Racial Identity Attitudes, Womanist Identity Attitudes, and Self-Esteem in African American College Women Attending Historically Black Single-Sex and Coeducational Institutions

This study examines racial identity attitudes, womanist identity attitudes, and self-esteem of 111 African American college women attending two historically black higher educational institutions, one coeducational and one single-sex. the major findings indicate that preencounter and encounter attitudes of racial and womanist identity are correlated with each other, but negatively correlated with self-esteem. Follow up analyses revealed that womanist or racial identity attitudes do not mediate self-esteem. Suggestions for future research are given and implications for student affairs practice are discussed.