Co-occurring presenting problems in African American college clients reporting racial discrimination distress.

Abstract

Ethnic minority students’ perceptions of racism may be associated with a host of secondary emotional, interpersonal, and academic difficulties that can nevertheless be the chief reason these students seek treatment at a counseling center. This study examined archival data from the Presenting Problems Checklist completed by 1555 African American clients seen at the counseling centers of 7 predominantly White Midwestern universities. Findings of ordinal correlations (Kendall’s tau-b) suggested that, for both men and women, perceived racial discrimination was associated with a broad range of co-occurring presenting problems, including academic (e.g., performance anxiety, adjustment to university), interpersonal (dating concerns), psychological/emotional (perfectionism, depression, suicide risk), and existential concerns (confusion in beliefs/values, spiritual/religious concerns). Separate analyses conducted for men and women suggested some sex differences; for example, irritability/anger had the strongest correlation with perceived discrimination for men, whereas for women the strongest correlation was for procrastination. Awareness of the full range of likely sequelae of racial discrimination could improve psychologists’ assessment and intervention efforts and lead to a better understanding of how perceived racism affects students’ functioning in multiple areas.