Factors Influencing Academic Success Among African American College Women: The Impact of African American Acculturation and Religiosity

Abstract

African Americans are historically an underresearched, underrepresented, and underserved population. Furthermore, academic success research has primarily focused on White students, thus creating questions as to the appropriateness of generalizing results to students of color. This study explored factors that influence academic success in African American college women, specifically examining the impact of African American acculturation and religiosity. A total of 129 self-identified Black/African American college women completed an online survey assessing level of acculturation, religious commitment, and academic college success as determined by GPA and a college student academic success inventory. Simple regression analysis revealed that the relationship between acculturation and GPA was found to be statistically indiscernible, as was the relationship between GPA and religiosity. Significant relationships were found between the independent variables, African American acculturation and religiosity, and certain domains of the success inventory utilized in this study. The results of this study add to the current and contradictory research involving factors that influence African American women college success. This study provides suggestions for future research on this topic.