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The Impact Of Ethnic/Racial Identity And Social Support On The Acting White Accusation Among A Clinical Sample Of Black Adolescents

Pugh, Dana Maurice
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8328-1711
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1524838234867879

Abstract Details

2018, MA, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences.
It is during adolescence many youth are subject to close scrutiny by peers. This scrutiny sometimes results in negative evaluations. The acting White accusation, which is operationally defined here as an interpersonal indictment made against a Black adolescent, asserting that the adolescent is not Black enough, has been documented as early as elementary school. However, existing research indicates it is most salient and first likely to occur during early adolescence. “Acting White” is one of the most negative accusations a Black adolescent can hurl at or receive from another (Neal-Barnett, Stadulis, Singer, Murray, & Demmings, 2010). After nearly 30 years of sparse research, particularly in the area of quantitative research, we still know very little about the psychological impact of the accusation. As such, this study seeks to investigate the association between being accused of “acting White” and the experience of bother among a clinical sample of adolescents. Additionally, this study investigates potential relationships between the level of bother associated with the accusation, internalizing or bottling-up behaviors (e.g., anxiety and mood disorders) and externalizing or acting out behaviors (e.g., disruptive, impulse-control and conduct disorders). Lastly, the current study explores the potential for ethnic-racial identity and social support to act as protective or risk factors relative to this association. Data from a sample of Black adolescents are evaluated using paired t-tests to examine whether or not adolescents endorsed social items of the AWA more frequently and as more bothersome than academic items. Additionally, bivariate correlational and linear regression analyses are used to examine relationships between bother and psychopathology, ethnic/racial identity and social support.
Angela Neal-Barnett, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Robert Stadulis, Ed.D. (Committee Member)
Josefina Grau, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
John Dunlosky, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
50 p.
African Americans; Clinical Psychology
Acting White Accusation; ethnic-racial identity; social support; Black adolescents

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Pugh, D. M. (2018). The Impact Of Ethnic/Racial Identity And Social Support On The Acting White Accusation Among A Clinical Sample Of Black Adolescents [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1524838234867879

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Pugh, Dana. The Impact Of Ethnic/Racial Identity And Social Support On The Acting White Accusation Among A Clinical Sample Of Black Adolescents. 2018. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1524838234867879.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Pugh, Dana. "The Impact Of Ethnic/Racial Identity And Social Support On The Acting White Accusation Among A Clinical Sample Of Black Adolescents." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1524838234867879

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1524838234867879
367
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This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.