Barriers to Careers in Behavior Analysis among Hispanic and Latinx Undergraduate Students: A Preliminary Analysis

Abstract

Hispanic/Latiné individuals are not well-represented among master's and doctoral level board certified behavior analysts despite being well-represented at certificant levels with fewer educational requirements (i.e., registered behavior technicians and board certified assistant behavior analysts). To increase Hispanic/Latiné representation among master's and doctoral level behavior analysts, the field must first identify barriers that may be preventing individuals from this population from pursuing careers in behavior analysis. We surveyed undergraduate students who were currently enrolled in or had previously completed at least one behavior analytic course about their experiences with sociocultural barriers (e.g., lack of mentorship, white-centered pedagogy) previously suggested in the literature. Results indicated that, relative to white students, mentorship and diverse classroom examples are more likely to increase Hispanic/Latiné students’ plans to pursue behavior analysis. Implications and future directions for creating supportive environments for Hispanic/Latiné students are discussed.