Date of Award

8-2021

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Joseph R. Morris

Second Advisor

Dr. Beverly J. Vandiver

Third Advisor

Dr. Douglas Davidson

Keywords

African American male college students, academic help seeking, Black racial identity attitude, conformity to masculine norms, academic help-seeking avoidance, perceived benefits of academic help-seeking

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of Black racial identity attitudes, as measured by the Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS), and masculine norms, as measured by the Conformity to Masculinity Norms Index -46 (CMNI-46), in relation to men's academic helpseeking behavior. Participants were 120 African American undergraduate males at a historically White university in the Midwest region of the United States. Four hypotheses were designed to help guide the measure's influences on two academic help-seeking variables, avoidance and perceived benefits. The first and second hypotheses both focused on the effects of Black college men's racial attitudes. The third and fourth hypotheses focused on the effects of Black men's conformity on masculine norms. Participants were asked to complete an online survey, which contained a demographic sheet and measures of Black racial identity, traditional masculinity norms, and academic help-seeking behavior. Hierarchical multiple regressions were used to execute the primary analyses.

African American male college students who endorsed higher levels of an Afrocentric racial attitude reported higher levels of perceived benefits for academic help-seeking. The study’s finding of hypothesis 3 suggested that African American men who conform to higher levels of self-reliance and power over women masculine norms endorsed higher levels of helpseeking avoidance behavior. The findings also showed that conforming to a higher level of work primacy norm negatively impacted academic help-seeking avoidance. Finally, Black college men with a higher degree of work primacy, and a lower degree of self-reliance predicted higher levels in perceived benefits academic help-seeking. Limitations of the study and implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

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