Life Experiences of Black Student-Athletes in Revenue-Producing Sports: A Descriptive Empirical Analysis

Recent NCAA reform (Propositions 48 and 42) have made imperative a better understanding of the social and psychological factor affecting black student-athletes in revenue-producing sports. This study focused on the college experience of black student-athletes at 42 NCAA Division I schools in comparison to white student-athletes and other black college students in four areas: demographic and academic background; college life experience; mental health; and social support. Black student-athletes differed from both comparison groups across all four topic areas. Results of the comparison were discissed, and policy recommendations were presented. The present study examined data from a national representative sample of full-time undergraduate student-athletes at Division I institutions commissioned by the Presidents Commission of the NCAA. Forty-two of the 291 Division I institutions for 1987-1988 were randomly selected to participate. lnstitutions were relatively evenly distributed across the NCAA's geographic districts and regions and were representative on a variety of indicators of institutional and student body characteristics, as well as sports history and involvement. A total of 5123 student-athletes and students was sampled. This study focused on three subgroups within the sample: black student-athletes participating in revenue-producing sports n=847); white student-athletes participating in revenue-producing sports (n=1161); and a random sample of black students who were not members of an athletic team (n=511). The participants' informed consent was obtained. Questionnaires were administered in group of four or five students, with at least one data collector present. They had four categories: demographic and academic background, college life experiences, mental health status, and social support. Results suggested that black student-athletes enter the university with very different educational and socio-cultural backgrounds than both white student-athletes and other black students. Black student-athletes have significantly lower family income and less educated parents. Greater differences erre found when comparing black student-athletes with other black students than with white student-athletes. Black and white student-athletes do not differ in the importance they ascribe to earning a degree, their satisfaction in their relationship with coaches, and their overall satisfaction with life

Strong light-matter coupling in bulk GaN-microcavities with double dielectric mirrors fabricated by two different methods

Two routes for the fabrication of bulk GaN microcavities embedded between two dielectric mirrors are described, and the optical properties of the microcavities thus obtained are compared. In both cases, the GaN active layer is grown by molecular beam epitaxy on (111) Si, allowing use of selective etching to remove the substrate. In the first case, a three period Al0.2Ga0.8N / AlN Bragg mirror followed by a lambda/2 GaN cavity are grown directly on the Si. In the second case, a crack-free 2,mu m thick GaN layer is grown, and progressively thinned to a final thickness of lambda. Both devices work in the strong coupling regime at low temperature, as evidenced by angle-dependent reflectivity or transmission experiments. However, strong light-matter coupling in emission at room temperature is observed only for the second one. This is related to the poor optoelectronic quality of the active layer of the first device, due to its growth only 250 nm above the Si substrate and its related high defect density. The reflectivity spectra of the microcavities are well accounted for by using transfer matrix calculations. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3477450

The College Life Experiences of African American Women Athletes

The present study provides a descriptive analysis of four areas of African American women student athletes' college life experiences: academic performance; alienation and abuse; perceived social advantage as the result of athletics; and life satisfaction. Multivariate comparisons were made between the four areas of college life experiences of 154 African American women student athletes and 793 White women student athletes, 250 African American women nonathletes, and 628 African American men student athletes from a national sample of 39 NCAA Division I universities. Overall, African American women student athletes are performing adequately academically, integrating socially within the university, perceiving some social advantage as the result of being athletes, and are fairly satisfied with their life. Their experiences seem most consistent with African American women nonathletes. Results are discussed in the context of potential policy recommendations as well as the need for more research on this particular population.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44046/1/10464_2004_Article_423285.pd

A Longitudinal Examination of Racial Identity and Racial Discrimination Among African American Adolescents

This study tested the longitudinal association between perceptions of racial discrimination and racial identity among a sample of 219 African American adolescents, aged 14 to 18. Structural equation modeling was used to test relations between perceptions of racial discrimination and racial identity dimensions, namely racial centrality, private regard, and public regard at three time points. The results indicated that perceived racial discrimination at Time 1 was negatively linked to public regard at Time 2. Nested analyses using age were conducted and perceptions of racial discrimination at Time 2 were negatively linked to private regard at Time 3 among older adolescents. The findings imply that perceived racial discrimination is linked to negative views that the broader society has of African Americans

Racial discrimination and racial socialization as predictors of African American adolescents' racial identity development using latent transition analysis.

The current study examined perceptions of racial discrimination and racial socialization on racial identity development among 566 African American adolescents over three years. Latent class analyses were used to estimate identity statuses (Diffuse, Foreclosed, Moratorium and Achieved). The probabilities of transitioning from one stage to another were examined with latent transition analyses to determine the likelihood of youth progressing, regressing or remaining constant. Racial socialization and perceptions of racial discrimination were examined as covariates to assess the association with changes in racial identity status. The results indicated that perceptions of racial discrimination were not linked to any changes in racial identity. Youth who reported higher levels of racial socialization were less likely to be in Diffuse or Foreclosed compared to the Achieved group

The prevalence of perceived discrimination among African American and Caribbean Black youth.

The present study examined ethnic, gender and age differences in perceived discrimination, and the association between perceived discrimination and psychological well-being in a nationally representative sample of Black adolescents. Data are from the National Survey of African Life (NSAL), which includes 810 African American and 360 Caribbean Black youth. Results indicate that the majority of Black youth perceived at least one discriminatory incident in the previous year. Adolescents at later stages of development perceived more discrimination than those at earlier stages, and African American and Caribbean Black males perceived more discrimination than their female counterparts. Perceptions of discrimination were positively linked to depressive symptoms and negatively linked to self-esteem and life satisfaction, regardless of ethnicity. However, Caribbean Black youth appear to be more vulnerable when they perceive high levels of discrimination

Developmental Characteristics of African American and Caribbean Black Adolescents’ Attributions Regarding Discrimination

The present study examined discrimination attributions in the psychological well-being of Black adolescents. Findings are based on a representative sample of 810 African American and 360 Caribbean Black youth, aged 13 to 17, who participated in the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Youth completed measures of perceived discrimination, discrimination attributions, depressive symptoms, self-esteem and life satisfaction. Approximately half the youth attributed discrimination to race/ethnicity (43%), followed by age (17%), physical appearance (16.5%) and gender (7.5%) and there were no ethnic, gender or age differences regarding discrimination attributions. Key findings suggest that the association between perceived discrimination and psychological did not vary according to discrimination attribution, which implies that discrimination is harmful for Black youth regardless of the attribution

An intersectional approach for understanding perceived discrimination and psychological well-being among African American and Caribbean Black youth.

The present study examined whether combinations of ethnicity, gender and age moderated the association between perceived discrimination and psychological well-being indicators (depressive symptoms, self-esteem and life satisfaction) in a nationally representative sample of Black youth. The data were from the National Survey of African Life (NSAL), which includes 810 African American and 360 Caribbean Black adolescents. The results indicated main effects such that perceived discrimination was linked to increased depressive symptoms, and decreased self-esteem and life satisfaction. Additionally, there were significant interactions for ethnicity, gender and race. Specifically, older Caribbean Black females exhibited higher depressive symptoms and lower life satisfaction in the context of high levels of perceived discrimination compared to older African American males

The Role of Racial Identity and Implicit Racial Bias in Self-Reported Racial Discrimination: Implications for Depression Among African American Men

Racial discrimination is conceptualized as a psychosocial stressor that has negative implications for mental health. However, factors related to racial identity may influence whether negative experiences are interpreted as instances of racial discrimination and subsequently reported as such in survey instruments, particularly given the ambiguous nature of contemporary racism. Along these lines, dimensions of racial identity may moderate associations between racial discrimination and mental health outcomes. This study examined relationships between racial discrimination, racial identity, implicit racial bias, and depressive symptoms among African American men between 30 and 50 years of age (n = 95). Higher racial centrality was associated with greater reports of racial discrimination, while greater implicit anti-Black bias was associated with lower reports of racial discrimination. In models predicting elevated depressive symptoms, holding greater implicit anti-Black bias in tandem with reporting lower racial discrimination was associated with the highest risk. Results suggest that unconscious as well as conscious processes related to racial identity are important to consider in measuring racial discrimination, and should be integrated in studies of racial discrimination and mental health

Active Amplification of the Terrestrial Albedo to Mitigate Climate Change: An Exploratory Study

This study explores the potential to enhance the reflectance of solar insolation by the human settlement and grassland components of the Earth's terrestrial surface as a climate change mitigation measure. Preliminary estimates derived using a static radiative transfer model indicate that such efforts could amplify the planetary albedo enough to offset the current global annual average level of radiative forcing caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gases by as much as 30 percent or 0.76 W/m2. Terrestrial albedo amplification may thus extend, by about 25 years, the time available to advance the development and use of low-emission energy conversion technologies which ultimately remain essential to mitigate long-term climate change. However, additional study is needed to confirm the estimates reported here and to assess the economic and environmental impacts of active land-surface albedo amplification as a climate change mitigation measure.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures. In press with Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, N