Outreach to African American Males

Outreach to African American

Male College Students

Dwaine S. Campbell, Ph.D.Wayne State [email protected]

2008 National Outreach Conference for Counseling Centers

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Agenda

! Introduction and Overview

! The Experiences of African American Male Students

! Attitudes Towards Mental Health Services

! The Crisis Afflicting African American Male Students

! Recommendations to Address the Issue

! A Case Example . . . Brother’s Keeper

! Questions, Comments, and wrap-up

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Personal Stories

Michael Jamal Tony

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The Unique Experience of African American Menon Predominately White College Campuses

! Some African American men are excelling in college. A2005 article by Harper highlighted the experiences ofseveral high achieving African American male students.Collectively, the group had been awarded nearly$500,000 in merit-based scholarships and awards andwere campus leaders.

! It is important to keep in mind that African Americanmale students are a diverse group. The experiences ofthese few do not reflect the experience of the majority ofAfrican American men.

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! On college campuses across the nation, the AfricanAmerican male student population is the smallest incomparison to White males, White females, and AfricanAmerican females (Wild & Wilson, 1998).

! African American male college students experience asignificant number of difficulties and they do not succeedas well as others do on predominately white collegecampuses. Yet, African American males tend not toseek mental health services on white college campuses.

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! African American students on predominately Whitecampuses (PWC)

" perceive the campus more negatively (Gloria, et al. 1999).

" suffer culture shock their first year at a PWC" deal with pressure to conform to White standards" face discrimination" often feel that activities don’t relate to their interests

(Feagin and Sikes, 1995).

" feel marginalized (Gossett et al, 1998)

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African American Men on PWC:Concerns and Attitudes Toward Counseling

! 2005 Study on African American men at two mid-western collegecampuses. As part of the study they were asked about theirconcerns and attitudes about counseling. Both assessed with thePersonal Problem Inventory (PPI - Pounce and Atkinson, 1989)

! Consists of 40 items" On the first 20 items participants are asked to indicate to what

extent the items are a problem." On the next 20 questions participants indicate their willingness to

seek help from mental health professionals for each of theproblems

" Participants indicate their response on a 6 point Likert-typeScale: 1 -being, "Not a problem at all" to 6 being, "Verysignificant problem.“

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! Items on the PPI

1. General anxiety

2. Alcohol use

3. Shyness

4. Sexual functioning

5. Depression

6. Conflicts with parents

7. Speech anxiety

8. Dating difficulties

9. Career Choice

10. Insomnia

11. Drug use

12. Inferiority feelings

13. Test anxiety

14. Difficulties making friends

15. Trouble studying

16. Academic performance

17. Financial matters

18. Alienation –- not belonging

19. Adjustment to college

20. Loneliness/isolation

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! Top Concerns Experienced by Students

" Financial 85.3%

" Academic Performance 72.4%

" Trouble Studying 71.3%

" Shyness 62.6%

" Career Choice 62.1%

" Test Anxiety 57.8%

" General Anxiety 51.7%

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! Concerns participants were most willing to seek help for:

" Academic Performance 74.8%

" Financial 73.0%

" Career Choice 71.9%

" Test Anxiety 67.8%

" Trouble Studying 66.7%

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! Concerns participants were least willing to seek help for:

" Sexual Functioning 38.1%

" Drug Use 45.2%

" Dating Difficulties 45.6%

" Difficulties Making Friends 46.5%

" Loneliness/Isolation 48.7%

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! Summary:- Of the top 7 concerns noted by African American male

students, 5 were academic/financial in focus and 2 werepersonal/relational in focus.

- Most willing to seek help for academic and financialconcerns and least willing to seek help forpersonal/relational concerns.

- For some issues the percentage of African Americanmales willing to seek help was lower then the percentagethat indicated the issue was a problem (e.g., shyness,trouble studying and financial problems.

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Applied implications of this Study

! There may be a distinction between the problems AfricanAmerican male students experience and the problemsfor which they are willing to seek psychological help.

! African American men may be suffering and will not seekout psychological help (especially for personal/relationalconcerns like loneliness/isolation or difficulties makingfriends).

! Positive note, African American male students appearwilling to seek help for academic and financial concerns.

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Pulling It All Together . . . .

! As a result the aforementioned personal andenvironmental factors, differences can be seen ineducational attainment and graduation rates on PWC forAfrican American males compared to White students andAfrican American female students.

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The Crisis Afflicting African American Men onPredominately White College Campuses

! Headlines in the early 1990’s espoused good newsabout the increase in the number of African Americanstudents enrolled in college. In 1992, over 25 percent ofall African Americans ages 18 to 24 were enrolled inhigher education, compared to only 18 percent in twodecades earlier . . .

However, this increase reflected an improvement forAfrican American females, not males. In fact, rates formales had declined (U.S. Department of Education datacited in Slater, 1994).

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! Graduation rates for this population from 1977 to 1991reveal a depressing trend. Over a 13 year period noprogress was made increasing the number of AfricanAmerican males attaining college degrees. In fact, therewas a slight decline (National Center for Educational Statistics citedin Austin, 1996)

! In 2004 the American Council on Education reported thatthe African American male graduation rate is the lowestof any population.

! What does it all mean . . .

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! African American male college students (in general) arenot succeeding as well as others on predominately Whitecollege campuses. Despite the lack of success, thispopulation is not known for seeking services fromcounseling centers as a way of increasing their chancesfor success.

! Past research has found that students who utilizecounseling center services have better academicperformance and better rates of retention (Berry & Turner,

2000; Grogan, Kaddoura, Ochoa, and Schwitzer, 1993).

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Recommendations for Reaching AfricanAmerican Men

! Based on these results university counseling centersshould look at the ways their services are marketed andconsider the following:

" Bringing African American men in by using servicesthey find less threatening (e.g., career counseling andeducational counseling).

" Use material that reminds men they are not weak forseeking help

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Additional Recommendations

" Utilization of the seeking-mode of service delivery" Using an aggressive outreach approach" Having a diverse staff" Applying knowledge of multicultural counseling and black

psychology" Constructing positive vibes in the office environment" Developing relationships with the community and," Working to destigmatize the counseling process

(Based on the writings of June, 1986; Bonner 1997; Bell, 1996; Greer, 2005;Thorn & Sarata, 1998; and Okonji, Ososkie, & Pulos, 1996)

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Applying research and theory to Practice:Brother’s Keeper

! What is Brother’s Keeper?" Monthly seminar/luncheon organized for African American Men

at The UM Ann Arbor (Winter semester of 2007).

" Seminar involved African American men on campus gettingtogether over lunch to discuss topics pertinent to the successand retention of African American male college students.

" The men at the seminar came from all levels of the university(students, faculty, and staff).

" Topics of discussion included: The African American maleexperience on campus and African American Male identity.

! The Idea for seminar came out of research andobservations of what has worked and not worked overthe years.

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Brother’s Keeper ~ Development

! Establishing connections with the stakeholders" General students, student leaders and student groups" University departments that typically support African

American male students" African American male faculty and staff

! A needs assessment was completed with thestakeholders:

" Is there an interest in the seminar?" What concerns and topics should to be addressed?" When and where should meetings take place?" How should the meetings be structured?

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Brother’s Keeper ~ Development

! After connecting with stakeholders and assessing needs:

" Proposal developed with budget

" Funding secured (from several departments)

" Seminar topics were selected, and speakerschosen (with input from all stakeholders)

" Location for the meetings secured and dateschosen

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Brother’s Keeper ~ Publicity

! Advertisement for the Seminar# Student leaders and seminar facilitators developed material

# One tool used to get students to attend . . . Free Lunch

# Information was disseminated via:

! African American student groups (e.g., NAACP, BSA)

! Student leaders

! University departments and programs

! CAPS

! Email

! Social networking websites (Facebook)

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Brother’s Keeper ~ Successes andChallenges of the Seminar

! Successes of the Seminar

" Good student attendance and participation

" Student were able to normalize their struggles, andhear ideas for coping and improving their chance forsuccess.

" Students able to connect with various resources oncampus that they may have been hesitant to reachout to or may not have known about already.

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! Sub Topics Discussed:

" Being a role model for younger men and having older men asrole models.

" The importance of community

" Racism and ways to cope with it

" Adversity and perseverance (Coping and asking for help)

" What it means to be Black

" What it means to be a strong Black man

" Maturity and Accountability

" Support/Resources on Campus

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! Comments from Participants:" Enjoyed being able to build community with other Black men

" Liked meeting Black men from all levels of the university(“Generational Mix”)

" Great Conversation

" Liked the “realness” of the discussion

" Like the “thought provoking discussion.”

" Liked the relaxed atmosphere and interaction

" Liked the faculty and staff involvement

" Enjoyed hearing the different perspectives and personal stories

" Liked the suggestions being discussed

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! What participants took the from sessions:

" Plan to open up to other people of color, trust more

" Learned that they can count on others (support)

" Need to be more of an asset to other black men (support)

" Learned more about CAPS and Career Resources

" Plan to work with other organizations, rather than against them

" Importance of being open to using all their resources

" Importance of interdependence and community

" Importance of being involved with students

" The need to be consistent

" How to deal with negative people

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! Challenges

"Getting the program started

"Advertisement

"The Seminar was attended mostly by Juniors, Seniorsand Graduate students, very few 1st and 2nd yearstudents.

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! Challenges (comments from participants)

" Group size too large at times

" Participants desired more time to talk and interactwith others

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Suggested ideas for future research andprogramming include:

! More research on African American male culturalvalues and how they impact help-seeking attitude(exploring what factors keep these men fromconsidering counseling)

! Qualitative research, on the experiences of AfricanAmerican male students in college (exploring theirsuccesses and struggles and how these men cope).

! Continue using the seminar model to reach AfricanAmerican men who don’t come in for traditionalcounseling.

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Personal Stories (Revisited)

Michael Jamal Tony

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Questions, Discussion, Comments andFeedback . . .

What other ideas do you have for addressing thecurrent situation for African American men andapplying information from this presentation to youroutreach work?

What specifically can counseling centers do to makeservices more attractive for African American men?(important to attend to their multiple identities)?

What ideas do you have for improving Brother’sKeeper and other programs like it?

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Outreach to African American Males