African American adolescent mothers and grandmothers: A multigenerational approach to parenting

This study is an adaptation and extension of Apfel and Seitz’s (Family Relations, 40(4), 421–429, 1991) models of adolescent parenting and adolescent-grandmother relationships to a sample of 148 African American, first-time adolescent mothers and their 6-month-old infants. The Parental Supplemental model, in which adolescent mothers and grandmothers shared caregiving, described 63% of Apfel and Seitz’s (1991) sample and 66% of the current sample. Shared caregiving was not associated with conflict in the adolescent mother–grandmother relationship. Adolescent mothers who had caregiving responsibilities and a supportive adolescent-grandmother relationship also reported competence in their parenting role. Findings provide support for Apfel and Seitz’s Parental Apprentice model, in which young mothers gain competence through direct caregiving experience in the context of a supportive relationship.     

Cultural mediators of self-reported social anxiety

East Asians generally endorse higher social anxiety than do Westerners. Widely used measures of social anxiety, however, may not account for different social values across cultures. Drawing from Korean (n=251) and Euro-Canadian (n=250) community samples, this study used a cross-sectional design to examine the relationship between ratings of social anxiety and beliefs and self-views typically found in East Asian cultures. Results indicated that independent self-construal and identity consistency, views of the self that are typically associated with Western cultures, fully mediate the ethnic difference on self-reported social anxiety. Moreover, two indicators of East Asian views of the self in social contexts (interdependent self-construal and self-criticism) were partial mediators. Overall, the data suggest conceptualizations of pathological social anxiety may need to be revised to be useful for studying individuals in East Asian cultures.     

A Review of Childrearing in African American Single Mother Families: The Relevance of a Coparenting Framework

Clinical research on African American single mother families has focused largely on mother-child dyads, with relatively less empirical attention to the roles of other adults or family members who often assist with childrearing. This narrow definition of “family” fails to take into account the extended family networks which often provide support for African American single mother families and the influence of these other adults on maternal parenting and youth adjustment. Our review integrates the literature on the role of extended family members, highlights the strengths and limitations of this work, and proposes the use of theory and methods from the coparenting literature to guide future study in this area. The relevance of the study of coparenting for family-based intervention efforts targeting African American youth from single mother homes is addressed.     

Social Support and the Association of Type 2 Diabetes and Depressive and Anxiety Disorders Among Low-income Adults Seen in Primary Care Clinics

This study examined the association of social support (SS) and affective disturbance among low-income primary care patients with no chronic illnesses vs. those with type 2 diabetes vs. those with other chronic illnesses. The sample was predominantly middle aged (47.2 years old), African American (74%) and female (80%), with an average individual monthly income of approximately $500. Participants (N = 326) were administered the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, IV and the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List. Logistic regression results indicated that each standard deviation decrease in SS, increased the odds of having a depressive or anxiety disorder diagnosis by .618 OR (CI .472, .808, p < .000) for all study participants; .438 OR (95% CI .195, .987, p = .046) for those with hypertension, asthma and/or arthritis; and .326 OR (95% CI .141, .755, p = .009) for those with type 2 diabetes. Results suggest that SS may serve an important role in the association between stress and depression/anxiety diagnoses among low-income, primary care patients. This paper was awarded the Lifescan Diabetes Research Award at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.     

Western and East Asian sociocultural learning models: Evidence from cross‐cultural and immigrant research

We review Li's research and theory of cultural learning models in light of Chirkov's (2019) theory of sociocultural models that draw on previous theories and research across social sciences. We recast Li's models as sociocultural learning models (SCLMs) by incorporating Chirkov's three emphases: (a) the inseparability between the social and the cultural, (b) the public versus individuals’ internalization of SCLMs and their mutual enforcement, and (c) collective intentionality and intersubjectivity as embedded in the enactment of SCLMs. As an initial attempt to document how public SCLMs become internalized, we further examine the role of joint intentionality and intersubjectivity at the person‐to‐person level. We use discourse analysis to look at two mother–child conversations about learning from our current European American and Chinese immigrant research data. We show evidence that both joint intentionality and intersubjectivity are prevalently and deeply present in the process of parental socialization (transmitting SCLMs to their young). We conclude that intentionality and intersubjectivity are indispensable to enable SCLMs to exist and to continue by enabling the public to become internalized. The internalization is then enacted and repeated by members across the culture, who in turn function to uphold and renew SCLMs.     

Forgiveness and Reconciliation in the Life and Work of Desmond Tutu

This article explores how mission, forgiveness, and reconciliation have shaped the ministry and work of Desmond Tutu. As much as space permits, it tries to glean the ways in which Tutu has lived out his understanding of mission, forgiveness, and reconciliation in his various roles as lecturer of theology, as Africa director of the Theological Education Fund of the World Council of Churches, as the general secretary of the South African Council of Churches, as president of the All Africa Conference of Churches, as archbishop of Cape Town, and more recently as chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Through a close reading of seminal publications, the article will attempt to draw as complete a picture as possible of his views on forgiveness and reconciliation. To conclude, the essay shall refer to the work of Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice.     

Holocaust Abuse

This essay reconsiders the category of “Holocaust denial” as the marked indicator of ethical transgression in Holocaust historiography within American civil religion. It maintains that the present category excludes and thereby enables other violations of responsible Holocaust historiography. To demonstrate the nature and gravity of such violations, the essay engages the widespread claim that Hajj Muhammad Amin al‐Husayni, the former mufti of Jerusalem, was an instigator, promoter, or “driving spirit” of the Nazi genocide against Jews, and the associated suggestions of wider Arab and Muslim complicity. The essay uncovers the history of the Husayni narrative in question, the dramatic circumstances in which it emerged, its role in the 1961 trial of Adolf Eichmann, and its rediscovery and misuse within American popular and political circles over the past two decades. Such misuse, it concludes, corrodes Holocaust recognition within American civil religion and demonstrates the need for a revision of the socially accepted ethical boundary for responsible Holocaust historiography.     

Environmental Influences on Fighting Versus Nonviolent Behavior in Peer Situations: A Qualitative Study with Urban African American Adolescents

This qualitative study explored environmental factors that influence adolescents’ responses to problem situations involving peers. Interviews were conducted with 106 middle school students (97% African American) from an urban school system. Participants were asked to describe factors that would make it easier and those that would make it more difficult for adolescents to make specific responses to problem situations. Two types of responses were presented: nonviolent responses identified as effective in a previous study, and fighting responses. Qualitative analysis identified 24 themes representing family, peer, school, and neighborhood and broader social factors that were related to both nonviolent behavior and fighting. The identification of environmental influences on fighting and nonviolent responses has important implications for efforts to reduce aggression and promote effective nonviolent responses to problem situations encountered by adolescents.     

Psychosocial Correlates of Medical Mistrust Among African American Men

The current study proposed and tested a conceptual model of medical mistrust in a sample of African American men (N = 216) recruited primarily from barbershops in the Midwest and Southeast regions of the United States. Potential psychosocial correlates were grouped into background factors, masculine role identity/socialization factors, recent healthcare experiences, recent socioenvironmental experiences (e.g., discrimination), and healthcare system outcome expectations (e.g., perceived racism in healthcare). Direct and mediated relationships were assessed. Results from the hierarchical regression analyses suggest that perceived racism in healthcare was the most powerful correlate of medical mistrust even after controlling for other factors. Direct effects were found for age, masculine role identity, recent patient–physician interaction quality, and discrimination experiences. Also, perceived racism in healthcare mediated the relationship between discrimination experiences and medical mistrust. These findings suggest that African American men’s mistrust of healthcare organizations is related to personal characteristics, previous negative social/healthcare experiences, and expectations of disparate treatment on the basis of race. These findings also imply that aspects of masculine role identity shape the tone of patient–physician interactions in ways that impede trust building processes.