Racism in Context: An Exploration of Where and How Black Adolescent Males Respond to Racism

Objectives: This qualitative investigation examined where Black adolescent males experience racism and how they respond to racism in those identified contexts. Methods: A sample of 10 Black adolescent males (M age = 15.7) from an urban metropolitan area completed semi-structured individual interviews regarding the contexts where they have experienced racism and how they chose to respond to racism in those contexts. Interviews were coded using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results: Results indicated that participants experienced racism in five different contexts: school, store, law enforcement, online, and travel. Participants also reported that they have two common responses to racism: shrug it off and that gut feeling. Participants highlighted that they overwhelmingly shrug it off in 4 of the 5 contexts while law enforcement caused them to have that gut feeling. Conclusions: Implications for practice and programming to support the mental health of Black adolescent males are discussed.

Author

• Harrison, Aubrey J.

Language

• en

Keyword

• Racism
• Black men
• Coping
• Context
• Black adolescents
• racial discrimination

Date created

• 2022

Type of Work

• Dissertation

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• Clinical Psychology

Degree

• Ph.D.

Advisor

• Lambert, Sharon F.

Committee Member(s)

• Le, Huynh-Nhu
• Molock, Sherry D.
• Ganiban, Jody M.
• Howard, Lionel

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/9p290b031