“My Mother’s Keeper”: The Effects

This qualitative study examined the parentification of eight Black American college females and its impact on their college experiences. Two 90-minute focus groups were conducted in order to gain insight about how these women overcame personal and family challenges while being away from their families of origin. Results highlight the push-pull factors experienced by the participants from both school and their family of origin and how they dealt with barriers to successful college completion. Keywords parentification, resilience, coping, parental involvement One of the most vital changes in American culture has been the evolution of the family structure during the past 50 years (Antecol & Bedard, 2005). Although there are shifting dynamics in the structure of many American fam-ilies, the importance and the role of the family remain constant, especially in Black families. One of the most important and strongest institutions in the Black community is the family (Franklin, 1997). Some scholars believe tha