Evaluation of cultural identification and coping strategies as predictors of percentage of graduate degree completed by American Indian students

The enrollment and retention of American Indian students in American universities continues to be of major concern to educators. Research in this area tends to focus on the student and those negative factors perceived as contributing to their inability to persist in, cope with, or complete the educational experience. This study is an attempt to begin to identify positive characteristics common to American Indian students who progress towards completion in graduate programs. Such information, it is believed, will contribute to the knowledge base of universities designing programs to meet the needs of American Indian students.;The focus of this inquiry was the psychological influence of cultural identification and coping strategies of students related to their ability to proceed in a timely manner to completion of a graduate degree. The outcome measures included; Rate of Completion (percentage of graduate degree completed) and Confidence in Completion. All participants in this study were enrolled in a graduate program at an Arizona university, and were of American Indian descent. Survey packets were mailed to American Indian graduate students. Quantitative methods were used to analyze the data from the 77 participants who returned a completed survey packet. Hierarchical linear and logistic regression analyses were used to predict academic outcomes from demographic variables, undergraduate grade-point average (GPA), receipt of financial aid, bicultural orientation, and coping measures.;Both gender and undergraduate GPA were significantly positively related to confidence in completion, with females being more confident than males. Bicultural orientation and employment were significant predictors of a slower rate of completion. Although it seems clear employed students would progress at a slower rate than unemployed students, it is unclear why students with a bicultural orientation progressed at a slower rate. The finding that a student's level of confidence and social joining were significantly negatively related raises new questions. Do students with less confidence spend more time with peers for support and comfort, or is the level of autonomy often required for graduate study in conflict with cultural beliefs that place group needs above individual needs? While neither bicultural orientation nor any coping measure used significantly predicted Rate of Completion as hypothesized, new studies pairing these variables with new variables may prove fruitful.