Join us for a dissertation presentation by Angela Chapman on Friday, May 10, at 2 p.m.
Title: Successful Black Females with Childhood Parental Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Histories and their Perseverance through the Community College
This qualitative study examined the reports of successful Black women with childhood parental substance use disorder (SUD) histories regarding their behaviors and strategies used when completing their community college degree to bridge their later success. Using narrative inquiry as a research design and positive deviance theory as a framework, this study explicitly considered the individual voice and perspective of successful Black female community college alumna with a parental SUD history, providing a thorough understanding of their experience, and highlighting individual asset-based data. The study identified six themes related to the behaviors and strategies used by four successful Black female alumnae of the community college, referred in the study as positive role models.
The findings from this research study serve as an important contribution to the field as it shifts the historical focus on the deficiencies of Black women in community colleges to an asset-based approach that identifies behaviors and strategies leading to success. Thus, the study provides institutional leaders and practitioners in the community college with insights into the unique realities of the behaviors and strategies of successful Black female students with a parental substance use disorder history. These findings may inform institutional policies, practices, and programs that will reduce the long-standing achievement gap between Black women and women of other races in community colleges.