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Purpose – To synthesize the literature on coping among adolescents of color in the U.S., we examine normative and circumstantial stressors, describe coping strategies, and summarize the literature on coping for the promotion of well-being among adolescents of color, including descriptive and intervention studies.

Methods/approach – We conducted an extensive review of the literature in four scientific databases (medline, CINAHL, ERIC, and PyschInfo) between July 2010 and June 2011 (key words: (minority) adolescent(s) (of color), cope/coping, stress (ors), and adaptation/psychological). Studies included in our review were peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and June 2011 that presented original data on the coping strategies and outcomes of adolescents of color (e.g., studies including a majority from underrepresented racial/ethnic communities) between the ages of 12 and 18.

Findings – We identified a total of 91 articles for inclusion, including 83 descriptive and 8 intervention studies. We use a matrix approach to compare descriptive studies by their purpose, study design, sample, targeted stressors, and outcomes. We then discuss the eight interventions we identified, highlighting the targeted population, intervention protocol/adaptation, feasibility/acceptability, and study outcomes.

Implications – The breadth and depth of research on coping among adolescents of color has improved significantly over the past decade, yet our review reveals several areas where further exploration is needed, including research on intra-group differences, validation of coping measures in diverse groups, measurement of the effectiveness of coping strategies over time, and most importantly, the translation of available knowledge on effective coping into culturally relevant, multifaceted interventions for adolescents and their families.

Based on the aforementioned data, the risk index (RI) identifies the percentage of all students of a given racial/ethnic group in a given disability category. The RI is calculated by dividing the number of students in a given racial/ethnic group served in a given disability category (e.g. LD) by the total enrollment for that racial/ethnic group in the school population. The 1998 OCR data revealed risk indices for all racial/ethnic groups that were higher for LD than those found for MR. The NRC (2002) report stated that, “Asian/Pacific Islander have placement rates of 2.23%. Rates for all other racial/ethnic groups exceed 6%, and for American Indian/Alaskan Natives, the rate reached 7.45%” (p. 47). The second index, odds ratio, provides a comparative index of risk and is calculated by dividing the risk index on one racial/ethnic group by the risk index of another racial/ethnic group. In the OCR and OSEP databases, the odds ratios are reported relative to White students. If the risk index is identical for a particular minority group and White students, the odds ratio will equal 1.0. Odds ratios greater than 1.0 indicate that minority group students are at a greater risk of identification, while odds ratios of less than 1.0 indicate that they are less at risk. Using the 1998 OCR placement rates, the LD odds ratio for American Indian/Alaskan Natives is 1.24, showing that they have a 24% greater likelihood of being assigned to the LD category than White students. Odds ratios for Asian/Pacific Islander are low (0.37). For both Black and Hispanic students, the odds ratios are close to 1.0. The third index, composition index (CI), shows the proportion of all children served under a given disability category who are members of a given racial/ethnic group and is calculated by dividing the number of students of a given racial or ethnic group enrolled in a particular disability category. Two underlying assumptions of the CI are that the sum of composition indices for the five racial/ethnic groups will total 100%, and baseline enrollment of a given racial/ethnic group is not controlled. More specifically, the CI may be calculated using the percent of 6- through 21-year old population with the racial/ethnic composition of IDEA and U.S. census population statistics. For example, if 64% of the U.S. population is White, 15% is Black, 16% is Hispanic, 4% is Asian, and 1% is American Indian these data not interpretable without knowing the percentage of the racial/ethnic composition with IDEA. Hypothetically, IDEA data may show that of the 6–21 year olds served under IDEA, 63% are White, 20% are Black, 14% are Hispanic, 2% are Asian, and 1% is American Indian. To calculate disproportionality, a benchmark (e.g. 10%) against which to measure the difference between these percentages must be used. If the difference between the two percentages and the difference represented as a proportion of the group’s percent of population exceeds +10, then the racial/ethnic group is overrepresented. Conversely, if the difference between the two percentages and the difference represented as a proportion of the group’s percent of the population is larger than −10, then, the racial/ethnic group is underrepresented.

In this chapter, we explore how our backgrounds as mixed-heritage Latinas influence our work as junior faculty members at a four-year public Hispanic-serving institution (HSI). Drawing on the conceptual lens of intersectionality, we address the question: how do our multiple social identities affect our identity development and socialization as faculty members?

As part of a critical mass of junior Latina scholars studying educational issues pertinent to the Latina community, we build a sense of community in what can be an isolated environment for women faculty of color. Using our own examples, we examine how two faculty members who might be considered “outsiders within” the Latina/o community draw on their Latinidad as a source of strength to employ their academic work in advancing social justice for Latina/os. Our identities have influenced us to take into account multiple social categories and social contexts in the study of educational phenomena. Serving as faculty within the institutional context of an HSI has distinctively influenced our socialization as new faculty.

We believe that this examination has implications for understanding how people can build cross-cultural collaborations and identify productively with communities that may not necessarily recognize them as “authentic.” Our exploration also offers insights for building a more inclusive academy, particularly for junior scholars from historically underrepresented backgrounds. Based on the themes identified in this research, we draw recommendations for university personnel interested in the recruitment and retention of Latina junior faculty. More broadly, this research has implications for developing support systems for faculty members who have been historically underrepresented in their fields and those who study marginalized populations.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the racial and ethnic aspects of the doctoral socialization to provide a meaningful insight into the belief systems and decision-making processes related to academic success and degree completion. This paper addresses a gap in literature focusing on the racial and ethnic aspects of the doctoral student experience as they relate to student agency.

This narrative research of four doctoral students uses a postmodern active interview method to foreground the role of a doctoral agency as manifested in the ways students make meaning of their experiences as members of the science, technology, engineering, agriculture and math academic community. A dialectical approach to the traditional socialization models provides the framework for understanding the meaning-making processes within a critical context of academia.

Findings present the intrinsic foundations for a doctoral agency and forces that shape key decision-making processes for doctoral students.

Implications for research and practice provide guidance for faculty, graduate school administrators and organizations interested in supporting degree completion for historically marginalized doctoral students.

This study examines doctoral socialization as a meaning-making process of racial/ethnic students in engineering and agricultural programs. Narrative research design provides depth into the individual experiences and the role of racial/ethnic histories in students’ socialization (meaning-making) processes in a predominantly White academic environment.

Structural mentoring barriers are policies, practices and cultural norms that collectively disadvantage marginalized groups and perpetuate disparities in mentoring. This study aims to better understand structural mentoring barriers at the postdoctoral training stage, which has a direct impact on faculty diversity and national efforts to retain underrepresented groups in research careers.

A diverse sample of postdoctoral scholars (“postdocs”) from across the USA were asked to participate in focus groups to discuss their training experiences. The authors conducted five 90-min focus groups with 32 biomedical postdocs, including 20 (63%) women and 15 (47%) individuals from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups (URG).

A social-ecological framework was used to categorize both the upstream and downstream manifestations of structural mentoring barriers, as well as mentoring barriers, overall. Notable structural barriers included: academic politics and scientific hierarchy; inequalities resulting from mentor prestige; the (over) reliance on one mentor; the lack of formal training for academic and non-academic careers; and the lack of institutional diversity and institutional mentor training. To overcome these barriers, postdocs strongly encouraged developing a network or team of mentors and recommended institutional interventions that create more comprehensive professional development, mentorship and belonging.

For postdoctoral scientists, structural mentoring barriers can permeate down to institutional, interpersonal and individual levels, impeding a successful transition to an independent research career. This work provides strong evidence for promoting mentorship networks and cultivating a “mentoring milieu” that fosters a supportive community and a strong culture of mentorship at all levels.

This study examined differences related to gender and racial/ethnic identity among academic researchers participating in the National Science Foundation’s “Innovation-Corps” (NSF I-Corps) entrepreneurship training program. Drawing from prior research in the fields of technology entrepreneurship and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, this study addresses the goal of broadening participation in academic entrepreneurship.

Using ANOVA and MANOVA analyses, we tested for differences by gender and minoritized racial/ethnic identity for four variables considered pertinent to successful program outcomes: (1) prior entrepreneurial experience, (2) perceptions of instructional climate, (3) quality of project team interactions and (4) future entrepreneurial intention. The sample includes faculty (n = 434) and graduate students (n = 406) who completed pre- and post-course surveys related to a seven-week nationwide training program.

The findings show that group differences based on minoritized racial/ethnic identity compared with majority group identity were largely not evident. Previous research findings were replicated for only one variable, indicating that women report lower amounts of total prior entrepreneurial experience than men, but no gender differences were found for other study variables.

Our analyses respond to repeated calls for research in the fields of entrepreneurship and STEM education to simultaneously examine intersecting minoritized and/or under-represented social identities to inform recruitment and retention efforts. The unique and large I-Corps national dataset offered the statistical power to quantitatively test for differences between identity groups. We discuss the implications of the inconsistencies in our analyses with prior findings, such as the need to consider selection bias.

Racial and ethnic diversity and the attendant challenges and benefits of multiculturalism in society are a worldwide phenomenon. As higher education is often the training ground for future social and political leaders, as well as the primary institution charged with the study of social problems, the educational benefits, and challenges of diversity in society are particularly relevant to institutions of higher learning. This chapter synthesizes the ongoing empirical research on the educational impact of racially and ethnically diverse university environments in a U.S. context and offers a framework of institutional practices based on that work to help administrators both respond to challenges and better harness-related benefits for all students.

Suicide is a public health crisis that differentially affects racial and ethnic groups. Suicide is a public health crisis that differentially affects racial and ethnic groups. American Indians had the highest per capita suicide rates (11.1 for females and 33.4 for males) followed by White Americans (8.0 for females and 29.8 for males; Centers for Disease Control, 2019). There is an emerging focus on racial/ethnic disparities in suicide prevention research. Prior studies suggest that more accepting attitudes toward suicide are associated with elevated suicide risk status. As such, this study aims to examine the association between racial/ethnic identity and three attitude domains: the right to die, interpersonal gestures and resilience.

General linear models were used to compare racial/ethnic groups in right to die, interpersonal gestures and resilience attitudes.

Participants who identified as Native American or Black were more likely than participants who identified as White, Bi/Multi-racial and Hispanic to hold attitudes supporting interpersonal motivations for suicide. Participants who identified as Black were more likely than participants who identified as White to hold right to die attitudes. Participants who identified as Black were more likely than White participants to report not viewing suicide as an option. These results suggest that racial/ethnic identity impacts attitudes toward suicide. People who identify as Native American or Black may be more likely to see suicide as acceptable for interpersonal reasons despite those who identify as Black being less likely to see suicide as an option. This study has implications for suicide prevention programs and interventions within racial/ethnic communities. Focusing interventions on attitudes supporting interpersonal motivations for suicide may increase effectiveness within Native American and Black communities.

This study aimed to fill a gap in suicide prevention research by examining associations between racial/ethnic identity and responses to a multidimensional attitude toward suicide measure. No prior study has compared attitudes across multiple domains and racial/ethnic groups.

The paper aims to examine literature on the issues of the pilot shortage in the United States Air Force and the demographic diversity dilemma within the United States Air Force pilot community and how it relates to the National Defense Strategy. In addition, there is an examination of current initiatives designed to combat these issues.

The paper opted for an exploratory review of 90 sources from 2012 to 2023 to examine the pilot shortage and pilot diversity issues within the United States Air Force. Three theories, the theory of generative interactions, the theory of cognitive diversity and the identity theory, were examined in relation to the barriers to the pilot diversity issue.

The paper provides emergent insights from the literature into the growing pilot shortage and diversity disparity found within the United States Air Force pilot community. These issues were associated with many barriers, including geographic disparity, socioeconomic status, culture, education, mentorship and life balance.

The current initiatives examined are new and, as such, warrant future research. In particular, what are the long-term projections for the youth flight programs? An examination of the effectiveness of improving the pilot shortage and pilot diversity within the Air Force should be further scrutinized in the coming years as new cadets enter pilot training after accession.

This paper highlights a need to further study the effectiveness of youth flight programs and other United States Air Force initiatives in improving pilot numbers and diversity.

The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in motivation for sport consumption within a diverse sample of college students with underrepresented identities.

Data were collected from 2,833 students at universities in a mid-major Division I FBS athletic conference through a survey. Two MANOVAs were conducted to examine group differences. While the first MANOVA compared a dominant group (White and non-LGBTQ+) to an underrepresented group (non-white race and/or LGBTQ+), the second MANOVA explored differences in five specific marginalized groups (Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, LGBTQ+, intersectional marginalized identities).

The results indicated that the dominant group scored significantly higher than the combined underrepresented group in four of the eight sport consumption motives examined. However, the comparison of individual underrepresented groups showed significant differences for all eight consumption motives between at least two underrepresented groups.

This study is the first attempt to compare group differences in motivation for sport consumption between specific racially marginalized groups, LGBTQ + community members, and intersectional racial and LGBTQ + identities within college athletics.