Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Barbara Chappell

Abstract

African American males possess the highest unemployment rates compared to all racial and gender demographics in America, which has persisted since the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics began measuring unemployment. Consequently, African American males are more likely to live in poverty and less likely to own businesses. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental correlational study was to ascertain relationships and predictions between African American males’ unemployment and their entrepreneurial self-efficacy level. The theoretical frameworks of this study employed the critical race theory, institutional/systemic racism, and the entrepreneurial self-efficacy theory. Accordingly, using random, convivence, and snowball sampling, 558 African American males, were recruited via online surveys. The ordinal logistic regression results indicated that African American males’ entrepreneurial self-efficacy level statistically significantly predicted the number of times they were unemployed, their age, and their education level. Moreover, African American males’ age, education level, occupational industry, and type of unemployment statistically significantly predicted the number of times they were unemployed; additionally, their age and their type of unemployment statistically significantly predicted their duration of unemployment. Positive social change implications include providing a catalyst to recompense African American males with employment-focused government policies and long-term government-sponsored grants, scholarships, and private sponsorships for psychological rehabilitation, entrepreneurial education, and to establish a spectrum of businesses to support their yearning to become economically empowered, independent, resilient, respected, and liberated.

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