Dr. Rhonda L. White-Johnson
Assistant Professor

My research program examines processes and outcomes associated with adaptive psychosocial functioning and sociopolitical development among African Americans. Three overarching themes are investigated within the context of this research: community-level factors, social group identification, and mental health. While my research program focuses broadly on the experiences of African Americans, I have a particular interest in the experiences of African American women and adolescents.

In researching the sociopolitical development of African American women I incorporate an intersectional framework, focusing on race and gender.  Specifically, I am interested in how experiences, attitudes, and perceptions regarding race and gender work together to influence activism, community and civic engagement.  In addition to sociopolitical development, I also examine factors that facilitate positive mental health outcomes and coping strategies among African American women.  Contrary to much of the existing empirical literature focused on this population, my research focuses on understanding the strengths of this group, and the ways in which their racial and gender identity inform sociopolitical development and positive psychosocial functioning.

My line of research with African American adolescents focuses on understanding sociopolitical development within the larger context of adolescent development. Specifically, I investigate adolescents’ understanding of societal oppression and marginalization and how that influences their willingness to become involved in activist, community, and civic activities. In line with this I also examine the association between sociopolitical development with positive youth development outcomes (academic engagement, extracurricular involvement, self-esteem, self-efficacy, etc.) and family and intergenerational influences (i.e., racial socialization, parental modeling).

Ongoing Projects:
African American Women’s Perspectives Study
Empirical research often subsumes the experiences of African American women into work with their same race or same gender counterparts (i.e. African American men, Caucasian women). This is troubling as such efforts disregard the intersectional nature of their identity and inhibit understanding of factors that contribute to their well-being. Building on a growing body of literature, this study explores factors that promote psychological well-being among African American women. Specifically, this survey research explores social identity attitudes and experiences (e.g. race and gender), coping strategies, and community-level variables as critical factors that promote positive mental health outcomes among a diverse sample of African American women. This study also explores the relationship between individual-level factors and sociopolitical development.

Mann-Simons Student Collaboration Project (MSSC Project)
In recent decades there has been a marked decrease in community and civic engagement among adolescents. Despite this trend, there is evidence to suggest that engagement in school and community-based programs increases the likelihood of future community and civic engagement. Building on this research, the MSSC Intervention Project was designed as a collaborative school-community intervention to investigate the benefits of a semester long, interactive project that educates high school students about a prominent African American family that resided in the local community during the reconstruction and Jim Crow era.  While learning about this family, students participate in interactive and processing activities designed to help them understand the link between the past, their present, and the local community context. Within the intervention, particular attention is placed on themes related to empowerment, race-relations, gender, and class. This project evaluates the extent to which participation in the intervention results in greater awareness of and affiliation towards civic engagement, changes in racial identification, and improved academic and behavioral outcomes.

Representative publications:
White-Johnson, R. L. (in press). Prosocial involvement among African American young  adults:
Considering racial discrimination and racial identity. Journal of Black Psychology.

Brown, D. L., Griffin-Fennell, F., & White-Johnson, R. L. (in press). Women’s mental
health: Considering multiple dimensions of social identity and diversity. In P. LundbergLove, K. Nadal, & M. Paludi (Eds.), Women and Mental Disorders. Santa Barbara: Praeger.

White-Johnson, R. L., Ford, K. R., & Sellers, R. M. (2010). Parental racial socialization profiles:
Association with demographic factors, racial discrimination, childhood socialization, and racial identity. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 16(2), 237 – 247.

Neblett, E.W., Jr., White, R.L., Ford, K.R., Philip, C.L., Nguyên, H.X., & Sellers, R.M. (2008).
Patterns of racial socialization and psychological adjustment: Can parental
communications around race reduce the impact of racial discrimination? Journal of
Research on Adolescence, 18(3), 477-515.

Smalls, C., White, R. Chavous, T., & Sellers, R. (2007). Racial ideological beliefs and racial
discrimination experiences as predictors of academic engagement among African American adolescents. Journal of Black Psychology, 33(3), 299-330.