Abstract:
Black students continue to endure racialized experiences in their pursuit of higher learning. Students’ educational experiences, especially at historically White institutions, are plagued by incidents of racial microaggressions and racial stress, which in turn result in students’ experiences of racial battle fatigue (RBF; e.g., Smith, Hung, & Franklin, 2011), which is the everyday psychophysiological effects associated with racial/ethnic minorities’ experiences as they fight racial microaggressions (e.g., Smith, Allen, & Danley, 2007). RBF has been linked to decreased academic performance and poor physical and mental health outcomes (e.g., Franklin-Jackson & Carter, 2007; Hotchkins, 2016; Smith et al., 2007) among Blacks, especially men (Smith et al., 2011). The aims of this dissertation were to use a quantitative descriptive, non-experimental design and collect data with Black graduate students (BGSs) in clinical and counseling programs to (a) identify their RBF experiences as students in class, advisees, and supervisees and (b) identify differences in RBF experiences across key demographic characteristics.
Self-report data were collected via online survey from 69 gender diverse, clinical and counseling graduate students, enrolled at colleges and universities across the United States, and who self-identified as Black/African American, Biracial Black, or Multiracial Black. One-way, within-subjects analysis of variance results showed that (a) BGSs’ psychological, physiological, and behavioral stress responses in their role as students in class were most impacted by racial microaggressions as compared to their roles as advisees and supervisees and (b) BGSs’ overall RBF in their role as students in class was most impacted by racial microaggressions as compared to their roles as advisees and supervisees; and (c) experiences of RBF for BGSs in clinical and counseling training programs varied by key demographic variables and roles. Findings suggest that there is a relationship between racial microaggressions and stress responses for gender diverse, BGSs in clinical and counseling programs and that this relationship varies, in part, by BGSs’ roles as students in class, advisees, and supervisees. Results suggest that role/context matter in the experiences of RBF for BGSs in clinical and counseling programs. The RBF framework has some utility for this student population. Study implications and future research directions are discussed.
