Who is My Brothers’ Keeper? Stressors that African American Males Encounter during Their College Experience

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to address the stressors that African American males encounter during their college experiences, specifically at Predominantly White Colleges and Universities (PWCUs). At minimum, African American males carry the burden of two negative social identities as they move through society; one as a member of the African American race (i.e., anti-Black racism) and the other as a Black male (i.e., Black misandry and oppression). African American male collegians constantly confront negative stereotypes about their intellect and must excel academically despite racially biased course content and racially insensitive instructors. I created a 51 item questionnaire according to stressors (minority stress, racism-related stress, group based discrimination, and upbringing and socioeconomic stress) discussed in the literature. Findings from the study showed that African American male students did experience these stressors but the variance was scattered. Moreover, further research is needed to properly address the impact of stress on the academic success of African American males.