-Test. The study’s findings failed to show a statistically significant increase in internality as a result of participation. The findings of this study are inconsistent with the reviewed literature which suggests that “participation” is positively related to an increased internal locus of control in African-American youth. Limitations, however, in the methodological processes could well account for these findings.