Academic Performance in African American Undergraduates: Effects of Cultural Mistrust, Educational Value, and Achievement Motivation

The current study examined achievement motivation, the value of education, cultural mistrust, and academic performance in 202 African American college students attending both Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and a Predominately White Institution (PWI). Results using hierarchical multiple regression established that the three predictor model accounts for 42.1% of the variance in academic performance. Additionally, the results indicated that a student’s value of education moderates the relationship between achievement motivation and academic performance. Implications for educators, administrators, and career counselors are presented.