The current study explored perceived racism, mental health, and coping to see how those concepts might influence how African American students evaluate their college experiences. Additionally, this study explored how school environment (i.e., predominantly White institution [PWI] vs. historically Black college/university [HBCU]) impacted the hypotheses. All participants completed an online questionnaire. Findings for the key hypotheses of this study were mixed. For example, regardless if African American students attended a PWI or HBCU, they were both likely to report similar experiences of perceived racism and negative affect. Despite these and a few other relevant hypotheses not being supported, two significant findings were uncovered. Specifically, African American students at the HBCU were found to utilize more Africultural-based coping behaviors compared to African American students at the PWI. Also, contrary to my hypothesis, endorsement of public regard attitudes was higher at the HBCU compared to the PWI. Implications and future directions are discussed.
","abstract_html":"<p>The current study explored perceived racism, mental health, and coping to see how those concepts might influence how African American students evaluate their college experiences. Additionally, this study explored how school environment (i.e., predominantly White institution [PWI] vs. historically Black college/university [HBCU]) impacted the hypotheses. All participants completed an online questionnaire. Findings for the key hypotheses of this study were mixed. For example, regardless if African American students attended a PWI or HBCU, they were both likely to report similar experiences of perceived racism and negative affect. Despite these and a few other relevant hypotheses not being supported, two significant findings were uncovered. Specifically, African American students at the HBCU were found to utilize more Africultural-based coping behaviors compared to African American students at the PWI. Also, contrary to my hypothesis, endorsement of public regard attitudes was higher at the HBCU compared to the PWI. Implications and future directions are discussed.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Garland, Taylor"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Stephen Jefferson, Ph.D.","Carol Freedman-Doan, Ph.D.","Heather C. Janisse, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:40Z","subjects":["racism","mental health","coping","PWI","HBCU","African American Studies","Clinical Psychology","Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1070","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Stephen Jefferson, Ph.D.","Carol Freedman-Doan, Ph.D.","Heather C. Janisse, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Garland, Taylor"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-06-16T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["racism","mental health","coping","PWI","HBCU","African American Studies","Clinical Psychology","Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1070"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The current study explored perceived racism, mental health, and coping to see how those concepts might influence how African American students evaluate their college experiences. Additionally, this study explored how school environment (i.e., predominantly White institution [PWI] vs. historically Black college/university [HBCU]) impacted the hypotheses. All participants completed an online questionnaire. Findings for the key hypotheses of this study were mixed. For example, regardless if African American students attended a PWI or HBCU, they were both likely to report similar experiences of perceived racism and negative affect. Despite these and a few other relevant hypotheses not being supported, two significant findings were uncovered. Specifically, African American students at the HBCU were found to utilize more Africultural-based coping behaviors compared to African American students at the PWI. Also, contrary to my hypothesis, endorsement of public regard attitudes was higher at the HBCU compared to the PWI. Implications and future directions are discussed.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Predominantly white institution or historically black college/university: Racial composition of school environment and perceived racism on African American students’ college experiences"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Stephen Jefferson, Ph.D.","Carol Freedman-Doan, Ph.D.","Heather C. Janisse, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Garland, Taylor"],"dc:date.available":["2021-06-16T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The current study explored perceived racism, mental health, and coping to see how those concepts might influence how African American students evaluate their college experiences. Additionally, this study explored how school environment (i.e., predominantly White institution [PWI] vs. historically Black college/university [HBCU]) impacted the hypotheses. All participants completed an online questionnaire. Findings for the key hypotheses of this study were mixed. For example, regardless if African American students attended a PWI or HBCU, they were both likely to report similar experiences of perceived racism and negative affect. Despite these and a few other relevant hypotheses not being supported, two significant findings were uncovered. Specifically, African American students at the HBCU were found to utilize more Africultural-based coping behaviors compared to African American students at the PWI. Also, contrary to my hypothesis, endorsement of public regard attitudes was higher at the HBCU compared to the PWI. Implications and future directions are discussed.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1070"],"dc:subject":["racism","mental health","coping","PWI","HBCU","African American Studies","Clinical Psychology","Psychology"],"dc:title":["Predominantly white institution or historically black college/university: Racial composition of school environment and perceived racism on African American students’ college experiences"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:40Z"}