Influence of Family Perceptions of Acting White on Acculturative Stress in African American College Students

Abstract

This study examined family-oriented stressors on acculturative stress in 83 African American college students attending a predominately White university. Results showed that family pressure for participants not to acculturate, pressure to maintain ethnic group language, perception of Acting White, and acculturation level were related to higher acculturative stress for participants. After controlling for acculturation and general stress, family pressure to maintain the ethnic group's language and perception of Acting White accounted for a statistically significant proportion of the variance in acculturation stress. The findings emphasize the need to recognize culture-specific stressors of college students. Implications for mental health providers are discussed.

Relational Aggression among Female African American Undergraduates: An Intersectional Perspective

“…Participant's experiences with "Acting White" are consistent with research indicating that using what is considered "White" speech makes one vulnerable to the accusation (Murray et al, 2012), that college students are experiencing the accusation and finding it harmful (Durkee & Williams, 2013), and that acculturation into a Predominately White University community can create tension with people back home (Thompson et al, 2010). This content also appears to be emerging in the content of relationally aggressive acts such as gossip and exclusion from Black peers.…”

“…Some women in the sample expressed sentiments indicating they felt caught between expectations of multiple cultural communities, which supports prior work on accusations of "acting White" (Durkee & Williams, 2013;Murray et al, 2012;Thompson et al, 2010) and feelings of "homelessness" (Winkle-Wagner, 2009) for students at Predominately White Institutions. These experiences speak to a need for the construction of multiple identities while navigating majority culture as a woman of color.…”

“…There was evidence of community-specific terminology such as accusations of "acting White", a concept which has been discussed in the discrimination literature (Durkee & Williams, 2013;Murray et al, 2012;Ogbu, 2004;Thompson et al, 2010), but has not been addressed in current studies of relational aggression. These experiences were significant because they signified rejection from other Black students, experienced within a context in which many already felt excluded by White students and faculty members.…”

“…Black women at Predominately White Institutions experience greater minority stress than their counterparts at Historically Black Colleges (Greer & Chwalisz, 2007). They also experience pressure from family members to preserve their ethnic heritage, as well as accusations of "Acting White" from family members if they conform to the culture at their institution too well (Thompson et al, 2010). Participants in one qualitative study described feelings of "homelessness", caught between a campus where they were not accepted and home communities that they no longer felt a part of (Winkle-Wagner, 2009).…”

“…Black students attending Predominately White Institutions experience unique stressors such as the accusation of "Acting White" (Durkee & Williams, 2013;Murray, Neal-Barnett, Demmings, & Stadulis, 2012;Thompson et al, 2010), racial microaggressions (Blume, Lovato, Thyken, & Denny, 2012;Sue, Capodilupo, & Holder, 2008;Williams & Nichols, 2012), and negotiating the development of multiple identities (Cole & Jacob Arriola, 2007). Black female students are experiencing negative emotional and physical consequences of these experiences (Armstead, Hebert, Griffin, & Prince, 2013;Blume et al, 2012;Gomes et al, 2009;Prelow et al, 2006;Williams & Nichols, 2012).…”