Assessing the Relationship Between Well-Being, Sense of Belonging, and Confidence in the Transition to College for Black Male Collegians

In February 2014, President Obama announced the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) initiative, which was developed to “address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color and ensure that all young people can reach their full potential” (White House, 2014). MBK focuses on six primary milestones, ranging from getting a healthy start and entering school ready to learn to graduating from high school ready for college and a career, as well as completing postsecondary education and training.

President Barack Obama has talked at length about MBK and how some populations, especially Black and Latino boys and young men, deal with difficult life circumstances and consequently get lost in the proverbial “cracks” due to insufficient support and guidance. For instance, President Obama shared:

That’s why, in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin verdict, with all the emotions and controversy that it sparked, I spoke about the need to bolster and reinforce our young men, and give them the sense that their country cares about them and values them and is willing to invest in them.

(White House, 2014, para. 22)

This short excerpt from Obama’s speech calls attention to the well-being (i.e., caring for them), sense of belonging (i.e., valuing them), and readiness of Black men to transition to college (and career); this nexus has been the subject of prior research (Jones, 2014). Several other reports and publications draw lines of connection between socioemotional well-being of young men of color through MBK initiatives and outcomes such as sense of belonging (or membership) and confidence in various life transitions (Johnson & Shelton, 2014; My Brother’s Keeper Initiative Task Force, 2015; Roman, 2015), although empirical research is warranted and testing of these relationships might strengthen aspects of MBK programming both nationally and locally. This was, in part, the focus of the present study.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to assess the relationship between measures of well-being, sense of belonging, and confidence in one’s transition to college for a small sample of Black male college students. A single research goal guided our analysis and provided useful insights for raising a set of practical recommendations that hold promise for improving educators’ work with such students.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Given the focus of this exploratory study, we found it necessary to consider three bins of knowledge about Black male collegians, specifically studies that provide insights about (a) well-being, (b) sense of belonging, and (c) college transitions. This literature review is organized in that way.

Black Males and Well-Being

Much of the extant literature regarding Black male collegians’ well-being focuses on factors that influence their psychological health and well-being. For example, Black male college students reported significantly higher minority status stress than Asian American and Latino peers at predominantly White institutions (PWIs; Cokley, McClain, Enciso, & Martinez, 2013). Also, stereotype threat, racial microaggressions, and racial battle fatigue all have a deleterious psychological influence on Black male collegians. Stereotype threat, defined as the threat of confirming a negative stereotype about one’s group, negatively influences Black students’ ability to perform in evaluative situations (Steele & Aronson, 1995). Moreover, Black male students (Strayhorn & Mullins, 2012) and Black male resident assistants (Harper et al., 2011) at PWIs often experience racist stereotypes and racial microaggressions that engender hyperconsciousness and varying degrees of anxiety and social alienation, to name a few. Furthermore, Black men are frequently subjected to anti-Black, male hyper-surveillance by police officers and other authority figures and subtle racial insults that induce significant psychological stress, anxiety, fear, and frustration, which has been referred to as “racial battle fatigue” (Smith, Allen, & Danley, 2007).

Despite many of the barriers that can stymie the psychological well-being of Black men, research indicates that social support is critical to improving Black men’s mental, physical, and emotional health, and well-being. For instance, socializing with friends and connecting with family members helps Black men...