“I'm prepared for this moment”: The role of mindfulness in the psychosocial health of women of color

This study utilized a phenomenological approach to explore how women of color (N = 7) engage in mindfulness practices to improve their psychosocial well-being, specifically as it relates to identity development and belongingness. Five themes emerged: awareness of mind–body connection, resilience in the face of discrimination, empathic perspective-taking, awareness of internalized biases, and global sense of belonging. Implications for counselors and future research are discussed.     

Patterns of critical consciousness and associations with sociocultural factors in black adolescents

Critical consciousness includes an understanding of structural oppression, agency to act and actions to redress oppression. Questions remain regarding how youth's experiences with oppression and their social identities might relate to their critical consciousness. In this study, we explored associations between critical consciousness (critical reflection, critical agency, and action) and sociocultural factors (racial identity, racial socialization, and racial stress) among Black adolescents (n = 604; M_age = 15.44, SD = 1.24). We used latent profile analysis and identified four profiles of critical consciousness: Precritical Bystander (62.7%), Liberated Actor (19.9%), Precritical Actor (10.8%), and Acritical Bystander (6.6%). These profiles were distinct in critical reflection, critical agency, and critical action. Next, we examined associations between critical consciousness profiles and sociocultural factors. We found that profile membership was differentially associated with some aspects of racial identity, racial socialization, and racial stress. These findings suggest that there are specific patterns of critical consciousness among Black youth which are differentially associated with racial identity, racial socialization that emphasizes cultural pride, and experiences of cultural racism. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement .     

Assumed race moderates spontaneous racial bias in a computer‐based police simulation

We demonstrated that playing the roles of different outgroup races can elicit extrapersonal racial bias associated with respective racial groups. In a modified version of a computer‐based police simulation, the police officer's race was visually manipulated to be either Black or White. Korean participants made quick decisions whether to shoot targets (Black or White, armed or unarmed) on screen. Comparison of behavioral bias in the task revealed that, as expected, playing the role of a White police officer was associated with a stronger bias against Black targets compared to playing a Black police officer's role. The result suggests that when a social category is activated, one's race‐related behavior can reflect one's beliefs about the biases that members of that category hold.     

Expanding White Racial Identity Theory: A Qualitative Investigation of Whites Engaged in Antiracist Action

This article presents outcomes of a qualitative exploration of White racial identity. Ten participants whose characteristics were reflective of Helms's ( 1990 ) autonomy status defined their racial identities and related lifestyle choices. Findings are conceptualized within the framework of Helms's ( 1990 , 1995 ) theory of White racial identity development. Suggestions are intended to enhance White racial identity theory and provide empirical support for characteristics of Whites who are engaged in antiracist activities.     

A closer look at the discrimination outcomes in the IAT literature

To what extent the IAT (Implicit Association Test, Greenwald et al., 1998) predicts racial and ethnic discrimination is a heavily debated issue. The latest meta‐analysis by Oswald et al. (2013) suggests a very weak association. In the present meta‐analysis, we switched the focus from the predictor to the criterion, by taking a closer look at the discrimination outcomes. We discovered that many of these outcomes were not actually operationalizations of discrimination, but rather of other related, but distinct, concepts, such as brain activity and voting preferences. When we meta‐analyzed the main effects of discrimination among the remaining discrimination outcomes, the overall effect was close to zero and highly inconsistent across studies. Taken together, it is doubtful whether the amalgamation of these outcomes is relevant criteria for assessing the IAT's predictive validity of discrimination. Accordingly, there is also little evidence that the IAT can meaningfully predict discrimination, and we thus strongly caution against any practical applications of the IAT that rest on this assumption. However, provided that the application is thoroughly informed by the current state of the literature, we believe the IAT can still be a useful tool for researchers, educators, managers, and students who are interested in attitudes, prejudices, stereotypes, and discrimination.     

Hoping for a Godly (White) Family: How Desire for Religious Heritage Affects Whites’ Attitudes Toward Interracial Marriage

This study examines how a desire to pass on religious heritage shapes whites’ attitudes toward interracial marriage for their children. Utilizing national survey data (Baylor Religion Survey 2007), I estimate ordered logit regression models to examine the extent to which whites’ desire to have their children and children's spouses share their religion affects attitudes toward their hypothetical daughters marrying blacks, Latinos, or Asians, net of other factors. Analyses reveal that whites who consider it more important that their children and children's spouses share their religion are less comfortable with their daughters marrying blacks, Latinos, or Asians. These effects are robust to the inclusion of measures for religiosity, political ideology, intimate interracial experiences, and other sociodemographic correlates. These findings suggest that, for whites, religious heritage has a clear ethno‐racial component. The greater their desire for descendants to share the same religious views, the more whites would prefer that these descendants themselves be white, indicating that, for many white Americans, religious heritage is equated with whiteness. I conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for research on religion and interracial families.     

When actions speak volumes: The role of inferences about moral character in outrage over racial bigotry

Inferences about moral character may often drive outrage over symbolic acts of racial bigotry. Study 1 demonstrates a theoretically predicted dissociation between moral evaluations of an act and the person who carries out the act. Although Americans regarded the private use of a racial slur as a less blameworthy act than physical assault, use of a slur was perceived as a clearer indicator of poor moral character. Study 2 highlights the dynamic interplay between moral judgments of acts and persons, demonstrating that first making person judgments can bias subsequent act judgments. Privately defacing a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. led to greater moral condemnation of the agent than of the act itself only when the behavior was evaluated first. When Americans first made character judgments, symbolically defacing a picture of the civil rights leader was significantly more likely to be perceived as an immoral act. These studies support a person‐centered account of outrage over bigotry and demonstrate that moral evaluations of acts and persons converge and diverge under theoretically meaningful circumstances. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sleep of Reason: critical reflections on performance arts-based research as psycho-social commentary in expressive arts therapy praxis

This arts-based case study is a critical reflection on how performance art can be used as psycho-social commentary. It is an attempt to amplify arts-based inquiry using critical understandings of diverse and inclusive meaning making in expressive arts praxis and psychology. It examines the use of performance art in the expressive arts to understand psycho-social proximity to and complicity in dehumanization and structural racism. This arts-based research exists in the intersections of culture, race, the arts, and social commentary with the goals of learning how it facilitates awareness of psycho-social justice and how current uncritical expressive arts and psychology praxis and practitioners can perpetuate structural racism and racial trauma. It asserts performance art can be utilized as a catalyst for psycho-social transformation in creative ways.     

Multiracial Identity,Color‐Blind Racial Ideology,and Discrimination: Professional Counseling Implications

Because of the expansive multiracial population growth in the United States, the authors explored multiracial identity integration (MII), color‐blind racial ideology (CBRI), and discrimination using regression analyses with 288 individuals. CBRI and discrimination significantly correlated and predicted MII, with 15.3% of the variance explained by discrimination and CBRI. Moderation analysis revealed that CBRI did not moderate the relationship between discrimination and MII. Continued research among multiracial individuals is recommended to better understand the CBRI and racial identity link.     

Psychiatric Diagnoses and Clinical Characteristics of Asian American Youth in Children's Services

This study examined the psychiatric diagnoses and clinical characteristics of the 981 Asian American children enrolled in the first phase of the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program. Asian Americans were less likely than non- Asian Americans to receive diagnoses of depression and ADHD and more likely to receive diagnoses of anxiety and adjustment disorder. As compared to non-Asians, Asian Americans were significantly more likely to be rated with severe functional impairment in community role performance, self-harmful behavior, and thinking. There was also a trend for fewer externalizing behavior problems. Implications for research and practice are discussed.