THE EFFECTS OF A PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL LIFE SKILLS CLASS ON THE PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENT-ATHLETES by AMANDA L. BANKS, B.A., M.Ed. A DISSERTATION IN COUNSELOR EDUCATION Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved Loretta J. Bradley Co-Chairperson of the Committee Aretha F. Marbley Co-Chairperson of the Committee Hansel Burley Judi Henry Accepted John Borrelli Dean of the Graduate School May, 2005 Copyright, 2005, Amanda L. Banks ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS No journey is meant to be traveled alone. I thank you heavenly Father that every good and perfect gift comes from you. Without you this dissertation would not be complete. I thank you for planting markers in my pathway throughout this journey. To my mother, Edna, I am grateful for all of the times you were there to celebrate my successes and accept my defeats. Thank you for always believing in me. Your ability to persevere and thrive encourages my spirit. To Janet, Diane, Rob, and Dwayne, I am richly blessed to have the gift of family. Every trial and triumph that we have faced together makes the circle stronger. To my Pastor, W.D. Davis, your humility and wisdom are unmatched. Your teachings and actions are truly worthy of double honor. To a beautiful unsung hero, Shirley Davis, words are not enough to express my gratitude for such a virtuous woman as you. To Kaylene, Kecia, Kathy, Charles, Mary, Archie, David, Nichole, LaMecca, Kristi, Linda, and Teri; thanks for walking beside me. Your unwaivering support and encouragement will always be remembered. To my Lyons Chapel church family, thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement. To Jarvis Scott, Abe Brown, Jeanine McHaney (deceased), and Norbert Elliott; you exemplify the standard of excellence for every student-athlete to emulate. To my committee, Dr. Loretta Bradley, Dr. Aretha Marbley, Dr. Hansel Burley, and Dr. Judi Henry, my sincere thanks for your insight and professional guidance. I dedicate this book to the memory of my father (Richard McLamore) and grandmother (Viola Stewart-Turner). ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWEDEGMENTS ii ABSTRACT vii LIST OF TABLES viii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of the Problem 2 Significance of the Study 5 Research Questions 8 Delimitations 9 Limitations 9 Definitions 10 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 13 Introduction 13 Psychosocial Theories 13 Psychosocial Theories and African Americans 17 Psychosocial Development: Student-Athletes 20 Demands and Challenges: Student-Athletes 27 Academics 28 Stressors 30 iii African Americans and Higher Education 34 Black Student-Athletes at Predominantly White 40 Institutions Psychosocial Development: African American 44 Students Challenges: African American Student-Athletes 46 Academics 47 Racial Climate 49 Faculty Student Relationships 52 Racism 53 Exploitation 59 III. METHODOLOGY 63 Research Design and Statistical Analyses 63 Participants 64 Instrumentation 65 Hypothesis 68 Procedures 70 Statistical Analyses 71 IV. RESULTS 72 Data Management 72 Demographics 72 Hypothesis Testing 75 Student Developmental Task and Lifestyle 75 Assessment iv Summary 128 V. DISCUSSION 129 Hypotheses 132 Contribution of Findings 137 Multicultural Contribution of Findings 139 Theory Implications 142 Practice Implications 145 Limitations 148 Recommendation for Future Research 149 Summary 154 REFERENCES 156 APPENDICES A: Authorization and Consent to Participate 171 in Research B: Student Development Task and Lifestyle 173 Assessment C: Course Outline (Treatment Group) 185 v ABSTRACT This study examined the effects of a psychoeducational life skills class on the psychosocial development of student-athletes. To explore the effectiveness of a life skills class in promoting psychosocial development of student-athletes, the following research questions were posed: (1) Does the life skills class have an effect on the mean Student Development Task and Lifestyle Assessment (SDTLA) task scores of student-athletes, (2) Does the life skills class have an effect on the mean Student Development Task and Lifestyle Assessment (SDTLA) subtask scores of student-athletes, (3) Do differences exist in the mean SDTLA posttest task scores when comparing all groups, and (4) Do differences exist in the mean SDTLA posttest subtask scores when comparing all groups? This study consisted of 86 participants placed into three groups: treatment group, control group I, and control group II. The treatment group consisted of student-athletes enrolled in a life skills class. Control group I consisted of student-athletes not currently enrolled in a life skills class, and control group II consisted of a general student group that had never enrolled in a life skills class. The life skills class in which the treatment group participated met during the fall semester for 1 hour and 50 minutes each week. This study employed a quasi-experimental nonrandomized pretest/posttest design for the treatment group and posttest only for the control group using the Student Development and Lifestyle Assessment (SDTLA). The SDTLA is a 153-item instrument designed to measure certain aspects of vi Chickering's theory of psychosocial development (Chickering, 1969; Chickering & Reisser, 1993). Paired sample tests and MANOVA was used to examine differences between the groups. Results of this study indicated no significant differences between the mean pre- and posttest scores for student-athletes enrolled in the life skills class. However, significant differences existed between control group II (general student group) and student-athletes in the treatment and control group I. Recommendations were made for a collaborative multidisciplinary approach of student affairs professionals and licensed professional mental health practitioners who are trained to implement effective strategies with student- athletes. Further, it is recommended that professionals working with student- athletes be culturally sensitive and responsive to the unique needs of student- athletes and student-athletes of color. vii LIST OF TABLES 1. Demographic Information: Gender………………………… 73 2. Demographic Information: Ethnicity………………………… 74 3. Pretest and Posttest Descriptive Statistics: SDTLA Tasks… 76 4. Descriptive Statistics by Race for Life Skills………………… 78 5. Paired Sample Test for Life Skills/Tasks………………………. 79 6. Pretest and Posttest Descriptive Statistics: SDTLA Subtasks. 81 7. Paired Sample Test for Life Skills/Subtasks………………… 83 8. Descriptive Statistics of the SDTLA Subtasks Posttest……. 85 by Race in Life Skills 9. Descriptive Statistics of SDTLA Task Posttest Comparing … 88 all Groups 10. Descriptive Statistics of SDTLA Tasks Posttests Comparing . 90 all Groups by Race 11. Descriptive Statistics of SDTLA Tasks Posttests Comparing.. 91 all Groups by Race 12. Descriptive Statistics of SDTLA Tasks Posttests Comparing ..92 all Groups by Race 13. SDTLA Tasks Scores MANOVA for GROUP…………………. 94 14. SDTLA Tasks Scores MANOVA for RACE……………………. 95 15. SDTLA Tasks Scores MANOVA for RACE and GROUP…… 96 16. Descriptive Statistics of SDTLA Task Posttest Comparing….. 98 all Group 17. SDTLA Subtasks MANOVA for GROUP………………………. 101 viii 18. Descriptive Statistics of SDTLA Subtask Posttest Scores for..104 Group by Race 19. SDTLA Subtask Scores MANOVA by Race…………………... 106 20. Ethnicity for Subtask Comparisons by Group…………………. 109 21. Descriptive Statistics of SDTLA Posttest Subtask when ……. 110 Comparing all Groups 22. SDTLA Subtask Scores MANOVA by Race and Group………113 23. Tukey HSD for SDTLA Task Establishing and ………………..115 Clarifying Purpose 24. Tukey HSD for SDTLA Task Developing Autonomy…………..116 25. Tukey HSD for SDTLA Tasks Establishing Mature and………117 Interpersonal Relationships 26. Tukey HSD for SDTLA Subtask Career Planning……………. 118 28. Tukey HSD for SDTLA Subtask Instrumental Autonomy……. 120 29. Tukey HSD for SDTLA Subtask Mature Peer Relationships…121 30. Tukey HSD for SDTLA Subtask Tolerance……………………. 122 31. Tukey HSD for SDTLA Subtask Emotional……………………. 123 32. Tukey HSD for SDTLA Subtask Salubrious Lifestyle………… 124 33. Tukey HSD for SDTLA Subtask Academic Autonomy……….. 125 34. Tukey HSD for SDTLA Subtask Interdependence…………… 126 35. Tukey HSD for SDTLA Subtask Educational Involvement…... 127 ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Student-athletes represent a diverse group of students on college and university campuses. Currently, there are 326 Division I universities in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The overall number of student-athletes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I institutions is 148,614 (NCAA) (2004). The average number of student-athletes per NCAA Division I institutions is 478.9. Male student-athletes comprise 265.5 per institution while female student-athletes comprise 213.4 per institution (NCAA Sponsorship and Participation Report, 2003). Further, Division I is comprised of three subdivisions: Division I-A, Division I-AA, and Division I-AAA. Division I-A refers to those institutions that sponsor at least seven sports for men and seven sports for women (or six for men and eight for women) with two teams for each gender. Division I-A schools must meet minimal attendance requirements for football games. In addition, this Division is characterized as the more elaborate of the Divisions. Division I-A comprises 11 conferences including Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pacific 10, Southeastern Conference, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt Conference, and Western Athletic Conference