This correlation study examined academic performance of
White and ethnic minority college students over the
course of their first year at a predominantly White
Canadian institution. A battery of measures were
administered at the beginning, middle, and end of the
students' first year, and students' grades were
collected. Overall (and consistent with the presence of
stereotype threat for minorities), ethnic minority
students showed stronger ethnic identity, but also
higher levels of avoidance goals and lower levels of
perceived institutional academic support. Over the
course of the year, minority students showed more
pronounced increases in depression and anxiety compared
with White students, and end-of-year grades were lower
on average for minority than for Whites students. Higher
levels of anxiety and depression at mid-year predicted
lowered grades only for minority students, and stronger
ethnic identity predicted poorer performance for
minority but not White students. Higher levels of social
support produced improvements in the grades of ethnic
minority students (but did not affect Whites). These
results are suggestive that stereotype threat
experienced over the course of the first year in college
can affect performance of ethnic minority students.
Ethnic minority students showed greater psychological
distress as the year progressed, and distress harmed
academic performance. The strength of ethnic
identification and degree of social support strengthened
and attenuated these effects, respectively.
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