Race,social class,and response bias effects in grammatical processing

Black English and Standard English grammatical sentences were presented to 122 Black and White second graders in a modified cloze task. Both race and social class differences were sampled from within a single primary school, and both Black and White experimenters were utilized. No effects due to social class were found. Black subjects did better on Black English sentences than White subjects and showed fewer errors in the direction of Standard English syntax. An analysis of hit rates and false alarm rates suggested that Black subjects were more likely to emit Black English responses than White subjects but that both groups possessed equivalent sensitivity to grammatical differences. The results are not consistent with a deficit account of Black subjects' performance or with an explanation based on different dialect systems. Rather, it appears that Black and White children may differ only in their willingness to utilize specific response systems and may possess equal comprehension abilities in both dialect systems.This research was supported in part by funds made available to Bowling Green State University by NSF Institutional Grant No. GU-3619. Some of the findings were reported at the 83rd Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Chicago, 1975.     

Family emotion expressivity,emotion regulation,and the link to psychopathology: Examination across race

Research has established links between parental emotion socialization behaviours and youth emotional and psychological outcomes; however, no study has simultaneously compared these relations for White, Black, and Asian individuals. In this study, emerging adults identifying as White (n= 61), Black (n= 51), or Asian (n= 56) retrospectively reported on parents’ emotion socialization behaviours during childhood, existing emotion regulation (ER) skills, and current psychopathology symptoms. Asian participants reported fewer positive displays of emotions in their families during childhood than White and Black participants. Despite this difference, low expression of positive emotions in families during childhood did not relate to negative outcomes for Asian participants but was linked for White and Black participants. Overall, Asian participants reported more difficulties with ER than Black or White participants, and relations between ER difficulties and psychopathology varied by racial group. The findings emphasize the need to consider race when conducting research on emotion functioning with families and highlight emotion dysregulation as a potential treatment target for White, Black, and Asian individuals.     

RACISM AND SEXISM IN INTERRACIAL PORNOGRAPHY A Content Analysis

Racism and sexism were examined in interracial (Black/White) X-rated pornography videocassettes. Five female coders coded 476 characters in the sexually explicit scenes in 54 videos. Characters were coded on aggregate measures of physical and verbal aggression, inequality cues, racial cues, and intimacy cues, as well as other specific indices. Sexism was demonstrated in the unidirectional aggression by men toward women. Racism was demonstrated in the lower status of Black actors and the presence of racial stereotypes. Racism appeared to be expressed somewhat differently by sex, and sexism somewhat differently by race. For example, Black women were the targets of more acts of aggression than were White women, and Black men showed fewer intimate behaviors than did White men. More aggression was found in cross-race sexual interactions than in same-race sexual interactions. These findings suggest that pornography is racist as well as sexist.     

Priming race in biracial observers affects visual search for Black and White faces

We examined whether or not priming racial identity would influence Black-White biracial individuals' ability to visually search for White and Black faces. Black, White, and biracial participants performed a visual search task in which the targets were Black or White faces. Before the task, the biracial participants were primed with either their Black or their White racial identity. All participant groups detected Black faces faster than White faces. Critically, the results also showed a racial-prime effect in biracial individuals: The magnitude of the search asymmetry was significantly different for those primed with their White identity and those primed with their Black identity. These findings suggest that top-down factors such as one's racial identity can influence mechanisms underlying the visual search for faces of different races.     

When There Is Not Enough to Go Around: How Black People’s Perceptions of Competition for Black Mates Affects Forced Black Identity Ascriptions of Black/White Multiracial People

Using a resource scarcity framework, the current study investigated whether Black people’s perceptions of competition for Black mates related to ascribing a Black identity onto Black/White Multiracial people. Participants took online questionnaires that assessed competition for Black mates, likelihood of forcing a Black identity onto a self-identified Black/White Multiracial person, essentialism, and contact with Multiracial people. Results indicated that increased perceptions of competition for Black mates was related to increased forced Black identity onto self-identified Black/White Multiracial people, above and beyond levels of essentialism and contact. This relationship was stronger for sexual minorities. The current research supports the proposition that scarcity of resources (i.e., mates) affects ideologies regarding Black/White Multiracial people’s identities.     

Ethnicity of Dating Partner,Pressure for Thinness,and Body Dissatisfaction

Two studies explored the relation between ethnicity, attitudes toward body weight, dating behavior, and female body satisfaction. Study 1 found that White men expressed a lighter female ideal weight, more resentment about their girlfriend's weight, and more pressure for their partner's thinness than did Black men. Study 2 found that regardless of their own ethnicity, women who dated White men had lower body mass index (BMI), lower ideal weights, and reported experiencing lower levels of body acceptance by their dating partners. This lack of acceptance was associated with lower levels of body satisfaction. These results support the view that the differing aesthetic preferences of Black and White men contribute to differing levels of body satisfaction among Black and White women.     

Race and Women's Identity Development: Distinguishing Between Feminism and Womanism Among Black and White Women

Black and White women may experience feminist identity development differently, and the womanist (Ossana, Helms, & Leonard, 1992) and feminist (Downing & Roush, 1985) identity development models may differ in their ability to capture those experiences. Black (n = 29) and White (n = 94) female college students completed a questionnaire that included feminist identity, womanist identity, and self-esteem scales. Results provided partial support for the hypothesis that Black women would agree more strongly with the womanist model, whereas White women would agree more strongly with the feminist model. In addition, the womanist model better differentiated between stages of identity development than did the feminist model for Black women. Results also partially supported the hypothesis that race would moderate the relationships between the womanist and feminist identity models and self-esteem.     

Life and neighborhood satisfaction of black and white residents in a middle-class suburb of Johannesburg

Prior research indicates that Black South Africans are generally less satisfied with their lives and neighborhoods than White South Africans. 375 Black and 358 White adult residents of a multiracial, middle-class suburb of Johannesburg rated, from 0 to 10, their satisfaction with 9 personal and 9 environmental quality of life domains. Two items, also rated from 0 to 10, assessed satisfaction with life and the neighborhood. Although there were no differences between Black and White suburbanites on life satisfaction scores, the Black group reported being more satisfied with the neighborhood than the White group. Stepwise multiple regression indicated that health and personal safety explained the highest variance in life (29% for the Black group and 43% for the White group) and neighborhood (26% for the Black group and 18% for the White group) satisfaction.     

Stress and coping among gay men: age and ethnic differences

Previous studies suggest that perceived stigmatization of sexual minority status, ethnicity, and age are associated with negative mental health outcomes, and other studies suggest that coping styles may influence these outcomes. However, no studies have examined these relationships among gay men of varying ethnicities and age groups. Three hundred eighty-three Black and White, younger, middle-aged, and older adult gay men completed measures of perceived stigmatization, coping style, and mental health outcomes. Black older adult gay men reported significantly higher levels of perceived ageism than the older White group, significantly higher levels of perceived racism than the younger Black group, significantly higher levels of homonegativity than the younger Black and the White groups, and were more likely to use disengaged coping styles than White gay men. However, Black older adult gay men did not experience significantly higher levels of negative mental health outcomes. Results suggest that further research should examine how older Black gay men, who perceive higher levels of stigma while reporting greater use of less effective coping styles, do not appear to be experiencing more negative mental health outcomes as a result.     

Variation in black anti-white bias and target distancing cues: factors that influence perceptions of "ambiguously racist" behavior

Experiment 1 indicated that when the White supervisor's negative treatment of a Black subordinate was unconstrained, participant race had no impact on attributions. Conversely, when the treatment was constrained, Black participants reported greater racist attributions than did White participants. Experiment 2 indicated that when the supervisor reported no response or a minimal negative response (i.e., indicating that he did not support his actions) after his negative treatment of the Black subordinate, Black participants reported greater racist attributions than did White participants. Conversely, when the supervisor's negative treatment was followed by a more extreme negative response, participant race had no impact on attributions. Experiment 3 indicated that Black participants were less likely than White participants to perceive a minimal negative response as reflecting a White supervisor's lack of support for his negative actions. Conversely, participant race had no impact on attributions of a Black supervisor's negative actions.     

Physical fitness of South African primary school children, 6 to 13 years of age: discovery vitality health of the nation study

Basic physical fitness was measured using 8 different measures for 10,295 South African children and youths (5,611 boys, 4,684 girls) ages 6 to 13 years. These measurements included height, weight, Body Mass Index, standing long jump, shuttle run, sit-and-reach, sit-up (EUROFIT testing battery), and cricket ball throw scores. Due to the effects of earlier apartheid laws on separating communities, it was hypothesized that scores for different ethnic groups may differ. Therefore, in addition to the calculation of basic norms and sex differences, ethnic differences were also tested. Height and weight, relative to age, were different between the various ethnic groups (Black, White, and Mixed ancestry) for boys, with Black boys being shorter and lighter than White boys. There were no differences in sit-and-reach flexibility scores between the groups. With the exception of the cricket ball throw for girls, White children had higher scores in most tests. Although not significantly different from the White children, in the majority of cases, the children of mixed ancestral origin had scores that ranged between the other two ethnic groups. These results suggest a need for encouraging fitness in school children, and the reintroduction of formal physical education into the South African school curriculum, especially into schools in which Black children predominate.     

Ethnicity and gender in late childhood and early adolescence: group identity and awareness of bias

The current study examined awareness of gender and ethnic bias and gender and ethnic identity in 350 African American, White/European American, and Latino/Hispanic students (Mage = 11.21 years, SD = 1.59) from the 4th, 6th, and 8th grades of diverse middle and elementary schools. The study collected (a) qualitative data to best capture the types of bias that were most salient to children and (b) daily diaries and individual measures to examine the multiple components of children's gender and ethnic identities. Results revealed ethnic, gender, and grade-level differences in awareness of ethnic and gender bias. Overall, more children were aware of gender bias than ethnic bias. This effect was most pronounced among White/European American youths. Among those in 4th grade, African American and Latino youths were more likely to be aware of ethnic bias than were White/European American youths. Analyses also examined how awareness of bias was related to gender and ethnic identity. For example, children who had a salient and important gender identity, and a devalued ethnic identity, were less likely than other children to be aware of ethnic bias.     

Denying Diversity: Perceptions of Beauty and Social Comparison Processes Among Latina,Black, and White Women

The purpose of this study was to investigate Latina, Black, and White women's conceptions of beauty and perceptions of cultural standards of beauty, as well as whether or not the participants were engaging in similar social comparison processes, specifically, the denial of personal disadvantage. One hundred and fifty-seven college women participated: 48 Latinas, 52 Black women, 51 White women, and 6 Others. Results indicate that there are significant differences in Latinas', Black women's, and White women's relationships with their bodies, and their relationships to dominant cultural standards of beauty. In addition, there were differences by race in the tendency to engage in the denial of personal disadvantage response. These findings contribute to the understanding of how racial identity affects, or interacts with, the experience of beauty standards among Latina, Black, and White women.     

Ethnic differences in female sexual victimization

This study examined the link between ethnicity, early sexual victimization experiences and college sesual assault in a sample of 383 undergraduate women. One third of the sample (32.9%) had experienced some form of sexual assault during college (22% of whom reported that they had been raped), and 52 percent had experienced unwanted sexual activity before the age of 18 (17.5% of whom reported that a family member or trusted family friend asked for or forced sexual activities). There were substantial differences among the Black, White, Hispanic and Asian women on two of four measures of college sexual assault. Black women had the highest and Asian women the lowest incidence of forced intercourse through verbal threats or pressure. Hispanic women had the highest and Black women the lowest incidence of attempted rape. Black and White women were almost three times as likely as Hispanic women to have had experiences that meet the legal definition of rape, but do not consider themselves rape victims. There were significant differences in college victimization experiences as a result of experiencing incest before age 18, experiencing extrafamilial sesual abuse before age 18, and the use of alcohol. Ethnicity interacted with alcohol use and early experiences with extrafamilial sexual abuse. However, the effect of incest on college victimization was similar for the women in the study, regardless of ethnicity.     

Self-disclosure in Latinos' intercultural and intracultural friendships and acquaintanceships: Links with collectivism, ethnic identity, and acculturation

Relationships among collectivism, ethnic identity, acculturation, and self-disclosure rates in Latinos' intercultural and intracultural friendships and acquaintanceships were examined. An online survey collected data from 59 international Latinos and 73 Latino American nationals. Results revealed that relationship type (friend vs. acquaintance) and relationship partner ethnicity (Latino vs. White American) had significant relationships with self-disclosure. Participants disclosed more personal information to friends than acquaintances, and they disclosed more to Latino than to White American persons. Higher collectivism was related to increased self-disclosure across all relationship types. Acculturation exerted a significant main effect only in the context of friendships but interacted significantly with ethnicity in both friendships and acquaintanceships. Ethnic identity did not display any significant direct or interaction effects.     

THE MODERATING ROLES OF RACE AND GENDER-ROLE ATTITUDES IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING

Although previous research has linked sexual harassment to negative psychological outcomes, few studies have focused on moderators of these relationships. The present study surveyed Black ( n = 88) and White ( n = 170) female undergraduates who endorsed experiences of sexual harassment to examine whether traditional gender attitudes differentially moderated the relationship between sexual harassment and three outcomes: posttraumatic stress symptoms, general clinical symptoms, and satisfaction with life. We replicated past findings that sexual harassment is related to negative outcomes. Further, the results supported our hypothesis that less traditional gender attitudes (i.e., more feminist attitudes) would buffer the negative effects of sexual harassment for White women, whereas the same attitudes would exacerbate its negative effects for Black women. We discuss reasons for these differences, including Black women's double consciousness and differences in the meaning of feminist and traditional gender attitudes for Black and White women.     

Black Women's Self-Perceptions of Attractiveness Following Exposure to White Versus Black Beauty Standards: The Moderating Role of Racial Identity and Self-Esteem

This study examined racial identity, self-esteem, and Black versus White beauty standards as moderators of body image perceptions among 60 Black women. In two experimental conditions, subjects evaluated photographs of either three Black models or three White models, all previously determined to be attractive. Control group subjects did not evaluate photographs. All subjects then completed measures of their own body esteem and attractiveness. Results indicated that body esteem was positively related to self-esteem for subjects in the photograph conditions but not for subjects in the control condition. The relative attractiveness ratings of self versus models were dependent on race of the models and subjects' self-esteem, and on race of the models and subjects' racial identity. The first interaction indicated more favorable comparative ratings for subjects with high self-esteem, but only following exposure to White models. The second interaction indicated more favorable comparative ratings for subjects with high African self-consciousness, but only following exposure to White models. Taken together, the results suggest that explicit beauty standards engage a comparison process and, in the case of Black respondents with high self-esteem or with high African self-consciousness, result in self-evaluations that are significantly higher than the attractiveness attributed to White standards of beauty.     

Sex, race/ethnicity, and romantic attractions: multiple minority status adolescents and mental health

This study examined the association between multiple minority statuses and reports of suicidal thoughts, depression, and self-esteem among adolescents. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were used to examine mental health outcomes across racial/ethnic groups for same-sex-attracted youths and female youths. Hispanic/Latino, African American, and White female adolescents reported more suicidal thoughts, higher depression, and lower self-esteem compared with male adolescents in their racial/ethnic group. Same-sex-attracted youths did not consistently demonstrate compromised mental health across racial/ethnic groups. Follow-up analyses show that White same-sex-attracted female adolescents reported the most compromised mental health compared with other White adolescents. However, similar trends were not found for racial/ethnic minority female youths with same-sex attractions.     

Gender and Ethnic Differences in Obesity-Related Behaviors and Attitudes In a College Sample

This study looked at gender and Black/White differences for a number of variables related to attitudes toward obesity in a sample of 650 college students. The overall stereotypes of overweight persons were both negative and unrelated to subjects' own degree of obesity, although individuals reported that their personal views were less negative than those of others.
Women indicated greater concern with obesity than men in several ways, and the societal stereotype of an overweight woman was seen as more negative than that of an overweight man. Men were more concerned about a date's weight than women, and White women's weight (unlike that of other subgroups) was negatively related to their likelihood and frequency of dating. Although Blacks, particularly Black females, were heavier than Whites, they were more satisfied with their body shape. Black males were less likely than White males to have refused to date someone because of her weight, and Blacks personally considered overweight women to be more attractive, sexier, less ugly, and less sloppy than did Whites. The findings suggest that both gender and ethnicity should be considered when discussing people's attitudes towards obesity and the consequences of such attitudes.     

African American mother-daughter communication about sex and daughters' sexual behavior: does college racial composition make a difference?

This study examined the influence of African American mothers' communication about sexual topics on the sexual attitudes and behavior of their college-enrolled daughters. Daughters were enrolled at a historically Black college/university (HBCU) or a predominantly White institution (PWI) to assess whether and how college racial context might affect daughters' sexual attitudes and behavior. Findings indicated that daughters at the HBCU had less permissive attitudes about premarital sex than their counterparts at the PWI. This result was especially true for daughters of mothers with more conservative attitudes about premarital sex and who discussed such topics infrequently. Last, the combination of positive mother-daughter communication and fewer discussions about sexual topics resulted in lower levels of sexual experience among the daughters.