This study aimed to identify factors that contributed to adaptive coping young people of color engage and rely on to navigate racial stressors in the public education system and to persist into college. The study included 20 undergraduate college students between 18 and 22 years who participated in retrospective interviews documenting critical incidents of racial stressors and coping. Participants self-identified as majority Black/African American (68%) and other nationalities including Honduran, Mexican, and Sudanese. A socioecological systems framework guided in-depth coding of interviews and identified college-going cultural ethos, relational ties, sense of agency, and emotional acuity themes. Findings suggest participants existed in an interdependent system of affirmation and validation that geared them toward college aspirations amid racial stressors encountered in the U.S. public education system. Discussion centers on the value of building the capacities of youths’ social ecologies to affirm their identities and validate their presence in the U.S. education system.

这项研究旨在确定有助于适应性地应对有色人种的年轻人的因素，这些因素取决于他们在公共教育系统中如何应对种族压力源并坚持上大学。这项研究包括20名18至22岁的大学生，他们参加了回顾性访谈，记录了种族压力源和应对的关键事件。参与者自认是黑人/非裔美国人（占68％）和其他国籍，包括洪都拉斯，墨西哥和苏丹。一个社会生态系统框架指导访谈的深入编码，并确定大学时期的文化风气，关系纽带，代理意识和情感敏锐度主题。研究结果表明，参与者存在于一个相互依赖的确认和确认系统中，这使他们在美国公共教育系统遇到种族压力的情况下朝着大学的理想迈进。讨论的重点是建设青年的社会生态能力，以肯定其身份并验证其在美国教育体系中的存在的价值。