Latino Male College Students\u27 Identities, Psychological Stress, and Coping Mechanisms

Latino male college students’ identities impact their personal experiences, academic achievement, and well-being. This qualitative study uses a narrative inquiry approach to research Latino male college students’ racial and ethnic, gender, and academic identities and to investigate how these identities impact their psychological stress and the coping mechanisms they implement to manage their stress. Latino males undergo an identity development in which they engage in negotiating their gender identities in order to prioritize higher education academic requirements. When Latino males are determined to achieve a college degree, they are able to adjust their familism gender role expectations and shift their ethnic masculinity principles to fulfill their academic identities. Adjusting familism gender role expectations and shifting ethnic masculinity principles position these males to endure stress. Simultaneously, certain outcomes, such as racial profiling and microaggressions brought on by their racial and ethnic identities, impact their academic achievement and well-being. Some, but not all, Latino males seek professional counseling to manage their stress. More research must be done to investigate why some Latino males shift their ethnic masculinity principles to overcome academic challenges and why some are able to adjust their familism gender role expectations to function independently in order to focus on academics