The Effects of Racial Discrimination on African American Students\u27 Mental Health

Racial discrimination is the highlighted problem and the different effects that it has on African American college students. This is important because these students may respond by using certain coping strategies that can be harmful to their mental health and overall health, in the long term. It is already known that racism has been a problem in the world, but has decreased over the years to that of subtle forms of racism, such as microaggressions. The goal of this study is to examine the discriminatory experiences of African American students at a predominantly white institution. Data will be collected on different coping mechanisms students engage in when these experiences happen and the impacts of discrimination and coping methods on mental health outcomes. Methodology that will be used will consist of Racism and Life Experiences Scale, Racism-Related Coping Scale, Mental Health Inventory questionnaire, and a Structured Cultural Interview. The first aim of this study is meant to examine how these students respond to racial discrimination and how that affects their mental stability. It is expected that students respond with avoidant coping strategies. The second aim consists of seeking to understand these college students’ perspectives of mental health treatments in response to racial discrimination. It is hypothesized that African American students will favor negative attitudes toward seeking mental health treatment. The final aim is to explore and gain understanding the college experience of an African American student here at Georgia Southern. It is expected that through the interview, common themes will be found to to help future research endeavors