The media is an important source of sexual information for young people, and exposure to media content influences how young people interpret and behave in sexual situations in real life. The media the youth attend to depicts alcohol use and sexual activities together, however, alcohol use is one of the major risk factors of sexual assaults, and…

The school-to-prison pipeline has plagued black males for many years. When school leaders apply disciplinary consequences such as in-school and out-of-school suspension, they inadvertently foster the push-out of black males by removing them from the classroom. When black males are removed from the classroom through suspension, the opportunities to…

Black men who have sex with men (MSM) on Historically Black College/University (HBCU) campuses face a unique set of challenges. In addition to being disproportionately affected by HIV, Black MSM are impacted by risk behavior, stigma, and environmental policies and practices that adversely influence their experiences. The purpose of this study was…

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine factors associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk among emerging adults in college aged 18-25 years. CVD risks that develop during this period often persist into adulthood making it an ideal time to target CVD prevention. The specific aims of this dissertation were to 1) explore perceptions…

The purpose of this study was to determine which of the three reading fluency subskills were most strongly correlated with reading comprehension in adolescent at-risk readers. The participants were 82 adolescent males (ages 13-19) who had been committed to a juvenile detention facility. Archival data from a two-year period was collected from a…

The word "crisis" has been used to describe the impact of the current educational system (K-12) upon the lives of African American males. Black males are the group most likely to be negatively stereotyped, the most likely to drop out of K-12, the most likely to be harshly punished, and the most likely to be labeled as a trouble maker.…

The majority of college students consume alcohol. Some college students consume heavily and these abusive patterns of alcohol use can be associated with substantial negative consequences. Drinking game participation has increased in popularity among college students and is associated with high levels of alcohol consumption and an increased…

The rise in the number of students found to have autism has been staggering over the past ten years. Accommodating these students effectively and appropriately in a public school is a challenge many teachers are deemed with, sometimes without adequate training. This study was aimed at affecting the underlying social misunderstandings inherent to…

Prior studies establish that Black males follow a disproportionate trajectory from school to prison when compared to other groups. This same research has documented that multiple risk factors operating within schools may contribute to this phenomenon, commonly known as the "school to prison pipeline." The specific focus of the present…

Nationally published reports on death rates for substance abuse (drug-alcohol related), violence (homicide), and risky sexual behaviors (HIV/AIDS) among African-American men are deeply concerning. The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between historical/developmental factors (masculine identity, racial identity, racism),…