Knowledge About Genetics Among African Americans

Although knowledge about genetic concepts is important for individuals to be active participants in medical technologies that use genetic science, limited information is available on knowledge about basic genetic concepts and terminology in African Americans. The purpose of this study was to evaluate knowledge about general genetic concepts and medical genetics terminology among African Americans and to identify factors having independent associations with knowledge. Participants were 109 adult African Americans enrolled in a study on attitudes about race, genetics, and smoking. The majority of respondents were knowledgeable about general genetic concepts, but were less knowledgeable about medical genetics terminology. Education was the only factor independently associated with knowledge about sporadic disorders in multivariate logistic regression analysis. Respondents with at least some college education were most likely to be knowledgeable about sporadic disorders (OR=2.70, 95% CI=1.10, 6.67, p=.03). The results of this study suggest that genetics education targeted to African Americans may need to focus on increasing understanding about technical concepts related to genetics.     

The Role of Culture in the Relationship Between Religiosity and Psychological Well-being

Several measures of religious practice and religious orientation (intrinsic/extrinsic/quest) and two measures of psychological well-being (positive affect and negative affect) have been employed in a cross-cultural survey of undergraduate university students from five different cultural/religious environments: Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, the United States of America, and Japan. Results suggest that measures of exstrinsic, intrinsic, and quest religiosity are not entirely applicable in most of the cultures observed. Nevertheless, it was possible to discern abbreviated cross-culturally valid scales for each dimension. The strength and direction of the correlation between psychological well-being and a particular type of religious orientation proved to depend substantially upon culture. More importantly, the cultural environment plays a crucial role in shaping the relationship between general measures of religiosity and psychological well-being. According to the data, higher general levels of religiosity at the societal level are linked to more positive correlations between religiosity and psychological well-being. The overall picture leads to the conclusion that there is no culturally universal pattern in the relationship between measures of religiosity and psychological well-being and that the particular cultural and religious context should always be considered in studies dealing with this issue.

Factors Influencing Condom Use Among African American Women: Implications for Risk Reduction Interventions

Examined factors associated with condom use in a community-based sample of 423 sexually active African American women. Measures were selected to reflect the components in prevailing models of health behavior. Condom users were higher on AIDS health priority, prevention attitudes, stage of change, behavioral intentions, reported more frequent and comfortable sexual communication with partners, perceived greater partner and peer approval for condom use, and reported that peers also used condoms. Women in exclusive relationships evidenced earlier stage of change, lower intentions to use condoms, fewer peers who engaged in preventive behaviors, perceived themselves to have lower risk, and had lower rates of condom use, higher education, and family income. Women in fluid relationships were at particularly high risk, with lower rates of condom use relative to women not in a relationship and greater sexual risk for HIV. Implications for HIV-risk reduction interventions with African American women are discussed.     

Religiosity, Spirituality, and the Subjective Quality of African American Men's Friendships: An Exploratory Study

The present study fills a crucial gap in literature surrounding the lives of African American men by exploring factors that shape the quality of these men's friendships. Drawing on data from a sample of 171 African American men, the study examines the relative utility of subjective religiosity, subjective spirituality, advice exchange, and affective sharing as predictors of the level of perceived support from male and female friends. Findings reveal age differences in subjective religiosity, subjective spirituality, and in level of advice and affective exchange in men's same-sex as well as cross-sex friendships. Age differences emerged in men's perceptions of the supportiveness of their friendships with women but not with men. Age was not a predictor of perceived supportiveness of same-sex or cross-sex friendships. Subjective religiosity did not predict support in same-sex or cross-sex friendships. Subjective spirituality positively predicted perceived support in men's same-sex friendships but not in cross-sex friendships. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Ethical Implications of a Critical Legal Case for the Counseling Profession: Ward v. Wilbanks

This article presents the official position of the American Counseling Association on a seminal legal case for professional counseling: Ward v. Wilbanks. The focus is on three key questions: Is it permissible to deny counseling services to a homosexual client on the basis of a counselor's values? Can referrals be made at any time a counselor wishes to do so? When is a client a client?     

Resilience Among Urban African American Male Adolescents: A Study of the Protective Effects of Sociopolitical Control on Their Mental Health

Resilience refers to the notion that some people succeed in the face of adversity. In a risk-protective model of resilience, a protective factor interacts with a risk factor to mitigate the occurrence of a negative outcome. This study tested longitudinally the protective effects of sociopolitical control on the link between helplessness and mental health. The study included 172 urban, male, African American adolescents, who were interviewed twice, 6 months apart. Sociopolitical control was defined as the beliefs about one's capabilities and efficacy in social and political systems. Two mental health outcomes were examined—psychological symptoms and self-esteem. Regression analyses to predict psychological symptoms and self-esteem over time were conducted. High levels of sociopolitical control were found to limit the negative consequences of helplessness on mental health. The results suggest that sociopolitical control may help to protect youths from the negative consequences of feelings of helplessness. Implications for prevention strategies are discussed.     

Predictors of Satisfaction Among College-Educated African American Women in Midlife

There has been little theorizing or empirical research on satisfaction among African American women at midlife. This study addresses this gap by examining predictors of satisfaction in 3 cohorts (N = 202) of midlife college-educated African American women. Specifically, 3 domains of satisfaction were examined: overall life satisfaction, personal satisfaction, and work satisfaction. Results revealed that the women were highly satisfied with their work situation, their personal life, and generally with how their life had turned out so far. Overall life satisfaction was predicted by the women's perceptions of personal control, role quality, household burden, and their cohort status. Work satisfaction was best predicted by the women's sense of personal control and role quality. Lastly, household burden and physical well-being emerged as significant predictors of personal satisfaction. Implications of the findings and recommendations for future research are offered.     

Gender Role Orientation and Anxiety Symptoms Among African American Adolescents

The present study evaluated gender role theory as an explanation for the observed gender differences in anxiety symptoms among adolescents. Specifically, the relation between gender, gender role orientation (i.e., masculinity and femininity), self-esteem, and anxiety symptoms was examined in a community sample of 114 African Americans aged 14 to 19 (mean age 15.77; 57 girls). Results revealed that masculinity was negatively associated with anxiety symptoms whereas femininity was positively associated with anxiety symptoms. Gender role orientation accounted for unique variance in anxiety scores above biological gender and self-esteem, and self-esteem moderated the relation between femininity (but not masculinity) and overall anxiety symptoms. Consistent with research on children and Caucasians, findings supported gender role theory as a partial explanation for the observed gender disparity in anxiety symptoms among African American adolescents.     

African American Children's Ability to Identify Emotion in Facial Expressions and Tones of Voice of European Americans

This study examined whether African American children's ability to identify emotion in the facial expressions and tones of voice of European American stimuli was comparable to their European American peers and related to personality, social competence, and achievement. The Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy (DANVA; Now-icki & Duke, 1994) was administered to 84 African American children. It was found that they performed less accurately on adult and child tones of voice and adult facial expressions. Further, girls' ability to read emotion in tones of voice was related to better social competence and achievement, whereas boys' ability to identify emotion in adult tones of voice was related to teacher-rated social competence. Results suggest that more research is needed with ethnic groups to clarify the impact of nonverbal processing skills on social and achievement outcomes.     

Collaboration of Churches and Service Providers: Meeting the Needs of Older African Americans

ABSTRACT

This article describes a community outreach volunteer project designed to reach frail community-based older adults. The project is an example of church and secular agency collaboration in which the church provides leadership in volunteer recruitment and the agency provides training and outreach activity monitoring. The church's role in this project illustrates that small and medium-size African American churches can play an important role in mobilizing volunteer resources and can perform a linking role in helping secular agencies to gain access to frail, hard-to-reach, low-income older adults.     

Psychotherapeutic Drugs: A Brief Review of Their Effects on Psychological Processes

Abstract

Since the 1950s, psychotherapeutic drugs with increasingly specific behavioral and pharmacological actions have become available for treatment of abnormal behavior. In recent years, behavioral pharmacology has emerged as a new discipline which incorporates behavioral and pharmacological analysis of the effects of psychoactive drugs. Many of the findings in this area are highly relevant for professionals concerned with the treatment of abnormal behavior (i.e., psychiatrists, psychologists, etc.). The present paper attempts to present a brief overview of psychotherapeutic drugs and their effects on behavioral processes with an emphasis on psychological therapy. It is concluded that drugs, in addition to their beneficial effects of relieving symptoms, also have many other effects which may potentially interfere with the acquisition and maintenance of normal behavior.     

Physical,Psychological and Social Adaptation of African American Nuns to Their Religious Communities as They Age: Implications for Aging in Place

ABSTRACT

This study examined the association between health status, stress, depression, satisfaction with the relationship with the religious community, alienation from significant persons, racial/cultural identity and “aging in place,” as measured by length of time in the same religious community, for a purposive sample of 72 African American nuns. Aging in place was significantly associated with perceptions of better health status, less stress and depression and greater satisfaction with relationships with the religious community. However, the study also found that the longer the nuns lived in their respective communities, the less racially/culturally identified they became. These findings underscore the need for finding ways to keep nuns in their religious communities as they age and to provide avenues of racial/cultural expression for African American nuns.     

Desirability of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory Items for Women and Men: A Comparison Between African Americans and European Americans

The Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) is a widely used instrument for measuring gender role perceptions, but questions have been raised regarding whether its items reflect contemporary views on gender. A recent study (Holt & Ellis, 1998) revalidated all but 2 of the 40 adjectives included in the masculine and feminine BSRI indices for a predominantly European American undergraduate sample in a rural Southern town. We examined whether European Americans in a different geographical area and 2 samples of African Americans would show similar findings. Study participants were recruited in undergraduate management courses in 2 universities and included 62 European American women, 69 European American men, 40 African American women, and 31 African American men in a large Northeastern city and 56 African American women and 33 African American men in a small Southern city. Findings indicated that European American men in the urban Northeast and African American men in the South gave the most traditional ratings, whereas European American women in the urban Northeast expressed the most liberal views. European American women considered only 4 of the 40 BSRI items to be differentially desirable for women and men, a considerable departure from the findings of Holt and Ellis (1998) as well as Bem (1974).     

Neighborhood Racial Composition,Racial Discrimination,and Depressive Symptoms in African Americans

While evidence indicates that experienced racial discrimination is associated with increased depressive symptoms for African Americans, there is little research investigating predictors of experienced racial discrimination. This paper examines neighborhood racial composition and sociodemographic factors as antecedents to experienced racial discrimination and resultant levels of depressive symptoms among African American adults. The sample included 505 socioeconomically-diverse African American adults from Baltimore, MD. Study data were obtained via self-report and geocoding of participant addresses based on 2010 census data. Study hypotheses were tested using multiple pathways within a longitudinal Structural Equation Model. Experienced racial discrimination was positively associated with age and sex such that older individuals and males experienced increased levels of racial discrimination. In addition, the percentage of White individuals residing in a neighborhood was positively associated with levels of experienced racial discrimination for African American neighborhood residents. Experienced racial discrimination was positively associated with later depressive symptoms. Neighborhood-level contextual factors such as neighborhood racial composition and individual differences in sociodemographic characteristics appear to play an important role in the experience of racial discrimination and the etiology of depression in African American adults.     

Partner Violence, Social Support, and Distress Among Inner-City African American Women

This study examined the role of social support in the partner violence–psychological distress relation in a sample of African American women seeking medical care at a large, urban hospital (n = 138). Results from bivariate correlational analyses revealed that partner violence was related to lower perceived social support and greater psychological distress, and lower social support was related to more distress. Furthermore, findings based on path analysis indicated that low levels of social support helped account for battered women's increased distress. Findings point to the need for service providers to screen for partner violence in nontraditional sites, such as hospital emergency rooms, and to address the role of social support resources in preventive interventions with African American battered women.     

The Relationships Among Black Consciousness,Self-Esteem,and Academic Self-Efficacy in African American Men

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among Black consciousness, self-esteem, and academic self-efficacy in African American men. The participants were 120 African American male college students at a predominantly African American university. The authors administered 3 instruments—the Developmental Inventory of Black Consciousness (DIB-C; J. Milliones, 1980), the M. Rosenberg (1965) Self-Esteem Scale, and R. E. Wood and E. A. Locke's (1987) Academic Self-Efficacy Scale—to test the hypotheses. They used an independent-measures t test and a Pearson r correlation to analyze the data. The results of the study supported the hypotheses under investigation. Significant positive relationships were found between Black consciousness and self-esteem and Black consciousness and academic self-efficacy. The results of the study showed that Black consciousness appears to be an important construct to use in understanding self-esteem and academic self-efficacy in African American men.     

Eating Disorders Among Urban and Rural African American and European American Women

Abstract

It is alleged that eating disorders are nonexistent in African American women and that eating disorder symptomatology occurs predominantly among White middle class women (Kumanyika, Wilson, & Guilford-Davenport, 1993; Smolak & Striegel-Moore, 2001). This research attempted to identify differences in eating disorder symptomatology in African American and White American women. An eating disorder is a disability because it can damage the person physically, emotionally and socially. It can be undetected for years and society may reinforce the hidden disorder by being complimentary regarding the thin appearance of the person. The Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) was used to measure psychological traits and symptom clusters associated with the understanding and treatment of eating disorders (Garner, 1990). Measures of self-esteem, depression and coping were also examined. Findings indicated differences between African American and White women on the Ineffectiveness scale of the EDI, differences between the urban/rural women on Ineffectiveness and Perfectionism, and differences in coping strategies and education among this sample group of women. Successful treatment usually involves psychotherapy and/or medication for depression.     

The Psychosocial Vulnerability Model of Hostility as a Predictor of Coronary Heart Disease in Low-income African Americans

The current study examined social support and stress as mediators of the hostility—coronary heart disease (CHD) relationship as suggested by the psychosocial vulnerability model in a sample of low-income African Americans. Among 95 CHD patients and 30 healthy controls, hostility was negatively correlated with social support, but was not related to minor stress. CHD patients endorsed higher levels of hostility; however, the relationship between hostility and CHD status was diminished once stress and social support were included in the model. This study lends partial support for the psychosocial vulnerability model of hostility in African Americans, but suggests that the relationship between hostility and stress may be impacted by socioeconomic status.     

Extreme Social Isolation, Use of Community-Based Senior Support Services, and Mortality Among African American Elderly Women

The effect of extreme social isolation and use of community-based senior services on longevity was examined in a national sample of African American elderly women (ages 55–96). Consistent with previous research on the social integration/mortality link, African American elderly women who were extremely socially isolated were hypothesized to have a higher 5-year mortality rate. It was also hypothesized that use of community senior services would be negatively associated with 5-year mortality. Results of logistic regression analysis controlling for age, education, income, and health status found that extremely socially isolated African American elderly women were three times more likely than the nonisolated women to die within the 5-year period from the initial survey. Use of community senior services did not have a relationship on mortality. Results are discussed in terms of directions for future research and intervention.