Antioch University New England proudly announces the publication of Dawn M. Wilson’s dissertation titled, For Black College Students Who Considered Dropping Out When Grit Wasn’t Enough: A Mixed Methods Study Exploring the Influence of Family Messaging on Collegiate Outcomes.
As a 2025 graduate of the PhD Program in Couple and Family Therapy, Wilson conducted a groundbreaking study that examines how academic and ethnic-racial socialization within Black families influences students’ experiences of shame and guilt, and how these emotional experiences affect college persistence and retention.
Utilizing an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, Wilson surveyed 272 Black college students across the United States. Her analysis revealed that academic socialization is significantly associated with feelings of guilt and shame. Notably, guilt correlated with stronger retention outcomes, while shame was linked to decreased persistence. Furthermore, ethnic-racial socialization moderated the relationship between academic socialization and emotional outcomes but did not influence the connection between socialization and academic persistence.
Interviews conducted as part of the study uncovered powerful themes, including the pressures placed on students by sociocultural expectations, the impact of birth order and gender roles, moments when students nearly dropped out, evolving identity messages, and the role of support both within and beyond the family.
This study provides crucial insights for researchers, clinicians, and campus-based practitioners aiming to better understand and support the experiences of Black college students. It also offers recommendations for future research into the interplay of socialization, emotional development, and educational attainment.
Wilson is a proud first-generation college graduate with over 15 years of experience in college access, admissions, and student success. She currently serves as the Associate Director of College Preparation Initiatives at Princeton University. Previously, she was the inaugural Director of College Success for Cooperman College Scholars. Wilson is actively involved in national conversations surrounding educational equity, participating in professional committees such as the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), the First-Generation Low-Income Consortium (FGLI), and the advisory board for More Than Bootstraps, Inc.
Her journey into the field of couple and family therapy stemmed from her work with students and families, driven by a desire to address systemic barriers at their roots. Wilson holds a Master of Arts in Counselor Education–Marriage and Family Therapy from The College of New Jersey and is a provisionally licensed marriage and family therapist. Her ongoing research focuses on the experiences of Black families across the lifespan, Black and first-generation college students, postsecondary success, body socialization, mental health influencers, and mother-daughter relationship development.
Learn more about her and this impactful work here: https://aura.antioch.edu/etds/1145.
