Examining Psychosociocultural Influences as Predictors of Black College Students’ Academic Self-Concept and Achievement

Abstract

Using the psychosociocultural framework, this study concurrently examined the influence of psychological (academic self-concept and academic engagement attitudes), social (caring student-faculty relationships), and cultural variables (racial centrality and perceived university environment) on the academic achievement of Black college students. Participants were 247 Black collegians recruited from a large, Southwestern predominately White institution. Results of structural equation modeling largely supported hypothesized relationships between variables, accounting for 16% of the variance in grade point average (GPA), 75% of the variance in academic engagement, and 29% of the variance in academic self-concept. Results revealed two positive direct paths to GPA: (a) racial centrality and (b) academic self-concept; academic self-concept had a key role in facilitating indirect effects on academic engagement and GPA. Findings highlight multiple noncognitive predictors that can facilitate Black students’ academic functioning. Research and practice implications of these findings are outlined.

Online racial discrimination, centrality, and academic outcomes among Black youth.

“…Research on the direct association between racial centrality and academic achievement among Black youth has also been mixed. In particular, some research has found a direct, positive association between centrality and achievement (Beasley & McClain, 2021), whereas other studies have found either no association or a direct, negative one (e.g., Okeke et al, 2009; Thomas et al, 2009). In a recent meta-analysis, Miller-Coto and Byrnes (2016) found that centrality was not a significant predictor of achievement.…”

Culturally responsive mentoring: A psychosociocultural perspective on sustaining students of color career aspirations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

“…Since then, other scholars have found the PSC framework useful for understanding how Latine (J. Castellanos & Gloria, 2007; Chun et al, 2016; Dueñas & Gloria, 2017, 2020; Gloria et al, 2017), African American (Beasley, 2021; Beasley & McClain, 2021), Asian American (Gloria & Ho, 2003), and SOCs at large (Bauman et al, 2019; Her & Gloria, 2016) navigate incongruencies between their home and institutional cultures and persist in college.…”

A Psychosociocultural View of Hispanic First-Generation College Students’ Graduation Rates

“…Several studies have also demonstrated that the university environment (e.g., feeling valued or comfortable on campus) plays a crucial role in the psychological well-being of Latina/o students on campus (Aguinaga & Gloria, 2015; Delgado-Guerrero & Gloria, 2013; Herrera et al, 2018). The PSC framework has also been used with several other groups of students of color (e.g., Native American, Black, Chinese-American, Hmong), aside from Hispanic students, and has been associated with similar positive results (see Beasley and McClain [2021] for a thorough literature review). However, no PSC study to date has investigated graduation outcomes and only one study has examined Latina/o FGCS (i.e., Dueñas and Gloria, 2017).…”