Racial/ethnic differences in Body Mass Index: the roles of beliefs about thinness and dietary restriction

The greater BMI of African American relative to Caucasian women is implicated in racial/ethnic disparities in health outcomes. The principal aim of the current study was to evaluate a theoretical account of racial/ethnic differences in BMI. Thin-ideal internalization, the perceived romantic appeal of thinness, dietary restriction, weight, and height were assessed via self-report measures on a sample of female undergraduates of African American (n = 140) and Caucasian (n = 676) race/ethnicity. Using structural equation modeling, support was obtained for the primary hypothesis that racial/ethnic differences in BMI are explained by Caucasian women's greater thin-ideal internalization and perceived romantic appeal of thinness, thereby resulting in greater levels of dietary restriction. Current findings illustrate the potential for racial/ethnic differences in sociocultural standards of appearance to influence racial/ethnic disparities in physical health, of which BMI is a marker, via effects on weight control behavior.     

Cultural Mistrust,Ethnic Identity,Racial Identity,and Self‐Esteem Among Ethnically Diverse Black University Students

Cultural mistrust, ethnic identity, racial identity, and self‐esteem were examined among African (n = 26), African American (n = 110), and West Indian/Caribbean (n = 24) university students. African American students' scores were statistically different from those of African and West Indian/Caribbean students on cultural mistrust, racial identity, and ethnic identity measures. There were no statistically significant differences on self‐esteem among the 3 groups. Results did indicate that cultural mistrust, ethnic identity, and racial identity accounted for 37% of the variance in self‐esteem for African American students. Implications for practice and future research directions are discussed.     

Diverging Paths: Understanding Racial Differences in Civic Engagement Among White,African American,and Latina/o Adolescents Using Structural Equation Modeling

There is increasing concern about the large civic engagement gap between Whites and Latina/o and African American youth. Some suggest this may be because traditional models and measures of civic engagement may not be as applicable for youth from historically marginalized groups. With an urban sample of middle and high school‐age youth (n = 903, 52% female), we used structural equation modeling to identify differences in civic pathways between youth from different racial/ethnic backgrounds. We found significant differences between groups including much stronger relationships between exposure to democratic practices and civic self‐efficacy and knowledge for African American and Latina/o youth than for White youth and a stronger relationship between civic knowledge and future civic engagement for Whites and Latina/os than for African Americans. These findings suggest that educators and researchers interested need to take into account the diversity of youths' racial experiences when examining youth civic development.     

The Influence of Intersecting Identities on Self‐Harm,Suicidal Behaviors,and Depression among Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual Individuals

Individuals with lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) identities have higher prevalence of self‐directed violence, but very little is known about racial/ethnic differences between LGB populations. This study aimed to examine racial/ethnic differences in self‐harm, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and depression among LGB and heterosexual emerging adults. Data are compiled from the Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 National College Health Assessment and limited to respondents within emerging adulthood (ages 18–24) who indicated their sexual orientation and racial/ethnic identities (n = 89,199). Within each racial/ethnic group, LGB individuals were significantly more likely to report self‐harm, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and depression than non‐LGB individuals.     

Are the ethnically tolerant free of discrimination,prejudice and political intolerance?

We hypothesized that the ethnically tolerant (i.e., people who are anti‐ethnocentric and score very low on a measure of ethnocentrism) would perceive people with extremely incompatible values and beliefs as out‐groups and would engage in discrimination, prejudice and political intolerance against them. Experiments among Australian citizens in Studies 1 (N = 224) and 2 (N = 283) showed that the ethnically tolerant perceived supporters of a message in favour of mandatory detention of asylum seekers as out‐groups and consequently exhibited discrimination, prejudice and political intolerance against them. Study 3 with 265 U.S. citizens showed that, controlling for liberalism, ethnic tolerance led to prejudice against out‐groups. This was replicated with 522 UK citizens in Study 4, which also showed that social identity, and not moral conviction, mediated the link between ethnic tolerance and prejudice. The findings suggest that the ethnically tolerant can be discriminatory, prejudiced and politically intolerant against fellow humans.     

The influence of ethnic discrimination and ethnic identification on African American adolescents' school and socioemotional adjustment

Abstract Do experiences with racial discrimination at school predict changes in African American adolescents' academic and psy‐chological functioning? Does African American ethnic identity buffer these relations? This paper addresses these two questions using two waves of data from a longitudinal study of an economically diverse sample of African American adolescents living in and near a major East Coast metropolis. The data were collected at the beginning of the 7th grade and after the completion of the 8th grade. As expected, experiences of racial discrimination at school from one's teachers and peers predicts declines in grades, academic ability self‐concepts, academic task values, mental health (increases in depression and anger, decreases in self‐esteem and psychological resiliency), and increases in the proportion of one's friends who are not interested in school and who have problem behaviors. A strong, positive connection to one's ethnic group (our measure of ethnic identity) reduced the magnitude of the association of racial discrimination experiences with declines in academic self‐concepts, school achievement, and perception of friends' positive characteristics, as well as the association of the racial discrimination experiences with increases in problem behaviors.     

Subjective, behavioral, and physiological reactivity to ethnically matched and ethnically mismatched film clips

This study examined whether individuals from 4 major ethnic groups within the United States (African American, Chinese American, European American, and Mexican American) showed greater subjective, behavioral, and physiological responses to emotional film clips (amusement, sadness, and disgust) with actors from their own ethnic group (ethnically matched) compared with actors from the other 3 ethnic groups (ethnically mismatched). Evidence showed greater responsivity to ethnically matched films for African Americans and European Americans, with the largest effect for African Americans. These findings were consistent across both sex and level of cultural identification. Findings of ethnic difference notwithstanding, there were many areas in which ethnic differences were not found (e.g., little or no evidence was found of greater response to ethnically matched films in Chinese-American or Mexican- American participants). These findings indicate that the emotional response system clearly reacts to stimuli of diverse ethnic content; however, the system is also amenable to subtle "tuning" that allows for incrementally enhanced responding to members of one's own ethnic or cultural group.     

Coping Responses and the Experience of Discrimination1

This study examines the coping responses of individuals reporting experiences of racial/ethnic discrimination (N=156). Racial/ethnic differences in contextual appraisals and coping strategies were reported in response to discrimination. African and Asian American participants reporting experiences of discrimination were more likely to perceive the situation as a challenge. African Americans reporting experiences of discrimination were more likely to report seeking support and guidance when compared to Asian and European Americans. Contextual appraisals did not predict the use of coping strategies in response to experiences of discrimination. Emotional discharge and past experiences of discrimination were positively associated with re‐experiencing symptoms. Cognitive avoidance coping strategies were associated with avoidance symptoms. Clinical implications of the findings are explored.     

Community Storytelling Network,Neighborhood Context,and Civic Engagement: A Multilevel Approach

From a communication infrastructure theory perspective, the current study examined individuals’ civic engagement (neighborhood belonging, collective efficacy, and civic participation) as influenced by 2 multilevel components of the communication infrastructure—an integrated connectedness to a storytelling network (ICSN) and the residential context—focusing on ethnic heterogeneity and residential stability. Our multilevel analyses show that ICSN is the most important individual‐level factor in civic engagement—neighborhood belonging, collective efficacy, and civic participation—after controlling for other individual‐level and neighborhood‐level factors. In both ethnically homogeneous and heterogeneous areas and in both stable and unstable areas, ICSN is an important factor in civic engagement. As contextual factors, residential stability positively affects neighborhood belonging and collective efficacy, and ethnic heterogeneity is negatively related to collective efficacy. Our data do not show any direct contextual effects of residential stability or ethnic heterogeneity on civic participation. However, our HLM analysis showed that the relative importance of ICSN for the likelihood of participation in civic activities is significantly higher in unstable or ethnically heterogeneous areas than in stable or ethnically homogeneous areas.     

Discrimination, Religious Coping, and Tobacco Use Among White, African American, and Mexican American Vocational School Students

This study examined whether religious coping moderates the impact of racial/ethnic discrimination on current (past 30 day) cigarette and cigar/cigarillo use among a racially/ethnically diverse sample of 984 technical/vocational school students (47.1% women; mean age = 25 years). Results indicate that discrimination increased the likelihood of current cigarette use among African American students and current cigar/cigarillo use among white and African American students. Positive religious coping decreased the likelihood of cigarette and cigar/cigarillo smoking for white students only. Negative religious coping increased the likelihood of cigarette use for white students and cigar/cigarillo use for white and African American students. Two 2-way interactions indicate that positive and negative religious coping moderate the discrimination–cigarette smoking relationship for African American and Mexican American students, respectively.     

Racial‐ethnic Identity in Context: Examining Mediation of Neighborhood Factors on Children's Academic Adjustment

Research consistently shows that neighborhood socio‐demographic characteristics and residents’ neighborhood perceptions matter for youth well‐being, including a positive sense of racial‐ethnic identity. Although elementary‐school children are likely in the earlier phases of identity formation, the authors examined whether objective and subjective neighborhood characteristics are related to their racial‐ethnic identity and, in turn, their academic adjustment. A diverse sample (30.4% African American, 35.2% White, 12.3% Latino, & 22.0% Other) of 227 children in Grades 2 through 5 were surveyed in afterschool programs. Bivariate correlations showed that youth living in disadvantaged neighborhoods reported more barriers due to their race‐ethnicity, but these barriers were not related to their sense of academic efficacy. Residing in a disadvantaged neighborhood was unrelated to youth's academic self‐efficacy. However, path analyses showed that positive neighborhood perceptions were associated with a stronger sense of race‐ethnicity (i.e., affirmation and belonging), which was in turn related to greater academic efficacy. These results suggest that neighborhood connection provides a source of affirmation and value for young children, helping them to understand who they are as part of a racial‐ethnic group and helping to foster a sense of future achievement opportunities. This study provides additional evidence that along with other important proximal contexts (e.g., family, school), young children's neighborhood context is important for development. Results are discussed to highlight environmental influences on young children's awareness of race‐ethnicity and the implications of the combined impact of neighborhood and racial‐ethnic identity on psychosocial adjustment.     

Ethnic Identity in Emerging Adults in Sub‐Saharan Africa and the USA,and Its Associations with Psychological Well‐Being

Ethnic identity as a social dimension of identity is argued to be developmentally important for psychological well‐being. However, the relationships between these constructs are mainly examined in Western contexts, amongst dominant–non‐dominant groups. We investigate ethnic identity across the mainstream group of a prototypical Western society (the USA) and several multi‐ethnic sub‐Saharan African countries (Cameroon, Kenya, South Africa, and Zambia), as well as how it relates to psychological well‐being. A total of 1255 university students (61.8% females, M_age = 20.94 years, SD = 2.97) completed a questionnaire with ethnic identity and psychological well‐being measures. Results indicated that ethnic identity was most salient in two different South African ethnocultural samples and least salient in a mainstream US sample. These results suggest that groups that are more exposed to ethnic strain in multicultural societies tend to have more salient ethnic identities. Furthermore, the underlying structure in the ethnic identity psychological well‐being relationship was similar across groups. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluating Supervision Models in Functional Family Therapy: Does Adding Observation Enhance Outcomes?

This study examined the effects of observation‐based supervision Building Outcomes with Observation‐Based Supervision of Therapy (BOOST therapists = 26, families = 105), versus supervision as usual (SAU therapists = 21, families = 59) on (a) youth externalizing behavior problems and (b) the moderating effects of changes in family functioning on youth externalizing behaviors for adolescents receiving Functional Family Therapy (FFT). Exploratory analyses examined the impact of supervision conditions on youth internalizing problems. In 8 community agencies, experienced FFT therapists (M = 1.4 years) received either BOOST or SAU supervision in a quasi‐experimental design. Male (59%) or female (41%) adolescents were referred for the treatment of behavior problems (e.g., delinquency, substance use). Clients were Hispanic (62%), African American (19%), Non‐Hispanic White (12%), or Other (7%) ethnic/racial origins. Therapists (female, 77%) were Hispanic 45%, African American (19%), White Non‐Hispanic (30%), or other (4%) ethnic/racial backgrounds. Analyses controlled for the presence or absence of clinically elevated symptoms on outcome variables. Clinical outcomes were measured at baseline, 5 months, and 12 months after treatment initiation. Clients with externalizing behavior above clinical thresholds had significantly greater reductions in problem behaviors in the BOOST versus the SAU conditions. Clients below thresholds did not respond differentially to conditions. Supervisors in BOOST had more experience with the FFT model; as such, the observed results may be a result of supervisor experience. The BOOST supervision was associated with improved outcomes on problem behaviors that were above clinical thresholds. The findings demonstrate the importance of addressing client case mix in implementation studies in natural environments.     

Perceived Racism and Encouragement Among African American Adults

The effects of spirituality, racial socialization, and ethnic pride on encouragement in the face of racism among African American adults (N= 201) were investigated. The negative relationship between perceived racism and encouragement disappeared when spirituality, ethnic pride, and a racial socialization history were entered into the regression equation. Se investigaron los efectos de la espiritualidad, la socialización racial y el orgullo étnico sobre el ánimo para enfrentarse al racismo entre adultos Afroamericanos (N = 201). La relación negativa entre el racismo percibido y el ánimo desapareció cuando se introdujeron en la ecuación regresiva la espiritualidad, el orgullo étnico y una historia de socialización racial.     

Resilience from Childhood Stressors: The Role of Cultural Resilience,Ethnic Identity,and Gender Identity

This study examined the potential influence of cultural resilience, ethnic identity, and gender identity on resilience processes across diverse racial/ethnic groups of young women. A sample of 200 women who attended a large state university were studied, of whom 50 self-identified as White, 50 as African American, 50 as Asian or Asian American, and 50 as Latina. Results indicated significant racial/ethnic differences in childhood stressors experienced by the women such that African American, Asian/Asian American, and Latina women reported more overall childhood stressors and more stress associated with racism and sexism than their White counterparts. Furthermore, ethnic identity search and an androgynous gender identity contributed to greater resilience. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Congregational Diversity and Attendance in a Mainline Protestant Denomination

One of the surprising oversights of existing research on racially/ethnically diverse congregations is the inattention to how racial composition relates to patterns of attendance. Is diversity associated with attendance growth, stability, or decline? A popular assumption from the Church Growth Movement is that cultural homogeneity is a foundation for growth, but recent research challenges this long‐standing belief. We test these competing views with longitudinal data from over 10,000 congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). We examine the relationship between changes in racial/ethnic diversity and changes in average weekly attendance over a 19‐year time period (1993–2012). In spite of the ELCA's denominational push for racial diversity in its local churches, our analysis finds increasing racial diversity associated with decreasing average attendance, most notably during the 1990s. To conclude, we discuss the implications of our findings for congregations and denominations.     

Minority children's intergroup attitudes about peer relationships

Intergroup attitudes were assessed in African‐American (N=70) and non‐African‐American minority (N=80) children, evenly divided by gender, in first (M=6.5 years old) and fourth (M=9.6 years old) grades attending mixed‐ethnicity public schools in a suburban area of a large mid‐Atlantic city in the USA. Children were interviewed to test hypotheses about implicit racial biases, perceptions of similarity between peer dyads, and judgments about cross‐race friendships. Implicit racial biases emerged when children evaluated ambiguous picture cards, with children viewing a White child as more likely to be a transgressor than a Black child in certain situations. There were no racial biases when evaluating potential cross‐race friendship (it was judged to be feasible); nor was there any evidence of an outgroup homogeneity effect. Children who used ethnicity as a reason for judging peers to be similar, however, were less likely to judge that the cross‐race dyads could be friends. The findings indicate the ways in which minority children's judgments about the majority and their perceptions of similarity between peer dyads influence their interpretations of peer interactions.     

Illness disclosure and mental health among women with HIV/AIDS

The current study examines two contrasting models of the relationship between illness disclosure and mental health among an ethnically‐diverse group of women with HIV/AIDS. In the first, and commonly accepted model, illness disclosure predicts enhanced mental health status. In the second or alternate model, based on the stigmatization that accompanies HIV/AIDS infection, illness disclosure predicts poorer mental health. We also explore an alternate interpretation for this second model, namely that the mental health status of participants is predictive of their levels of disclosure. A total of 176 women from three major ethnic groups were interviewed and assessed during the baseline visit for a comprehensive longitudinal study. Results showed that these women constituted a highly‐disclosed population; over one‐third of them had disclosed their HIV status to their entire social networks. Contrary to expectation, disclosure was unrelated to mental health among the African‐American (n = 72) and European‐American (n = 47) women. Among the Latina women (n = 57), however, greater disclosure was related to higher levels of depression, psychological distress, and reported pain. Regression analyses controlling for age, education, and illness severity showed that disclosure makes a small but independent contribution to the prediction of mental health status. Thus, among the Latinas, the data were consistent with both the stigma model and the hypothesis that greater distress predicts wider disclosure. General patterns of disclosure are described and possible explanations for the inconsistent relationships found between disclosure and mental health among the three ethnic groups are considered. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Correlates of African American and Latino parents' messages to children about ethnicity and race: a comparative study of racial socialization

Recently, social scientists have become increasingly interested in the nature of communications from parents to children regarding ethnicity and race. Termed racial socialization, race-related messages to children may have important consequences for children's identity development and well-being. This study examined the frequency and correlates of two dimensions of racial socialization—messages about ethnic pride, history, and heritage (Cultural Socialization) and messages about discrimination and racial bias (Preparation for Bias)—among 273 urban African American, Puerto Rican, and Dominican parents. Parents reported more frequent Cultural Socialization than Preparation for Bias. There were no significant ethnic group differences in the frequency of Cultural Socialization. However, African American parents reported more frequent Preparation for Bias than did Dominican parents who, in turn, reported more frequent messages of this sort than did Puerto Rican parents. Ethnic identity was a stronger predictor of Cultural Socialization among Puerto Rican and Dominican parents than among their African American counterparts. In contrast, perceived discrimination experiences was a stronger predictor of Preparation for Bias among African American and Dominican parents than among Puerto Rican parents. Finally, race-related phenomenon accounted for more variance in both Cultural Socialization and Preparation for Bias among parents reporting on their behaviors with children 10–17 years old as compared to parents reporting on their behaviors with children 6–9 years old.     

Exploring Divergent Patterns in Racial Identity Profiles Between Caribbean Black American and African American Adolescents: The Links to Perceived Discrimination and Psychological Concerns

Using cluster analyses, this study explored the relations among racial identity, perceived discrimination, and psychological concerns among 189 Caribbean Black American and African American adolescents. Findings showed that for all participants, less mature racial identity profiles were significantly related to perceived discrimination and psychological concerns. However, nuances in racial identity profiles between Caribbean Black American and African American participants suggest subtle ethnic group differences in racial identity development. Implications for practitioners and research are discussed. Usando análisis cluster, este estudio exploró las relaciones entre identidad racial, discriminación percibida y preocupaciones psicológicas en 189 adolescentes afroamericanos y americanos negros caribeños. Los hallazgos mostraron que, para todos los participantes, los perfiles de identidad racial menos maduros estaban significativamente relacionados con una discriminación percibida y preocupaciones psicológicas. Sin embargo, los matices de los perfiles de identidad racial entre los participantes afroamericanos y americanos negros caribeños sugieren unas diferencias sutiles entre ambos grupos étnicos en el desarrollo de la identidad racial. Se discuten las implicaciones para practicantes e investigadores.