Master of Arts, Miami University, 2024, Psychology

Studies on the schooling experiences of Black girls have shown that they impact the academic performance of these girls. While many scholarly works suggest racial infiltrations in the school system create a negative school environment and contribute to the low academic performance and misbehavior observed among Black girls, there is a need to identify protective factors that would alleviate these negative experiences. Reportedly, parenting behaviors that are closely associated with high control and low affect, have been identified as protective factors for risky behavior among Black adolescents. However, there is little known about how these behaviors impact the schooling experiences of Black girls. Hence, in this study, the effects of parenting behavior on the schooling experiences of Black girls, aged 12 to 17 years, were evaluated. The results of the Ordinal logistics regression and Spearman's rank correlation were indicative of the significant effects parenting behavior has on the schooling experiences of Black female adolescents. Contrarily, Black parenting behavior that includes praising and validating these adolescents positively affects their schooling experiences. Future research would explore how parental behaviors could differ by gender and socioeconomic status and create interventions tailored towards the parenting behaviors prominent among Black parents.

Committee: Yvette Harris Dr. (Advisor); Veronica Barrios Dr. (Committee Member); Aaron Luebbe Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2023, Educational Leadership

Black urban youth face many obstacles in their personal development and future pursuits. Many of these obstacles result from systemic challenges that exist within their communities and cultural norms that negatively shape their self-concept and possible selves, a concept which argues that future self-concepts are constructed through personal evaluation of a current and desired future state. Corporate-education partnerships have recently been introduced to urban communities as a way to introduce youth to alternative professional pathways, although there are few studies about the extent to which Black urban youth are impacted by such partnerships. Using the possible selves theory, this study explored how one corporate-education partnership influences the self-concept and possible selves of Black urban youth engaging in a mentoring program, and the extent to which engagement in the program affected their view of themselves and future aspirations. This study focused on the Infinity Mentoring program, which is a partnership program between the Ascension corporation, Woodsby High School, and community-based organization Cincinnati Youth Connection (all pseudonyms). Findings from this study showed that participants in the program had improved feelings or self-concept about themselves and that participants gained increased motivation toward college, career, and their future aspirations as a result of the Infinity Mentoring program. The study adds to the scholarship on corporate-education partnerships, demonstrating the intrinsic impact these partnerships can have on Black urban students.

Committee: Dr. Kate Rousmaniere (Committee Chair); Dr. Sherrill Sellers (Committee Member); Dr. Michael Evans (Committee Member); Dr. Denise Taliaferro Baszile (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; Behavioral Sciences; Black Studies; Business Community; Developmental Psychology; Education Policy; Educational Leadership; Educational Sociology; Individual and Family Studies; Social Psychology; Teacher Education; Urban Planning

MA, Kent State University, 2018, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Anxiety is the leading disorder among adolescents and often goes untreated. Given adolescents' frequent technology use, mental health mobile applications may be one viable option for care. To date, few studies have empirically examined the effectiveness of mhealth apps for youth with anxiety. Moreover, mhealth apps designed for Black adolescents is nonexistent. This study investigated the use of the Sisters United Now (SUN) App, a culturally adaptive mhealth app designed to help Black adolescent girls manage their anxiety and stress. The SUN App allowed participants to use positive, meaningful lyrics to restructure negative thoughts —a process known as musical cognitive restructuring. A sample of 35 Black adolescent girls used the app following a 7-session culturally adaptive Sister circle intervention. It was hypothesized that negative thought would be lower on day 7 than day 1 and anxiety would be lower one-month post-intervention. It was also hypothesized that app use would be positively associated with change in negative thought and anxiety. During one-week period, participants used the app 19 times on average. Results showed that participants' negative thought scores were significantly lower on day 7, though anxiety scores were not. Additionally, results showed changes in negative thought and anxiety scores were not associated with frequency of app use. Findings indicated participants were compliant with SUN App protocol and negative thought scores decreased. Future work is needed to determine what aspects of the treatment may have led to the improvements seen in participants' negative thought and whether a longer duration of app use can increase treatment gains in anxious Black adolescent girls.

Committee: Angela Neal-Barnett Ph.D (Advisor); Robert Stadulis Ed.D (Committee Member); Christopher Flessner Ph.D (Committee Member); John Dunlosky Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2024, Psychology

There is evidence from literature that has identified the infiltration of racism within the school system in the United States. Consequently, Black girls are victims of bias and stereotypes perpetuated by school officials. The impact of this is notable in their academic performance and attitudes towards school, such that due to the pressure associated with these effects, Black girls are experiencing academic stress that has affected their academic performance and schooling experiences. Additionally, they are twice as likely as Black boys to attempt suicide. While all these reports were inferred from comparative studies that examined adolescent males and females from both minority and white backgrounds, there is little known of the relationship between academic stress and suicidal ideation of Black female adolescents. In this study, the effects of suicidal ideation on academic performance among Black female adolescents were studied. Spearman's rank correlation and Ordinal logistics regression were used to assess the relationship between academic performance and suicidal ideation. The results showed significant correlations across the variables that measured suicidal behavior with no association between the predictors and the dependent variable. Future research would explore other dimensions of academic stress and the trend of suicidal ideation across different age grades for Black girls.

Committee: Yvette Harris (Advisor); Veronica Barrios (Committee Member); Aaron Luebbe (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

MA, Kent State University, 2021, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) is the most widely used measure of perceived stress. However, limited PSS-10 data are available on Black adolescent girls. Previous studies utilizing the PSS-10 indicate that Black adolescent girls experience moderate and high stress. Despite its utilization, it is to the best of our knowledge that, to date, the PSS-10 has not been validated for use with this population. This paper examines perceived stress in Black adolescent girls (N=201) using a convergent parallel mixed-methods study design. Our results indicate that our participants' main stressors include interpersonal conflicts with friends, parents, family, boyfriends, and school-related stressors involving grades and teachers. Our participants averaged mild current perceived stress and moderate perceived stress in the last month. Our findings also supported the two-factor model (Perceived Hopelessness and Perceived Self-Efficacy) of the PSS-10 and suggest that this assessment is likely validated for use in populations of Black adolescent girls. Lastly, our data revealed that the PSS-10 has strong convergence validity with stress and anxiety assessments.

Committee: Angela Neal-Barnett (Advisor) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2019, Marriage and Family Counseling/Therapy

The purpose of this quantitative research study was to examine the potential moderating role of boundaries between adolescents (N = 46) and their parent(s) in the families of African American adolescents who have experienced trauma, and the effect it had on the adolescent's self-esteem, through the lens of Structural Family Therapy (SFT). The 2014 wave of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth - Children and Young Adults was used to conduct the study. A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted examining the intersection of poverty, race, trauma, the individual and lifespan development of adolescents and their families and family systems theory. The direct effects of experiencing trauma upon the parent-adolescent relationship and the self-esteem of adolescents were examined using simple regression analysis. The moderating effect of the perception of boundaries in the parent-adolescent relationship was examined using a multiple regression analysis. The regression results were mostly statistically insignificant, except for the moderating effect of the parent-adolescent relationship. It was found that African American adolescents who reported being closer to their parents were protected from the expected results of experiencing trauma. Additional research should be conducted within the field of Marriage and Family Therapy with respect to the intersection of trauma, poverty, protective factors and African American adolescents and their families.

Committee: Karin Jordan PhD (Advisor); Heather Katafiasz PhD (Committee Member); David Tefteller PhD (Committee Member); Wondimu Ahmed PhD (Committee Member); John Queener PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; Behavioral Sciences; Black Studies; Counseling Education; Families and Family Life

PHD, Kent State University, 2019, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Previous research indicates that the acting White accusation (AWA) is one of the most pertinent and detrimental accusations a Black adolescent can encounter. The AWA arises when a Black adolescent's ethnic/racial identity (ERI) is perceived as being not Black enough by another Black adolescent or group of adolescents. The AWA is one of the most harmful accusations a Black adolescent can hurl at another because it is an attack against one's ERI, and can occur during a time when identity development is most salient. Given that the AWA is embedded in ERI, it has implication for the psychological well-being of Black adolescents. Studies have shown that the AWA was positively associated with general anxiety, social anxiety, and bullying victimization. One group of individuals in particular who may be negatively impacted by the AWA are Black adolescent females in STEM disciplines, which is due to their double minority status. Several sociocultural factors related to ERI have been identified as contributing factors to the underperformance of Black students in STEM, including stereotype threat and low self-efficacy. Another potential factor affecting these students might be the AWA. This study investigates the relationship between the AWA, social anxiety, and bullying among Black female students who attend a STEM school, and compare this group to Black females who attend a non-STEM school.

Committee: Angela Neal-Barnett PhD (Committee Chair); Josefina Grau PhD (Committee Member); Clarissa Thompson PhD (Committee Member); Robert Stadulis EdD (Committee Member); I. Richmond Nettey PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

MA, Kent State University, 2018, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

It is during adolescence many youth are subject to close scrutiny by peers. This scrutiny sometimes results in negative evaluations. The acting White accusation, which is operationally defined here as an interpersonal indictment made against a Black adolescent, asserting that the adolescent is not Black enough, has been documented as early as elementary school. However, existing research indicates it is most salient and first likely to occur during early adolescence. “Acting White” is one of the most negative accusations a Black adolescent can hurl at or receive from another (Neal-Barnett, Stadulis, Singer, Murray, & Demmings, 2010). After nearly 30 years of sparse research, particularly in the area of quantitative research, we still know very little about the psychological impact of the accusation. As such, this study seeks to investigate the association between being accused of “acting White” and the experience of bother among a clinical sample of adolescents. Additionally, this study investigates potential relationships between the level of bother associated with the accusation, internalizing or bottling-up behaviors (e.g., anxiety and mood disorders) and externalizing or acting out behaviors (e.g., disruptive, impulse-control and conduct disorders). Lastly, the current study explores the potential for ethnic-racial identity and social support to act as protective or risk factors relative to this association. Data from a sample of Black adolescents are evaluated using paired t-tests to examine whether or not adolescents endorsed social items of the AWA more frequently and as more bothersome than academic items. Additionally, bivariate correlational and linear regression analyses are used to examine relationships between bother and psychopathology, ethnic/racial identity and social support.

Committee: Angela Neal-Barnett Ph.D. (Advisor); Robert Stadulis Ed.D. (Committee Member); Josefina Grau Ph.D. (Committee Member); John Dunlosky Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; Clinical Psychology

PHD, Kent State University, 2006, College of Education, Health, and Human Services / Department of Adult, Counseling, Health and Vocational Education

The purpose in conducting this research was to develop grounded theory regarding the racial socialization process of Biracial adolescents who were the offspring of an African American father and a European American mother. The participants in the study were eight European American mothers of Biracial adolescents ranging in age from 10 to 17 years old. This study was conducted in a qualitative format using individual and focus group interviews to gather data. The study was conducted to lay the foundation for the development of grounded theory on the Biracial socialization process. The grounded theory foundation developed from the results was the Biracial Socialization Spectrum. The Biracial Socialization Spectrum is a tetrahedron with the dynamic process as the base, side one representing the Black/African American parent spectrum, Side two representing the White/European American parent spectrum, and side three representing the Biracial Socialization Spectrum.

Committee: Martin Jencius (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2013, EDU Teaching and Learning

Given that the lives and literacies of Black female youth remain under-researched (Evans-Winters, 2005; Hill-Collins, 2009), the purpose of this dissertation is to highlight the ways in which Black female adolescents conceive of self and society. Although the interests and identities of Black females have been brought to the fore by a number of writers and researchers, more attention is often placed on Black women and not on Black girls. Therefore, this dissertation, which draws on qualitative data collected during a two-year period, focuses on: 1) Black female adolescents' understandings of themselves and the world around them, 2) how their use of autoethnography—a common methodological approach to researching the self—helps to shape these understandings, and 3) the implications of using autoethnography for deeper investigations into the lives and literacies of Black female adolescents. In this study, theories in Black feminism, critical pedagogy, and research in adolescent literacy are employed to further address Black female adolescents' conceptions of self and society. Qualitative data were collected and analyzed through the use of note-taking in a research journal, video-taped recordings of weekly meetings, video-taped interviews with participants, writings by participants (e.g., their autoethnographic work), and literacy artifacts that were utilized and/or produced within weekly meetings. Findings reveal the girls' understandings that society places lesser value on young Black woman- and/or Black girlhood, the girls' resistance to commonplace notions of young Black woman- and/or Black girlhood, the girls' desire to engage in both traumatic and triumphant story-telling, and shared understandings of self and society. Therefore, this dissertation study has greater implications for: 1) extending conversations on what counts as (qualitative) research and how research can be carried out by and with Black female adolescents specifically and youth, generally, 2) e (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Valerie Kinloch Dr. (Committee Chair); Beverly Moss Dr. (Committee Member); Elaine Richardson Dr. (Committee Member); William McDaniel Dr. (Other) Subjects: Education