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Psychology’s diversity problem

改变威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978工作者的多元化构成, 教育工作者必须加大对有色人种学生的支持和机会,打破该职业造成的瓶颈障碍

Cite this
Huff, C. (2021, October). Psychology’s diversity problem. Monitor on Psychology, 52(7). http://www.gardenseedsdiscount.com/monitor/2021/10/feature-diversity-problem

一个靠在木栅栏上的有色人种妇女

Nathalie Dieujuste recalls telling her seventh-grade science teacher, 当被问及她的职业抱负时, 她想成为一名威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978家,因为, “I just really want to know how the outside world affects your mind.”

But Dieujuste, 谁在阿拉巴马州奥本大学主修威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978, 在大学毕业前一年,她意识到自己对申请vns威尼斯vns9080生院知之甚少. 第一代海地美国人高中时只申请了几所大学. “我原以为会是类似的过程,”她说.

在向她的vns威尼斯vns9080方法教授寻求指导之后, 迪尤贾斯特了解到,她需要vns威尼斯vns9080经验才能被认为是一个强有力的vns威尼斯vns9080生候选人,于是她很快加入了一所大学的实验室. About a month later, 她看到了奥本大学布莱克辅导项目的传单, Indigenous, 和有色人种(BIPOC)的本科生被称为致力于心理教育机会的学者(SCOPE)并报名参加.

During the intense weekend boot camp, Dieujuste realized that she needed far more research experience, perhaps as much as 2 years, as well as posters to present at conferences and publications with her name on them. “I had none,” she said. 她还没有找到自己的vns威尼斯vns9080重点, 除了知道她想vns威尼斯vns9080创伤和自杀. “我不知道我需要进一步定义它.”

像迪尤贾斯特这样的故事并不少见. 威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978一直在努力解决多样性问题, 获得博士学位的道路是如此曲折和昂贵,即使是最有才华和奉献精神的人也很难成功, vns威尼斯vns9080人员和临床医生致力于促进职业的种族和民族多样性. Roughly 60% of Americans describe their heritage as non-Hispanic White, according to 2019 data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That same year, 83%的威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978工作者认为自己是白人, 7% as Hispanic, 4% as Asian, and 3% as Black美国威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978会劳动力vns威尼斯vns9080中心的数据显示. Those numbers have not shifted much in the past decade; in 2009, 85%的威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978家认为自己是怀特. Still, the next generation of psychologists is shaping up to be more diverse; White students earned 69% of the doctoral degrees awarded in 2018.

To continue changing that picture, 从高中开始,各级心理教师应该鼓励更多的BIPOC学生考虑这个职业, 更好地支持这些学生发展vns威尼斯vns9080技能和申请vns威尼斯vns9080生院所需的其他经验, 并通过众多的评估和攻读博士学位的看门人提供指导, said Anissa Moody, PhD, 他是纽约Queensboroughvns威尼斯vns9080学院的威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978副教授,也是美国威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978会副学士学位教育委员会(CABE)的vns威尼斯vns9080。. The skills that students must acquire and excel at are almost too numerous to count, she said, 包括培养批判性思维, 学习vns威尼斯vns9080方法和统计资料, honing interviewing prowess, seeking out mentors, 制作海报和其他出版物.

“成为威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978家的道路非常陡峭和棘手,是由威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978家vns威尼斯vns9080创造的,” Moody said. “It’s a bottleneck that we’ve created where only the most prepared, the most organized, 那些拥有最多知识和最多资源的人是那些通过瓶颈的人.”

黑人和西班牙裔/拉丁裔学生攻读威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978博士课程的比例低于他们在总人口中的比例, according to an analysis of accredited programs from 2005 to 2015 (Callahan, J. L., et al., 职业威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978的培训与教育, Vol. 12, No. 4, 2018). 在此期间,西班牙裔/拉丁裔学生占10人.75%的博士生,而16名.3% they comprise in the population overall, according to 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data. Black students made up 7.08% of those enrolled versus 12.6% overall.

其结果可能是BIPOC患者缺乏具有文化竞争力的护理,他们更喜欢从长得像他们的治疗师那里寻求帮助. In the past few years, amid the very public examples of police brutality, 黑人威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978家报告说,他们比以往任何时候都要忙. 为了帮助黑人和拉丁裔病人,彩色目录越来越受欢迎, 以及那些寻求亚洲和太平洋岛屿治疗师.

“To not have a discipline that reflects the diversity of the people that we serve, 这对vns威尼斯vns9080的职业确实是一种伤害,” said Kevin Cokley, PhD, 他是德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校教育威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978系的教授,主要vns威尼斯vns9080BIPOC学生在高等教育中的经历.

“如果vns威尼斯vns9080作为一个职业,在文化上没有竞争力, 那么vns威尼斯vns9080就会冒着弊大于利的风险,让BIPOC患者不去寻求心理健康服务或, if we’re talking about education, discouraging them from even considering psychology as a viable profession,” he said.

Lost opportunities

Too often, 威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978错失了吸引有才华的BIPOC学生进入这个行业的机会, starting even before college, said Janice Haskins, PhD, APA少数民族vns威尼斯vns9080项目的高级主任. Overall, nearly 30% of high school graduates 在高中至少修一门威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978课程, according to APA data on trends in precollege and undergraduate psychology. 但这些课程往往是通过荣誉课程或速成课程提供的,这并不是所有高中都能提供的, Haskins said. “Many times, 有色人种的学生很少被推荐参加这类课程,或者很少有机会参加这些课程,” she said.

“So, right off the bat we experience a gap there,” Haskins said. “就选修荣誉课程而言,你会真正深入vns威尼斯vns9080威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978,了解威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978的所有有趣部分, vns威尼斯vns9080已经开始出现赤字了.”

Growing up, a lot of students of color, especially Black students, also may not have had the most positive or supportive encounters with psychologists, Moody said. “他们与威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978家见面的经历可能(已经)是学校里的权威人物,他们被要求在家庭问题上与威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978家见面,或者以一种不一定是安全的方式遇到或甚至认为自己处于那个角色,” she said.

In other circumstances, 高中生或大学生可能从来没有遇到过像他们这样的威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978家, 甚至对这个职业有更广泛的了解, said Helen Hsu, PsyD, a staff psychologist, Asian American specialist, and lecturer at Stanford University. Their parents may be reluctant for them to consider such a career, 特别是如果他们最近从一个精神卫生系统缺乏的国家移民过来, she said. “所以,他们当然从来没有听说过谁做这些工作,或者谁参加这些服务.”

Dieujuste, 她的兄弟姐妹中第一个从大学毕业, 她在奥本大学的时候只有一个黑人教授. As it happened, the professor taught in the psychology department. “Seeing her, and her success, 让我知道我想要达到的目标是可以实现的,这对我来说有意义吗,” Dieujuste said.

Bottleneck chokepoints

即使学生们对威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978很感兴趣, the accumulating weight of debt starting in the college years can become a deterrent, said Mary Fernandes, 他是乔治亚州立大学临床威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978博士生,是该校美国vns威尼斯vns9080生心理协会(APAGS)委员会的主席.

The bills don’t just encompass the cost of tuition and living expenses, but possibly moving elsewhere for an internship and additional training, such as postdoctoral work, Fernandes said. In one survey involving more than 1,000 psychology graduate students and early career psychologists, the graduate students anticipated a cumulative total debt of $141,078, including undergraduate loans. Early career psychologists reported a debt load of $108,127 (Doran, J. M., et al., 职业威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978的培训与教育, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2016).

For BIPOC students, 代际财富的可能性更低,可能会让这种价格标签变得更加难以承受, Hsu said. At Stanford, she noted, 一些有色人种的本科生和vns威尼斯vns9080生正在工作,并寄钱回家帮助美国其他地方的家人或他们的祖国在国外,同时努力保持在成绩的第一名.

Along with the financial hurdles, 获得博士学位所要求的技能已经变得越来越复杂和多方面, “给本科生施加了很多压力,让他们做好准备,” said Moody. “But only certain environments are equipped and resourced to be able to provide that.” For instance, she said, 昆斯伯勒大学开设vns威尼斯vns9080方法课程, 但这在vns威尼斯vns9080大学并不常见.

对于一些第一代大学生来说,为了获得足够的vns威尼斯vns9080经验和vns威尼斯vns9080生院所需的其他技能,在大学里快速转行尤其困难, such as those who are Latinx without proper guidance and mentorship, said Joaquín Borrego Jr., PhD, dean of the School of Graduate Psychology at Pacific University in Oregon. 他说,许多人是第一次离开家,正在适应vns威尼斯vns9080. They are “just trying to navigate, just trying to survive, if you will,” he said, 接触大学经验,学会参与必要的活动,这将为他们的vns威尼斯vns9080生院做好最好的准备.”

在正式的博士项目申请过程之前,可能会存在一些歧视瓶颈, as one field experiment illustrated. In the 2015 study, 虚构了来自不同学科的准博士生6人以上,给教职员工发了000封电子邮件,要求讨论他们的vns威尼斯vns9080和参与的方法. 通过设计,选择学生的名字来表示性别或种族/民族(Milkman, K. L., et al., Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 100, No. 6, 2015).

三分之二的教员做出了回应. But across research disciplines, women and non-White students seeking guidance were more likely to be ignored. 各个学科中利率最低的是商业, 女性和非白人在2岁时就被集体忽视.2 times the rate of White males.

Moreover, 如果联系的教师是女性,或者与虚构的学生有着相同的种族或民族背景,结果也不会更好. (唯一的例外是华裔学生与有相同民族背景的教师接触.)

An analysis published in 2018, which built off the Callahan study of doctoral program diversity, 这进一步表明,一些有色人种的学生在向博士课程水平的过渡中迷失了方向. For instance, 12% of college psychology majors were Black, but they made up only 7.1%的注册博士课程(Luebbe, A. M., & Ogbaselase, F. A., 职业威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978的培训与教育, Vol. 12, No. 4, 2018).

A more formal effort should be made to figure out what’s happening, 理想的方法是追踪一群对威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978vns威尼斯vns9080生教育感兴趣的大学生志愿者, Borrego在相关评论中建议(职业威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978的培训与教育, Vol. 12, No. 4, 2018).

他假设,博士层次多样性的丧失反映了BIPOC学生正在申请vns威尼斯vns9080生院但没有被录取的事实. But without formal study, he said, 这是否属实还是个悬而未决的问题, if so, 什么因素可能会发挥作用——是否缺少指导, differences in GRE scores, or other influences.

“vns威尼斯vns9080真的需要vns威尼斯vns9080‘为什么’这部分,”Borrego说. “如果他们对读研感兴趣,却没有被某个项目录取,为什么他们没有成功?.”

Boosting success

Madison Silverstein, PhD, 2014年,两名vns威尼斯vns9080生在奥本大学开发了SCOPE项目,帮助色彩本科生学习如何申请威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978vns威尼斯vns9080生项目(威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978教与学vns威尼斯vns9080, online first publication, 2020). The program, which Dieujuste credits with providing crucial knowledge and mentorship, has been offered in various formats, from a weekend to a single day, and covers numerous skills, 从润色简历到完成模拟面试,再到寻找最适合的vns威尼斯vns9080生课程. It also provides strategies to reduce the cost of applying and attending, 比如如何获得申请费用减免,如何找到资助和其他资金来源, said Silverstein, 现在是新奥尔良洛约拉大学的心理科学助理教授.

SCOPE, 它现在是由奥本大学的合作伙伴领导的, Loyola, and Emory University in Atlanta, joins other research boot camps and programs designed to reach BIPOC students. At Queensborough, Moody directs the Summer Intensive Research Program该课程为期三周,专为想在社会科学领域继续深造的本科生开设. APA runs initiatives and programs designed to improve recruitment and retention, 包括少数民族奖学金计划, APA在1974年成立的帮助vns威尼斯vns9080生的机构, postdoctoral trainees, and early career professionals of color pursuing a psychology career. 到目前为止,该计划已经资助了大约2,200名vns威尼斯vns9080员.

许多APA管理委员会正在努力鼓励更多的有色人种学生学习威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978, including APAGS and the Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, 心理专责小组的保留与训练(CEMRRAT2), which Cokley chairs. For instance, 最近由教育事务委员会成立的一个工作小组正在vns威尼斯vns9080学术界的整体录取程序,以决定是否录取威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978vns威尼斯vns9080生院,并将制定相关建议. Meanwhile, APAGS促进种族和民族多样性委员会(care)启动了一个同伴合作项目,旨在帮助有色人种学生建立支持网络并开展专业合作. 自2018年以来,该项目已招收了约90名学生.

After completing SCOPE followed by a dispiriting experience with her first GRE, Dieujuste推迟了她申请vns威尼斯vns9080生院的计划,并在落基山地区VA医疗中心待了5年, 她在哪里从事与退伍军人创伤相关的vns威尼斯vns9080.

She took the GRE a second time but still wasn’t happy with her score. “这还行,但这不是我觉得自己需要的.“但大流行提供了一个应用喘息的机会, she said, as GRE scores were waived, allowing her research, publications, personal statement, 和其他材料来证明她的技能.

This fall, she starts at her first-choice program at the University of Denver, 她将在那里攻读临床威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978博士学位, vns威尼斯vns9080早期创伤和慢性生活压力对黑人女孩和妇女身心健康的发展影响. 她还被选为国家科学基金会vns威尼斯vns9080生vns威尼斯vns9080奖学金,总额为138美元,000.

Guarding against attrition

以目前的博士生为基础, 未来的威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978工作者可能会更加多样化. As of spring 2020, 43%攻读威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978博士学位的学生 被认定为非白人的一部分, according to data provided by 955 doctoral programs through APA’s annual survey.

Still, Fernandes and others stressed that those involved with doctoral programs, from faculty through administrators, must take steps to guard against attrition by providing better emotional support, including mentoring, 给那些可能不像他们的学生.

Callahan对2005-15年博士项目多样性的vns威尼斯vns9080发现,一些BIPOC团队的人员流失率更高. 这段时间内的流失率是3.西班牙裔/拉丁裔学生75%.黑人学生占18%,白人学生占3%. Only Asian students left doctoral programs at lower rates than White students (1.8%).

“There’s a reason that it’s called a leaky pipeline,” Fernandes said. “Recruiting people from ethnic and racial backgrounds is wonderful. At the same time, 你必须考虑招募一个人的道德问题,一旦他们到了那里,你就不能支持他们.”

A 2018 APAGS survey of 147 graduate students from underrepresented groups, 包括性和性别少数群体, 发现四分之一的人感到孤立, according to the mixed-methods study, and 1 in 10 reported not feeling safe in their academic program.

“That is generally a much more pervasive experience than we might realize,” Fernandes said, 威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978缺乏安全的反馈. 这意味着要么感觉不被老师重视,要么担心自己的身份会对他们完成学业的能力产生负面影响.“美国威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978会的少数民族vns威尼斯vns9080项目努力通过提供培训来解决支持的缺乏, 提供与BIPOC威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978家在学术界和临床工作的指导和交流机会,以便有色人种的学生能够得到他们需要的帮助, Haskins said.

在与APAGS调查相关的定性回应中, 学生们讨论了改善vns威尼斯vns9080生教育的其他方法, 包括聘用更多样化的教员, 将多元文化培训扩展到一门课程之外, 并鼓励教师欢迎来自不同背景的学生.

完成培训需要大量的指导, guidance, and more subtle interactions, Fernandes said. “The traditional way of educating people is based on White norms,” she pointed out. “甚至想想‘专业性’这个词:‘专业性’在很大程度上是基于白人个人的互动方式.”

考克利补充说,一些有色人种的学生遇到的态度要糟糕得多,也更加公开. 他说:“是的,存在一些观念上的差异,存在文化契合的问题。. “Absolutely. But it’s beyond that. In some instances, it’s outright hostility and just straight-up racism.”

白人教员应该定期与BIPOC的学生联系,而不是让这些学生承担提出自己担忧的责任, Cokley stressed. Given the power differential between faculty and students, they likely won’t, he said.

“Taking the time to talk to students, to see how they are doing, 了解他们的经历“很重要”, said Cokley, noting that this is something all faculty should be doing regularly. “如果BIPOC的学生经历了某种种族敌意, hostility, or microaggression in the classroom or as a part of their educational experience, 如果他们知道他们可以和白人教员谈论这些经历,那就太有影响力了.”

Dieujuste credits a lot of mentors along her path to starting graduate school, especially Silverstein. “她帮助我形成了我想要的方向, even in terms of identifying more of what my research interest is.”

迪尤贾斯特只知道另外一名黑人学生已经报名参加了丹佛大学的临床威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978课程. Before classes even started, they started hanging out, 迪尤贾斯特也向校园里的其他黑人团体伸出了援手.

“在这种环境下,我将是极少数的人之一,”她说. “我很想知道,作为一名黑人女性,在一个黑人人数不多的项目中,会得到什么样的支持.”

Further reading

少数民族vns威尼斯vns9080生APAGS资源指南
APAGS, 2010

APAGS resources for students of color applying to graduate schools in psychology
APAGS, 2016

挣钱是需要钱的:威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978vns威尼斯vns9080生贷款和经济压力的不平等
Wilcox, M. M., et al., 职业威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978的培训与教育, 2021

拆除围墙:迎接拉丁裔在教育和劳动力方面的挑战
Llamas, J. D., & Pietrantonio, K., 和平与冲突:和平威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978杂志, 2020

Recommended Reading

威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978的改变

In 2019, 83%的威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978工作者认为自己是白人, 7% as Hispanic, 4% as Asian, and 3% as Black. The next generation is shaping up to be more diverse; White students earned 69% of the psychology doctorates awarded in 2018.

资料来源:美国威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978会劳动力vns威尼斯vns9080中心

A leaky pipeline

From 2005 to 2015, the attrition rate for Hispanic/Latinx doctoral students was 3.75% and 4.黑人学生占18%,白人学生占3%.

SOURCE: Callahan, J. L., et al. 职业威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978的培训与教育, 2018

The burden of debt

In one survey of more than 1,000 psychology graduate students and early career psychologists, the graduate students anticipated a cumulative total debt of $141,078, including undergraduate loans.

SOURCE: Doran, J. M., et al., 职业威尼斯城所有登入网址vns85978的培训与教育, 2016