10 annotated bibliographies

Academic Achievement and College Persistence of African American Students With Trauma Exposure

Güler Boyraz Louisiana Tech University

Sharon G. Horne University of Massachusetts Boston

Archandria C. Owens University of Memphis

Aisha P. Armstrong Tennessee State University

This study examined the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology and college persistence in African American 1st-year students from 2 universities. Of the 569 participants, 423 (74%) reported lifetime exposure to traumatic events; 20.6% of these students met the criteria for PTSD. For trauma-exposed females, after controlling for academic and nonacademic factors, higher levels of PTSD symptomatology in the 1st semester of college were associated with increased likelihood of leaving college prior to the end of the 2nd year of college; the relationship between the 2 variables was partially mediated by 1st-year grade point average (GPA). PTSD symptomatology was not significantly associated with academic achievement or persistence for males. For trauma-exposed females, in addition to PTSD symptomatology, being a student at a predominantly White institution and entering college with low high school GPA were identified as risk factors for low academic achievement and college dropout; on the other hand, involvement in on-campus activities and higher levels of perceived academic integration in the 1st semester were associated with higher 1st-year GPA, which, in turn, was related to increased likelihood of remaining in college. Clinical implications and strategies to support students with trauma exposure and PTSD are discussed.

Keywords: trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder, academic achievement, college persistence, African American college students

The transition to college is an important milestone for many young people. Although beginning college is often a positive development in students’ lives, the transition to college does not come without its own stressors—particularly for students who have been exposed to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) or have symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Banyard & Cantor, 2004). Indeed, most students enter college with a history of at least one PTE, with many reporting lifetime exposure to mul- tiple PTEs, which increases the potential for developing PTSD (e.g., Bernat, Ronfeldt, Calhoun, & Arias, 1998; Frazier et al., 2009; Read, Ouimette, White, Colder, & Farrow, 2011). For ex- ample, Read et al. (2011) found of 3,014 incoming college stu-

dents, 66% reported lifetime exposure to at least one Criterion A trauma listed in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Dis- orders (4th ed., text revision; DSM–IV–TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000); 45% reported multiple Criterion A events, and approximately 9% of the sample (13.3% of the trauma-exposed sample) met the criteria for a PTSD diagnosis.

Criterion A includes experiencing or witnessing an event that involves actual or perceived threat of death or serious injury or a threat to the physical integrity of oneself or others as well as a response of fear, helplessness, or horror (American Psychiatric Association, 2000, p. 467); such events can include life- threatening accidents or illness, sexual and physical assault, rob- bery, and being kidnapped. When trauma is defined broadly to include a wider range of PTEs, such as having an abortion or miscarriage, college students report higher rates of lifetime expo- sure to PTEs (e.g., 85% in Frazier et al., 2009; 84% in Vrana & Lauterbach, 1994).

Trauma exposure and PTSD have been found to play a role in whether students remain enrolled in college. Duncan (2000) found that PTSD symptoms in the first year predicted college enrollment in the senior year, with those with greater PTSD symptomatology less likely to enroll in their senior year. In addition, being exposed to multiple traumas in childhood (i.e., more than one form of childhood maltreatment) was associated with increased likelihood of dropping out of college (Duncan, 2000). Similarly, greater trauma exposure was related to emotional and academic adjust-

This article was published Online First August 19, 2013. Güler Boyraz, Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences,

Louisiana Tech University; Sharon G. Horne, Department of Counseling and School Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston; Archandria C. Owens, Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Re- search, University of Memphis, Aisha P. Armstrong, Department of Psy- chology, Tennessee State University.

This research was supported by funding from a Tennessee Board of Regents Diversity Research Grant.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Güler Boyraz, Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Louisiana Tech University, Woodard Hall, Room 118, Ruston, LA 71272. E-mail: gboyraz@latech.edu

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Journal of Counseling Psychology © 2013 American Psychological Association 2013, Vol. 60, No. 4, 582–592 0022-0167/13/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0033672

582

ment difficulties in college (Banyard & Cantor, 2004). Clearly, trauma exposure and PTSD can increase the risk of adjustment and academic difficulties among students.

African American college students report higher rates of trauma exposure and PTSD in comparison to other groups (e.g., Ai et al., 2011; McGruder-Johnson, Davidson, Gleaves, Stock, & Finch, 2000). The differential vulnerability model (e.g., Ulbrich, Warheit, & Zimmerman, 1989) suggests that African Americans, especially those from a lower socioeconomic class, are disadvantaged for two reasons: First, they are more likely to live in at-risk areas and thus will be exposed to greater numbers and more severe types of PTEs (differential exposure). Second, they are less likely to have access to financial and social resources; therefore, they are more vulnerable to the impact of negative life events regardless of the level of exposure (differ- ential vulnerability). Although few studies have focused on trauma exposure and PTSD among African American college students, the results of such studies have generally supported the differential vulnerability hypothesis, finding heightened risk of both trauma exposure and PTSD for African American students (e.g., Ai et al., 2011; McGruder-Johnson et al., 2000). For example, African American college students reported greater lifetime exposure to interpersonal violence and had higher rates of lifetime diagnosis of PTSD than European American and Mexican American college students (McGruder- Johnson et al., 2000). In another study of the risk and protective factors among African American and White college students affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Ai, et al. (2011) reported significantly higher rates of PTSD in African Ameri- can students than in White students. Providing further support for the differential vulnerability hypothesis, African Americans reported higher levels and more severe types of hurricane- related stressors (e.g., financial difficulties, additional health care needs) than Whites; these stressors were associated with increased PTSD symptoms (Ai el at., 2011).

African American college students also report greater per- ceived racial hostility, faculty racism, unequal treatment by faculty and staff, and more pressure to conform to racial ste- reotypes than White and Latina/o students (Ancis, Sedlacek, & Mohr, 2000), suggesting that trauma-exposed African American students may face additional stressors and PTEs during college that may place them at higher risk for academic difficulties due to increased distress. Although these risk factors—specifically, the high prevalence of trauma exposure and PTSD among African Americans—may be one of the contributing factors to the racial disparity in college graduation rates (e.g., see Lynch & Engle, 2010, for a discussion on racial gap in college grad- uation rates), it appears that no study to date has focused on trauma exposure or PTSD symptomatology as potential predic- tors of college dropout among African American students. In the present study, we focused on college persistence into the second year of college of African American students who reported lifetime exposure to PTEs.

First Year College Adjustment and College Dropout

The experience of the first year of college is particularly important; most of the dropout from four-year institutions oc- curs during the first year of college (Tinto, 1993). According to

the 2012 annual report of American College Testing (ACT), the mean first-to-second-year retention rates ranged from 65.2% (public universities offering only bachelor’s degree programs) to 80.2% (private universities offering bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees) among four-year institutions (ACT, Inc., 2012). Clearly, the adjustment of students in the first year is critical to continued enrollment leading to degree completion.

Tinto’s (1975, 1993) interactionalist model of student departure suggests that student persistence and retention are greatly deter- mined by students’ precollege characteristics (e.g., family back- ground, academic preparedness, and prior skills and abilities) as well as their experiences in college. His work has emphasized the role of three major college variables in predicting retention and persistence: social integration, academic integration, and commit- ment to both the institution and to graduation. Social integration refers to the degree of congruence between a student and the social environment of the university and includes interactions with fac- ulty and administrators, informal peer group interactions, and participation in extracurricular activities. Academic integration is the degree to which a student is integrated into the intellectual climate of the university and includes students’ academic perfor- mance, as well as their appraisals of the academic environment of the university. Commitment refers to the degree to which a student feels committed to an institution and the goal of college gradua- tion.

Institutional integration variables (e.g., academic and social integration) play an important role in the achievement and persis- tence of African American students. For example, social involve- ment/engagement was found to be positively related to perceived intellectual development (Cabrera, Nora, Terenzini, Pascarella, & Hagedorn, 1999) and persistence among African American stu- dents (see Carter, 2006, for a review). Academic integration into the university was significantly and positively related to college GPA in African American males (Reid, 2013) and college persis- tence in U.S.-origin Black students (Tauriac & Liem, 2012). Like- wise, African American students who reported higher levels of institutional commitment in the first semester of college were more likely to remain enrolled in their second year of college (Cabrera et al., 1999). In addition to these variables, both high school GPA (Cabrera et al., 1999) and first-year college GPA predicted college persistence among African American students (Allen, 1999; Ca- brera et al., 1999).

African American students are less likely to enroll in a four-year institution, and those who do are less likely to earn a bachelor’s degree from a four-year institution than are Whites; national grad- uation rates of African American students are approximately 20% lower than those of their White peers (e.g., Lynch & Engle, 2010). In addition, African American students attending predominantly White institutions have reported lower academic achievement, less positive relationships with their professors, lower levels of social involvement (Allen, 1992), and more academic stressors (Watkins, Green, Goodson, Guidry, & Stanley, 2007) than students attending historically Black colleges and universities; therefore, African American students at predominately White institutions may be at greater risk of experiencing difficulties in emotional and academic adjustment in college than their peers who may have additional social and academic support at historically Black colleges and universities.

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583TRAUMA AND COLLEGE PERSISTENCE

GPA as a Mediator of the PTSD Symptomatology– College Persistence Relationship

Considering the higher rates of trauma exposure and noncom- pletion rates among African American students, it may be that African Americans who begin college with a history of PTEs may experience challenges in navigating college and may have diffi- culty remaining in college. Some of the effects of PTSD symp- tomatology on college persistence may occur through academic achievement; students who enter college with PTSD symptomatol- ogy may have a challenging time achieving academically, which in turn may decrease the odds of remaining in college. Providing support for the potential mediating effect of academic achievement on the relationship between PTSD symptomatology and college dropout, previous findings suggest that trauma exposure is related to both academic achievement (e.g., Nikulina, Widom, & Czaja, 2011; Voisin, Neilands, & Hunnicutt, 2011) and college dropout (e.g., Duncan, 2000), and that academic achievement in the first year of college is a significant predictor of second-year enrollment for both White and minority students (Allen, 1999; Cabrera et al., 1999).

Voisin et al. (2011) found that among African American high school students, community violence exposure was significantly and negatively correlated with GPA and that the relationship between the two variables was mediated by aggressive behavior for females; on the other hand, these relationships were not sig- nificant for males. These gender differences in Voisin et al.’s (2011) study may be due to the relatively small sample size of males (i.e., 219 males vs. 344 females). Or trauma exposure may indeed have more detrimental effects on the academic achievement of African American females than on that of African American males.

Although no research to date has explored the potential gender differences in the relationship of PTSD and college success and persistence of African American college students, there are find- ings that suggest gender differences in vulnerability to traumatic events. For example, women are at greater risk for PTSD (see Tolin & Foa, 2006, for a review) and significantly more likely to experience interpersonal trauma (e.g., sexual assault, physical and sexual abuse, domestic violence, and molestation; Lilly & Valdez, 2012) as well as betrayal trauma, which is perpetrated by a close other (Tang & Freyd, 2012) than men, who are more likely to experience or witness physical injury or violence (e.g., Bernat et al., 1998; Vrana & Lauterbach, 1994). Experiencing PTEs involv- ing a high degree of betrayal is a risk factor for increased PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms (Tang & Freyd, 2012). In addition, Tolin and Foa (2002) reported that females were more likely than males to blame themselves for traumatic events and more likely to hold negative beliefs about the self (e.g., the belief that they are incompetent) and the world (e.g., the belief that the world is a dangerous place) after a traumatic event. Viewing the self and the world in a negative light can potentially affect many areas of trauma-exposed women’s lives including their beliefs in their ability to succeed, academic goals, and performance. How- ever, it is unknown how PTSD symptomatology affects African American males’ and females’ academic success and college per- sistence.

Present Study

The primary focus of this study was to explore the relationship between PTSD symptomatology and college persistence among African American students. More specifically, we examined whether the relationship between PTSD symptoms in the first semester of college and second-year enrollment was mediated by first-year academic GPA, as well as whether the hypothesized relationships in the mediation model were the same for male and female students. Although previous findings have suggested gen- der differences in vulnerability to traumatic events (see Tolin & Foa, 2006), there is a lack of support for gender differences in the relationship between PTSD symptoms and college persistence; therefore, we hypothesized that the proposed relationships would not be significantly different for males and females. We used high school GPA, institution type (i.e., predominantly White institu- tions vs. historically Black colleges and universities), and first- year college experiences (i.e., social integration, academic integra- tion, commitment, and participation in on-campus organizations or activities) as covariates in our analyses due to previously demon- strated relationships between these variables and college persis- tence.

We hypothesized that (a) after controlling for covariates, PTSD symptomatology in the first semester of college would be signif- icantly and negatively associated with first-year academic GPA and second-year enrollment, (b) first-year academic GPA would mediate the relationship between PTSD symptomatology in the first semester of college and second-year enrollment, and (c) the pathways in the hypothesized model would be the same for female and male participants.

Method

Participants

Data were collected from first-year African American students attending two universities in the southeastern United States: an historically Black institution and a predominantly White institu- tion. Data were collected at three time points: Time 1 (a survey in fall 2010); Time 2 (spring 2011 cumulative GPA and enrollment information); and Time 3 (spring 2012 cumulative GPA and en- rollment information). Of the 765 African American students who participated in the study at Time 1 (T1), 134 of them who did not complete the survey appropriately (e.g., they answered less than 80% of the questions on study instruments, or they had missing values on demographic questions), and data from 18 of them who were not first-year students were removed. Among the remaining 613 participants, 44 did not give permission to access their aca- demic records. Therefore, data collected from 569 students (40.4% [N � 230] from the historically Black institution; 59.6% [N � 339] from the predominantly White institution) were used in the present study. Our sample included 18.80% of the first-year African American student population at the historically Black college and 30.32% of the first-year African American population at the pre- dominantly White institution.

Approximately three quarters of the sample (N � 423, 74.3%) reported lifetime exposure to at least one PTE on the Stressful Life Events Screening Questionnaire (SLESQ; Goodman, Corcoran, Turner, Yuan, & Green, 1998); only data gathered from these 423

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584 BOYRAZ, HORNE, OWENS, AND ARMSTRONG

participants were included in the main analyses (42.3% [N � 179] from the historically Black college; 57.7% (N � 244) from the predominantly White institution). Most of the participants (65%, N � 275) were females, and 35% (N � 148) were males, which is similar to the African American student body at both institutions (e.g., 62.37% female at the historically Black institution; 58.12% female at the predominantly White institution). The mean age of the participants was 18.42 years (SD � 1.48). Exposure to one PTE was reported by 142 (33.6%) of the participants; exposure to multiple PTEs was reported by 281 (66.4%). The number of lifetime traumas ranged from one to 10 (M � 2.88, SD � 2.03).

Only 13% (N � 55) of the participants indicated that they sought professional psychological help for the PTEs they reported; 13.9% (N � 59) indicated that they had accessed the services offered by the counseling center of the university. In the open- ended responses to this question, only nine participants indicated that they went to the counseling center for psychological counsel- ing; the remaining participants reported going there for other reasons (e.g., academic advising, financial aid, and learning re- sources). Most of the participants reported that they received financial aid (96.2%, N � 407) and did not work on or off campus (N � 266, 62.9%). For residency status, 59 (13.9%) participants reported their residency status as out of state, 235 (55.6%) as in state from a local community, and 129 (30.5%) as in-state from another city.

Instruments

Demographic questionnaire. Participants completed a demo- graphic questionnaire that included questions about personal char- acteristics, their academic background (e.g., high school GPA), and their experiences in college (e.g., whether they received fi- nancial aid, participated in on-campus activities, and accessed campus resources, such as the counseling center). High school

GPA was measured with a scale ranging from 1 (2.00–2.25) to 8 (3.76–4.00). To measure participation in noncourse campus ac- tivities or organizations, the students were asked to indicate (0 � no, 1 � yes) whether they regularly attended meetings of any campus organization or participated in noncourse campus activi- ties. A follow-up question asked participants to indicate the type of organizations and activities they attend.

The Stressful Life Events Screening Questionnaire (SLESQ; Goodman et al., 1998). The SLESQ is a self-report instrument that assesses lifetime exposure to Criterion A1 traumatic events. It assesses 13 types of events (see Table 1 for a list of these events). For each stressful event, we asked participants to indicate whether they experienced the event (0 � yes, 1 � no). Although the original SLESQ included several follow-up questions for each stressful event (e.g., frequency and duration of the event, type of injuries that resulted from traumatic events), we did not include these questions in order to reduce the length of the survey and minimize nonresponse bias. In order to determine the “number of lifetime traumas,” we took the sum of participants’ responses to the SLESQ items. In a college student sample, convergent validity of the SLESQ was demonstrated by the correlation (r � .77) between number of events reported on the SLESQ and number of events reported in an interview that was conducted by a trained clinical interviewer 2 weeks later. Concurrent validity was sup- ported by consistency in the prevalence rates of exposure to traumatic events obtained by the SLESQ reported in several other studies. Test–retest reliability over a 2-week interval was .89 (Goodman et al., 1998).

The Persistence/Voluntary Dropout Decisions Scale (P/ VDD; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1980). The P/VDD is a 30-item self-report questionnaire that assesses persistence attitudes of col- lege students. Questions are rated on a 5-point scale (1 � strongly disagree, 5 � strongly agree); higher scores reflect more positive

Table 1 Type of Traumatic Events by Gender

Type of traumatic event Total sample (N � 423)

N (% total sample) Male (N � 148)

N (% within gender) Female (N � 275)

N (% within gender) Chi-square (df � 1)

1. Life-threatening illness 68 (16.1) 26 (17.6) 42 (15.3) 0.38 2. Life-threatening accident 135 (31.9) 61 (41.2) 74 (26.9) 9.06��

3. Robbery or mugging/physical force or weapon 61 (14.4) 40 (27.0) 21 (7.6) 29.31���

4. Death of a loved one—accident, homicide, or suicide 206 (48.7) 66 (44.6) 140 (50.9) 1.24 5. Forced intercourse, or forced oral or anal sex 40 (9.5) 5 (3.4) 35 (12.7) 9.95��

6. Inappropriate sexual touch or sexual coercion 83 (19.6) 10 (6.8) 73 (26.5) 23.89���

7. Physical abuse in childhood—by a caregiver or another person 44 (10.4) 20 (13.5) 24 (8.7) 2.37

8. Physical abuse in adulthood—by a romantic partner, date, family member, or someone else 46 (10.9) 11 (7.4) 35 (12.7) 2.78

9. Emotional abuse from a parent, romantic partner, or family member 124 (29.3) 32 (21.6) 92 (33.5) 6.50�

10. Being threatened with a weapon/other than experiences already covered 99 (23.4) 52 (35.1) 47 (17.1) 17.48���

11. Being present when another person was killed, seriously injured, or physically or sexually assaulted 158 (37.4) 75 (50.7) 83 (30.2) 17.76���

12. Serious injury or threat to life/other (e.g. military combat or living in a war zone) 60 (14.2) 30 (20.3) 30 (10.9) 6.92��

13. Experienced a frightening or horrifying situation, or felt extremely helpless/other 94 (22.2) 38 (25.7) 56 (20.4) 1.57

� p � .05. �� p � .01. ��� p � .001.

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585TRAUMA AND COLLEGE PERSISTENCE

persistence attitudes. The P/VDD includes two subscales that measure academic integration: a seven-item scale measuring stu- dents’ perceived academic/intellectual development (e.g., “I am satisfied with the extent of my intellectual development since enrolling in this university”) and a five-item scale measuring students’ perceptions of faculty concern for teaching and student development (e.g., “Few of the faculty members I have had contact with are generally interested in students”). These two scales were combined to create an academic integration variable. We measured students’ perceived integration to the social environment of the university by combining the Social Integration subscales of the P/VDD: a seven-item scale assessing perceived quality of the relationships with student peers (e.g., “The student friendships I have developed at this university have been personally satisfying”) and a five-item scale measuring perceived quality of the nonclass- room interactions with faculty (e.g., “My nonclassroom interac- tions with faculty have had a positive influence on my career goals and aspirations”). Students’ commitment to the university and the goal toward graduation were measured by the six-item Commit- ment subscale of the P/VDD (“e.g., “It is important for me to graduate from college”; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1980; 1983). For the present study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the total scale was .80; subscale coefficients ranged from .60 (commitment) to .78 (social integration).

The PTSD Checklist–Civilian Version (PCL–C; Weathers, Litz, Herman, Huska, & Keane, 1993). The PCL–C is a self- report instrument that assesses 17 symptoms (i.e., re-experiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal) associated with PTSD as defined in the DSM–IV–TR (APA, 2000). Participants indicate the degree to which they have been bothered by each problem (e.g., “Repeated, disturbing memories, thoughts, or images of a stressful experience from the past”) during the last month using a 5-point scale (1 � not at all, 5 � extremely). In the present study, we measured PTSD symptoms with respect to generic PTEs rather than a specific PTE. The PCL–C scores range from 17 to 85; higher scores indicate higher symptom severity. A cutoff criteria of 50 has been sug- gested by the authors for the diagnosis of PTSD. The reliability and validity of the PCL have been supported in several studies with diverse samples (see Norris & Hamblen, 2004). For this study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the total scale was .90.

Procedures

Time 1 (T1). Questionnaire data were collected early in the students’ first semester (i.e., between the end of September and late November). A convenience sampling method was used. In order to increase the generalizability of our findings, we tried to access first-year students from all colleges at both institutions. For example, we contacted the instructors of the classes that are required for all first-year students (e.g., English classes, orientation classes) and scheduled a time to visit these classes and collect data via paper-based surveys. At the predominantly White institution, the provost’s office sent out an e-mail to all first-year students encouraging them to participate, and the surveys were made avail- able online at both universities. In addition, recruitment at events aimed at African American students were conducted at the pre- dominantly White institution, and one of the research team mem- bers recruited at two residence halls with large African American populations. Most of the participants completed the paper-based

surveys (95.3%, N � 542); only 27 (4.7%) completed the online surveys.

Participants gave informed consent first for general study par- ticipation and then for granting access to their GPA and registra- tion information through both institutions (i.e., informed consent as described in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 1974). Then, participants were instructed to complete the measures in one of two orders. Data were collected from students who were in their first year of college; however, the focus of the current study was on African American freshmen, and only their responses were included in the study. After the data collection was com- pleted, 10 students who were selected through a drawing were mailed a $50 gift card.

Time 2 and Time 3. After T1 data collection was completed, we identified the students who gave permission to access their academic records and obtained their GPA and enrollment infor- mation for their first and second years in college. Students’ cumu- lative GPA at the end of the spring semester of their first year (T2) was used as a measure of first-year academic achievement. Second-year enrollment (spring semester of the second year) was used as a measure of college persistence (T3). It is important to note that 38 students (11 males and 27 females) did not enroll after their first semester; therefore, we used their first-semester GPA as their cumulative GPA for their first year.

Results

Preliminary analyses indicated that the mean PCL–C scores of trauma-exposed participants were significantly higher (N � 423, M � 2.14, SD � 0.83) than those who did not report trauma exposure (N � 146, M � 1.74, SD � 0.74), t(567) � �5.10, p � .001. Because the purpose of this study was to explore college persistence among trauma-exposed African American students, only participants who reported lifetime exposure to at least one PTE on the SLESQ (N � 423) were included in the analyses. Among 423 trauma-exposed participants, 384 (90.8%) of them did not have missing data; the remaining 39 participants (9.2%) had missing values on the PCL–C, Social Integration, Academic Inte- gration, or Commitment scales; no participant had more than one missing value on these scales. The missing values were imputed using the expectation maximization method. There were no sig- nificant differences in PTSD, t(421) � .521, p � .603, and P/VDD scale scores (i.e., Social Integration, Academic Integration, and Commitment), Wilk’s � � .99, F(3, 419) � 1.07, p � .363, based on the survey order.

Table 1 presents frequencies of the type of traumatic events reported by the participants. The most frequently reported trau- matic event by both African American males and females was losing a loved one as a result of violent death. A significantly higher percentage of men endorsed the following PTEs in com- parison to women: experiencing a life-threatening accident, being the victim of a robbery or mugging, being threatened with a weapon, being present when another person was killed or as- saulted, and experiencing serious injury or threat to life. On the other hand, a higher percentage of women than men reported lifetime exposure to sexual assault, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. Using the cutoff criterion of 50 on the PCL–C, 20.6% (N � 87; 33 males and 54 females) of the trauma-exposed participants screened positive for PTSD. The prevalence of PTSD was not

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586 BOYRAZ, HORNE, OWENS, AND ARMSTRONG

significantly different across males and females, �2(1, N � 423) � 0.417, p � .300. Likewise, there was no significant gender differ- ence in PTSD symptom severity, t(421) � �0.140, p � .889.

Preliminary analyses indicated that of 423 trauma-exposed stu- dents, 138 (33%; 42 males and 96 females) did not enroll in the spring of their second year. There was no significant gender difference in second-year enrollment rate, �2(1, N � 423) � 1.87, p � .104. On the other hand, the dropout rate was significantly higher among participants who screened positive for PTSD at T1 (N � 41; 47.1%) than those who reported trauma exposure but did not meet the criteria for PTSD (N � 97, 28.9%), �2(1, N � 423) � 10.48, p � .01. Results also indicated the dropout rates of those with PTSD were not significantly different across the two institu- tions (i.e., historically Black vs. predominantly White institution), �2(1, N � 87) � 0.521, p � .306.

As a preliminary analysis, we also examined whether the cor- relations between PTSD symptoms and college outcomes were significantly different for males and females. Results indicated that the correlation between PTSD symptomatology (T1) and college dropout was significantly stronger for females (rpb � .27) than for males (rpb � .07), z � 2.01, p � .05. On the other hand, there was no significant gender difference in the correlation between PTSD symptoms and first-year GPA (z � .60, p � .273; see Table 2 for bivariate correlations).

Mediation Analyses

Prior to testing a multigroup path analysis to determine (a) whether first-year GPA mediated the relationship between PTSD symptomatology and second-year enrollment, after controlling for the covariates, and (b) whether the hypothesized pathways in the model were moderated by gender, following the steps recom- mended by Byrne (2004), we first tested the hypothesized model separately for males and females (i.e., baseline models). The purpose of this initial step was to determine whether the hypoth- esized model was tenable for each group, as well as to determine whether the conditions for testing multigroup analysis (i.e., the hypothesized model has a good fit for the data for each group) were met (Byrne, 2004). Table 2 presents means, standard devia- tions, and correlations among the study variables for males and females.

The baseline models were examined using the weighted least squares means and variance adjusted (WLSMV) method with Mplus Version 5.2 (Muthén & Muthén, 2008). The WLSMV method does not make the assumption of normality (Finney & DiStefano, 2006, p. 278) and is preferable when testing mediation with categorical outcomes (MacKinnon, 2008, p. 315). For each analysis (i.e., path analysis for females and males), all covariates (high school GPA, institution type, participation in on-campus activities, Social Integration, Academic Integration, and Commit- ment) and the predictor variable (PTSD symptomatology) were entered into the model as exogenous variables; cumulative GPA at T2 was entered as the mediator variable; college enrollment at T3 was entered as the outcome variable. The models included direct paths from all exogenous variables to both the mediator and the outcome variable (i.e., structurally saturated model).

In addition to the chi-square statistic (i.e., p � .05), we used three fit indices to determine the goodness of fit for the models. It has been recommended that the comparative fit index (CFI) value T

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587TRAUMA AND COLLEGE PERSISTENCE

be greater than or equal to .96; the root-mean-square of error of approximation (RMSEA) value be less than or equal to .05; and the weighted root-mean-square residual (WRMR) value be less than or equal to 1.00 in order to indicate a good fit for binary outcome models (Yu, 2002). A bias-corrected bootstrap estimation with a 95% confidence interval (CI) examined the significance of indirect effects; 1,000 bootstrap samples were created with the original data set.

Single group analysis for males. The results of the path analysis for male participants (N � 148) indicated that the hypoth- esized model did not fit the data well, �2(8) � 22.24, p � .01, CFI � .877, RMSEA � .110, WRMR � .761. In addition, only high school GPA (B � �0.116, � � �.201, p � .001, 95% confidence interval [CI] for B [–.192, –.051]) and academic inte- gration (B � �0.220, � � �.100, p � .05, 95% CI for B [–.494, –.028]) had significant indirect effects on second-year enrollment through first-year GPA. Further, as can be seen from Table 2, none of the exogenous variables in the model were significantly related with second-year enrollment. When we tested a fully mediated model that included only high school GPA and academic integra- tion as exogenous variables, the model explained 15% (R2 � .149) of the variance in first-year GPA and 34% (R2 � .341) of the variance in second-year enrollment, �2(2) � 0.80, p � .671, CFI � 1.000, RMSEA � .000, WRMR � .190. Because the model with PTSD symptomatology did not fit the data well for male students and because PTSD symptomatology was not significantly associ- ated with first-year GPA or second-year enrollment for men (see Table 2), we did not proceed with the multigroup path analysis (see Byrne, 2004). We tested and interpreted the model separately for male and female participants.

Single group analysis for females. For female participants (N � 275), the hypothesized model that included all covariates and the predictor variable had a poor fit for the data, �2(8) � 39.84, p � .001, CFI � .844, RMSEA � .120, WRMR � 1.02. The results of the bootstrap analysis indicated that the indirect effects of two of the seven exogenous variables (i.e., social integration and commitment) on college enrollment were non- significant. Further, examination of probit path coefficients indicated that these two variables did not have significant direct effects on cumulative GPA and college enrollment. Therefore, we tested an alternative model that did not include these two variables. The alternative model had an acceptable fit for the data, �2(6) � 11.81, p � .066, CFI � .954, RMSEA � .059, WRMR � .638 (see Figure 1 for the parameter estimates of the model). The model explained 22% of the variance (R2 � .218) in cumulative GPA and 46% (R2 � .459) of the variance in second year enrollment.

The results of the bootstrap procedure (see Table 3) indicated that all exogenous variables had significant indirect effects on second-year enrollment through first-year GPA. More specifi- cally, institution type (B � .275, � � .267, p � .001, 95% CI for B [.089, .466]) and PTSD symptomatology (B � .105, � � .085, p � .01, 95% CI for B [.009, .211]) had significant, positive indirect effects on college enrollment. Being a student at a predominantly White institution and experiencing high levels of PTSD symptomatology in the first semester of college were associated with lower cumulative GPA; lower GPA in the first year of college, in turn, increased the likelihood of leaving college prior to the end of the second year. It is important to note that the mean first-year GPA was 2.62 (SD � 0.82) for

Institution (0 = HBCU, 1 = PWI)

Activity at T1 (0 = no, 1 = yes)

High school GPA

Academic integration at T1

PTSD at T1

Cumulative GPA at T2

Enrollment at T3

(0 = enrolled, 1 = not enrolled)

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Figure 1. Parameter estimates of the path model for female participants. Path parameters are presented as standardized probit regression coefficients. For dichotomous predictors (i.e., institution and activity), the standardized probit regression coefficients represent the change in standard deviation units of the dependent variable when the predictor variable changes from 0 to 1. HBCU � historically Black college/university; PWI � predominantly White institution; Activity � participation in on-campus activities or organizations; T1 � Time 1; T2 � Time 2; T3 � Time 3; GPA � grade point average; PTSD � posttraumatic stress disorder symptomatology. � p � .05. �� p � .01. ��� p � .001.

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588 BOYRAZ, HORNE, OWENS, AND ARMSTRONG

female students at the historically Black college and 2.16 (SD � 1.02) for female students at the predominantly White institu- tion. The indirect effects of high school GPA (B � �.095, � � �.164, p � .001, 95% CI for B [–.154, –.043]), participation in on-campus activities (B � �.180, � � �.175, p � .05, 95% CI for B [–.400, –.011]), and academic integration (B � �.200, � � �.090, p � .01, 95% CI for B [–.425, –.035]) on college dropout were negative; having a higher GPA in high school, participation in campus activities, and greater academic inte- gration in the first semester of college were associated with increased cumulative GPA at T2, which, in turn, was associated with decreased likelihood of leaving college.

It is important to note that although the result of a z test indicated that the direct path from participation in on-campus activities to college enrollment was significant (z � �2.075, p � .05), the CIs of the bootstrap analysis for this path included zero (95% CI for B [–.628, .053]); therefore, we considered this path to be nonsignificant. In addition, although both institution type and high school GPA had significant indirect effects on second-year enrollment, neither of these variables significantly predicted second-year enrollment when there were no other variables in the model (odds ratios � 1.091, 95% CI [.651, 1.828]; .892, 95% CI [.777, 1.024], respectively). According to Baron and Kenny’s (1986) guidelines for testing mediation, these findings suggest that initial conditions of mediation were not met. However, both institution type and high school GPA were indirectly related to college enrollment through first-year cumulative GPA. Hayes (2009) suggested that a significant independent– dependent variable relationship is not a require- ment of indirect effects and that failure to test for indirect effects in the absence of a significant independent– dependent variable relationship may lead researchers to miss some impor-

tant mechanisms by which an independent variable influences a dependent variable.

Discussion

Approximately three fourths of our total sample (74.3%; N � 423) experienced at least one PTE in their lifetime; 66.4% of the trauma-exposed participants reported lifetime exposure to multiple PTEs. It was concerning that 20.6% of the participants who re- ported lifetime exposure to a PTE met the criteria for PTSD, which is higher than previous findings with mainly White college sam- ples that reported trauma exposure (e.g., 12% in Bernat et al., 1998; 16.69% in Grasso et al., 2012; and 13.3% in Read et al., 2011). Moreover, almost half of the students who screened posi- tive for PTSD (47.1%) left college before the end of their second year in comparison to those who were exposed to PTEs but did not meet the criteria for PTSD (28.7%).

Supporting our hypotheses, the relationship between PTSD symptomatology and second-year enrollment was mediated by first-year GPA for female students; in contrast, PTSD symptoms did not have direct or indirect effects on college enrollment for male students. For female students, starting college with PTSD symptomatology was associated with increased likelihood of drop- ping out of college; some of the effects of PTSD symptomatology on college dropout occurred through first year GPA. These find- ings extend the previous findings reporting significant relation- ships between PTSD and academic achievement and persistence (e.g., Duncan, 2000; Voisin et al., 2011), suggesting that while both African American men and women may begin college with exposure to traumatic events in high numbers, PTSD symptom- atology appears to increase the risk of dropping out of college only for African American women.

Table 3 Bootstrap Analysis of the Magnitude and Statistical Significance of the Direct and Indirect Effects for Females (N � 275)

Independent variable

Variable Unstandardized

coefficient SEa Standardizedb

coefficient z 95% CIaMediator Dependent

Institution (0 � HBCU, 1 � PWI) ¡ GPA (T2) �.451��� .113 �.464 �3.997 [�.727, �.159] High school GPA ¡ GPA (T2) .155��� .031 .283 4.969 [.073, .238] Activity (0 � no, 1 � yes) (T1) ¡ GPA (T2) .296� .118 .303 2.507 [.014, .616] Academic Integration subscale (T1) ¡ GPA (T2) .329�� .126 .155 2.618 [.032, .657] PTSD symptomatology (T1) ¡ GPA (T2) �.172� .067 �.147 �2.574 [�.347, �.015] Institution ¡ Enrollment (T3) �.225 .141 �.220 �1.591 [�.554, .124] High school GPA ¡ Enrollment (T3) .052 .039 .091 1.338 [�.049, .148] Activity (T1)¡ Enrollment (T3) �.278 .134 �.272 �2.075 [�.628, .053] Academic Integration subscale (T1) ¡ Enrollment (T3) �.238 .177 �.107 �1.346 [�.764, .193] PTSD symptomatology (T1) ¡ Enrollment (T3) .256�� .074 .208 3.456 [.049, .430] GPA (T2) ¡ Enrollment (T3) �.609��� .057 �.579 �10.681 [�.752, �.453] Institution ¡ GPA (T2) ¡ Enrollment (T3) .275��� .073 .267 3.757 [.089, .466] High school GPA ¡ GPA (T2) ¡ Enrollment (T3) �.095��� .021 �.164 �4.483 [�.154, �.043] Activity (T1) ¡ GPA (T2) ¡ Enrollment (T3) �.180� .075 �.175 �2.415 [�.400, �.011] Academic Integration subscale (T1) ¡ GPA (T2) ¡ Enrollment (T3) �.200�� .077 �.090 �2.600 [�.425, �.035] PTSD symptomatology (T1) ¡ GPA (T2) ¡ Enrollment (T3) .105�� .040 .085 2.598 [.009, .211]

Note. Dependent variable, enrollment (T3) is coded as 0 � enrolled, 1 � not enrolled. SE � standard error; CI � confidence interval; HBCU � historically Black college/university; PWI � predominantly White institution; T1 � Time 1; GPA � grade point average; T2 � Time 2; Activity � participation in on-campus activities or organizations; T3 � Time 3; PTSD � posttraumatic stress disorder. a These values are based on unstandardized regression coefficients. b For dichotomous predictors, the standardized coefficients represent the change in standard deviation units of the dependent variable when the predictor variable changes from 0 to 1. � p � .05. �� p � .01. ��� p � .001.

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589TRAUMA AND COLLEGE PERSISTENCE

There may be several explanations for the gender differences in the relationships between PTSD symptomatology and college per- sistence. PTSD may have differential effects on males’ and fe- males’ day-to-day college life. Or these differences might be related to the types of trauma experienced. Notably, women in this study reported traumatic events characterized by betrayal or inter- personal trauma by someone known to them (e.g., sexual abuse and neglect), in comparison with men who reported trauma by strangers (e.g., accidents and robbery). Betrayal or interpersonal traumas are typically more socially stigmatized (Tang & Freyd, 2012), and therefore, receiving support for these types of events may be more challenging. However, more research is needed to develop an understanding of these gender differences. Further, given the relatively small sample size for men in this study, it is premature to suggest that PTSD has more detrimental effects on the college outcomes of African American women than men. It is therefore recommended that in the future these differences be examined with larger male samples.

For African American women, in addition to PTSD symptom- atology, being a student at a predominantly White institution and entering college with low high school GPA were found to be risk factors for academic difficulties in college (i.e., low first-year GPA), which, in turn, was associated with increased risk of leaving college. When these risk factors are present, African American females may have a more difficult experience meeting the aca- demic demands of college and be at greater risk of leaving college prematurely. In addition, facing these additional risk factors in college (e.g., the stressors associated with being a student at a predominantly White institution; see Allen, 1992, and Watkins et al., 2007) may place trauma-exposed African American young women at higher risk for adjustment difficulties by adding to their distress.

Although these risk factors reduce the likelihood of degree completion by African American females, our findings suggest that the academic success and college persistence of these students can be fostered through campus involvement and support. Aca- demic integration had significant indirect effects on college en- rollment for both male and female students; those who reported greater academic integration in the first semester obtained higher first-year GPAs, which was associated with greater likelihood of remaining in college. Although social integration did not predict college GPA or persistence for either males or females, participa- tion in on-campus organizations and activities, which is one of the components of social integration (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1983), had a significant direct effect on first year GPA, and a significant indirect effect on college enrollment through GPA for female students. These findings provide support for Tauriac and Liem’s (2012) study, which found a significant relationship between ac- ademic integration and college persistence among U.S.-origin Black college students, as well as other research that emphasized the key role of relationships with faculty (Love, 2009) and campus involvement (Carter, 2006) in the retention of African American students.

Practical Implications

Our findings suggest that particularly for women, early inter- vention programs that include mental health referrals and screen- ings for PTSD may play an important role in reaching students

who may be distressed. The results of this study indicated that only a small percentage of trauma-exposed participants (13%) sought some form of professional psychological help. Further, even though college counseling centers were available at both univer- sities, few of the participants took advantage of these services. These findings suggest that academic and mental health interven- tions need to be better integrated, particularly early in the first year. In addition, because some of the negative effects of PTSD symptomatology on college persistence occur through first-year GPA, early interventions that focus on identifying and helping African American students who are struggling academically may help to support their achievement and increase their odds of remaining in college. For example, students who receive low first-semester grades could be offered an advising session in which campus resources are reviewed and referrals to the college coun- seling center for career and mental health assessment, as well as other support services (e.g., tutoring) could be provided. Periodic notifications of campus mental health services and support ser- vices through a variety of means (e.g., text messages, fliers, campus talks, endorsements by students of color) could be helpful in reaching African American students.

One of the important findings of this study that has implications for practice is that some of the risk factors we focused on in this study (i.e., low high-school GPA and being a student at a predom- inantly White institution) only indirectly predicted college enroll- ment through first-year GPA. In addition, for both African Amer- ican men and women, first-year GPA was the strongest variable in the model, and it mediated the effects of academic integration, participation in on-campus activities, and PTSD symptoms on college persistence for African American women. These findings emphasize the role of first-year GPA in African American stu- dents’ decision to remain in college and suggest that if students who are at high risk of dropping out of college due to these risk factors (i.e., PTSD, low high school GPA, being a student at a predominantly White institution) are provided support to improve their GPAs early in their college life, they may remain in college.

Both previous research (e.g., Pan, Guo, Alikonis, & Bai, 2008) and our findings suggest that college GPA can be fostered through on-campus supports. For example, we found that academic inte- gration was a significant predictor of first-year GPA for both men and women. Academic integration is related to students’ perceived intellectual development, as well as their perceptions of the faculty concern for teaching and student development. Therefore, increas- ing student access to supportive faculty may play a key role in the academic achievement and retention of trauma-exposed African American students. In addition, our findings suggest that campus involvement can have positive effects on the academic success of African American students. Therefore, students’ academic success and persistence can be fostered through providing opportunities to engage in on-campus activities or encouraging students to be actively involved in on-campus activities, organizations, or events. Previous literature (see Seidman, 2005) emphasized the impor- tance of the formation of student groups and clubs for specific minority groups in their retention. These opportunities may be especially important for African American students attending pre- dominantly White institutions. In addition, other research (Horne, Boyraz, Levitt, & Owens, 2013) has indicated that developing ways for students to maintain existing supports as well can diver-

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590 BOYRAZ, HORNE, OWENS, AND ARMSTRONG

sify students’ support options, especially while coping with trauma during the initial adjustment period.

Model programs such as the First Year Odyssey program at the University of Georgia (https://fyo.uga.edu/about.html) may be use- ful in both increasing academic and social integration as well as access to faculty. In this mandatory program, first-year students choose a 1-hr small seminar course from over 300 options devel- oped by professors based on their interests (e.g., “Introduction to Interracial Communication,” “How to Build a Dinosaur”). Unlike standard first-year seminars that introduce students to the campus, programs like this one connect students with shared interests in a classroom setting and structure increased faculty–student interac- tions. In addition, Pan et al. (2008) found that academic help programs (e.g., tutorial services, summer bridge programs), orien- tation programs, and activities that bring faculty and students together outside the classroom can help increase the GPA and retention of students.

Limitations

Our study has a number of limitations that need to be taken into consideration when interpreting our findings. The sample size for male students was relatively small; therefore, the power of detect- ing significant effects was low. In addition, because the hypothe- sized model did not fit the data well for male participants, we did not conduct a multigroup path analysis; therefore, we do not know whether the paths in the hypothesized model were significantly different for males and females. However, our preliminary analy- ses indicated that only one of the correlations (i.e., PTSD symp- tomatology and college enrollment) between the predictors and the dependent variable was significantly different for males and fe- males. In addition, although the relationship between PTSD symp- toms and first-year GPA was nonsignificant for men, the correla- tion between the two variables was not significantly different for men and women; therefore, the poor model fit and some of the nonsignificant relationships in the male sample may be due to the small size of the male sample.

We collected data from two public universities in the Southeast; therefore, results may not be generalizable to African American students from other geographical locations or institution types. We used students’ second-year enrollment status as the measure of persistence; however, we do not know whether these nonenrolled students were taking an academic break or whether they dropped out of college all together. We did not control for socioeconomic status or other variables (e.g., academic self-confidence, race- related stress) that may influence students’ academic success and college persistence. In addition, we did not assess PTSD using a structured clinical interview, which may provide a more compre- hensive assessment of PTSD.

Despite these limitations, to date our study highlights the po- tential debilitating effect of PTSD on college persistence for Af- rican American female students. African American women who experience high levels of PTSD in their first year of college appear to be at significant risk of leaving college prematurely. However, those who were integrated academically into the university and who participated in on-campus activities appeared to experience benefits in terms of their first-year academic success, which made them more likely to return for their second year. These findings highlight the need for intervention programs for African American

students who may be at risk due to trauma exposure and PTSD symptomatology early in their college careers.

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Received February 26, 2013 Revision received May 28, 2013

Accepted June 3, 2013 �

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