African American college students face a myriad of unique race related stressors on campus, yet there is a gap of knowledge on how these experiences may impact overall health as well as what may mediate these effects. The goal of the current study was threefold. First, it was to better understand the relationship between health outcomes and the experience of discrimination on college campuses for African American students. Second, it further investigated the research of Pieterse & Carter (2007), to explore if perceived discrimination influences health outcomes above and beyond general life stress in the emerging adult population. Lastly, it explored potential protective factors by examining if the relationship between health outcomes and the experience of discrimination is mediated by socio-cultural group involvement in the form of fraternities and sororities. 133 African American college students from a south eastern predominantly White university completed the American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment to explore these research aims. Racial discrimination was positively correlated with negative health outcomes, however experience of discrimination did not influence health outcomes above and beyond general life stress. Additionally, belonging to a fraternity or sorority did not mediate the relationship between the experience of discrimination and negative health outcomes. The results suggest that the discrimination African American college students face on predominantly white campuses are harmful to overall health, yet more needs to be explored to find adequate interventions to these negative health outcomes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:vcu.edu/oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-6829 |
| Date | 01 January 2019 |
| Creators | Munson, Alexandra M |
| Publisher | VCU Scholars Compass |
| Source Sets | Virginia Commonwealth University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | © Alexandra Munson |
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