ABSTRACT
We explore Black male high school students' perceptions of racial oppression, their internalization of racial oppression, and the impact of these experiences on their academic lives. Using constructivist grounded theory, 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted with Black adolescent boys. Results identified five core categories: (a) racial socialization, (b) understandings of and experiences with racism, (c) emotional and behavioral responses to racism, (d) internalization of racial oppression, and (e) school resistance and support needed. Based on these categories, we developed an ecological model of Black male students' experiences with racism and internalized racial oppression to elucidate existing interactional dynamics within students' ecological contexts. We discuss how schools and counselors can better support Black adolescent boys' positive development and ability to cope with racism and internalized racial oppression. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Subject(s)
Racism , Adaptation, Psychological , Adolescent , Humans , Male , Racial Groups , Racism/psychology , Schools , SocializationABSTRACT
This article describes the development and validation of the Internalized Racial Oppression Scale (IROS) for Black individuals in 2 studies using a total sample of 468 Black college students. The IROS is intended to measure the degree to which racial oppression is internalized and replicated by Black individuals in the United States. An exploratory factor analysis suggested a five-factor solution: Belief in the Biased Representation of History (BRH), Devaluation of the African Worldview and Motifs (DAW), Alteration of Physical Appearance (APA), Internalization of Negative Stereotypes (INS), and Hair Change (HC). Confirmatory factory analysis supported an adequate model fit of a four-factor model: BRH, APA, INS, and HC. All factors of the IROS were positively correlated with the Pre-Encounter subscale of the Racial Identity Attitude Scale (RIAS-B; J. E. Helms & T. A. Parham, 1996), and 4 of the factors were negatively correlated with the Immersion/Emersion subscale of the RIAS-B. Four factors of the IROS were negatively correlated with all subscales and total scores of the African Self-Consciousness Scale (J. A. Baldwin & Y. R. Bell, 1985). These results provide some support of the validity of the IROS.
