The Relationship between Psychosocial Development and Racial Identity of Black College Students

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between psychosocial development and racial identity of 250 Black traditional-aged undergraduate college students. The findings offered support for the notion that racial identity influences psychosocial development; however, only the specific racial identity attitude, "Internalization," was predictive of the specific psychosocial development tasks of "Establishing and Clarifying Purpose" and "Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships." The results from this study suggest that practitioners should be mindful of possible within group differences when applying student development theories to Black students.