Anti-Black racism, self-esteem, and the adjustment of White students in higher education.

The present study examined the negative consequences of racism to White university students. It was hypothesized that anti-Black racism would impact students' self-esteem, college social adjustment, and college personal-emotional adjustment above and beyond academic adjustment. It was further expected that self-esteem would mediate the relationship between racism and college adjustment. In a White university student sample, students reporting attitudes reflecting a combination of overtly racist and egalitarian attitudes toward Blacks also reported lower levels of self-esteem and college social adjustment. Furthermore, self-esteem mediated the relationship between anti-Black racism and college social adjustment. Findings inform the multidimensional nature of negative consequences of racism to Whites in higher education. A discussion of implications from this research with regard to the creation of diverse and culturally sensitive university environments is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)