Sisters in the struggle: African American female graduate students coping with racism and racism-related

This study examined if coping was predictive of perceived racism and racism related stress of African American female graduate students. Participants were 217 African American female graduate students attending Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and who had completed at least I semester of their graduate program. Students completed surveys examining experiences of racism and coping strategies. Results suggested that Active and Religious coping were the most frequently utilized coping approaches. Thus, the more participants indicated that they were stressed by racial incidents; the more they also indicated using Active and Religious coping strategies. Future research with this group is needed, as this is a group for which very little research exists. African American female graduate students are unfortunately experiencing perceived racism and racism related stress, and are using Active and Religious coping approaches to manage the oppression.