The purpose of this study was to develop a grounded theory of earning secure attachment. This study included 15 women and 5 men who met the criteria of having a self‐reported history of attachment insecurity and demonstrated evidence of earned security. The grand tour research question, How do adults with a history of insecure attachment earn security?, was explored using constructivist grounded theory and semi‐structured interviews emphasizing processes of positive attachment change. The results describe a process model of change hinging on three interrelated categories: meta‐conditions of positive attachment change, making intrapsychic changes, and making interpersonal changes. Clinical implications include the importance of clients committing to the process, clients working with a clinician trained in trauma‐focused therapy, and clinicians being surrogate attachment figures for clients.

Three theories attempt to explain the racial disparities in arrest between White and Black Americans: Differential Involvement Hypothesis, Differential Selection and Processing Hypothesis, and Social Disorganization Theory. We tested these hypotheses simultaneously in a multiple-group longitudinal panel model with the ADD Health dataset (Black n = 2459, White n = 7403). After controlling for contextual and behavioral factors, we still found Black young adults were arrested seven times more often than their White counterparts. To maintain cultural competence, it is imperative for clinicians to be aware of these disparities when working with families of different races in order to adjust treatment accordingly, but advocacy for greater systemic change may be more important for some communities than therapy alone.

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The association between students’ academic identity and their academic outcomes has been well-established. The importance of a positive school climate has also been widely documented. However, Black males experience factors that uniquely and collectively comprise their school climate. As such, the purpose of this study was to test the extent to which school climate mediated the relationships between math academic identity and math outcomes of Black males. Bootstrapping mediation analyses were conducted in a sample of students in the 11th grade ( n = 1,106) using data from the High School Longitudinal Study. Results indicated that students’ math identity was positively associated with math scores. Moreover, partial mediation was established, demonstrating that school climate partially explained the relationship between math identity and student outcomes. Implications of these findings for school administrators, teachers, and counselors are discussed.