The Stress in Urban Environments: Managing Stress to Achieve Academic Success

African American children are less likely to receive a high school diploma compared to whites and more whites than Blacks earn a bachelor’s degree, a statistic that is associated with lack of employment and economic instability. An even more serious problem is that children who are living in urban environments with stress related trauma, such as COVID-19, violence, PTSD, are at greater risk of low-educational achievement. This pilot intervention addresses two research questions:

1. Are African-American youth who received culturally stress related techniques more likely to reduce their anxiety and achieve academic success within 12 months than those who do not receive stress related techniques;

2. Can an intervention targeting anxiety and barriers to academic success among African American youth effectively decrease anxiety and promote academic success among African American youth.