Journal of Black Psychology

This study evaluated the effect of family conflict interactions on cardiovascular responses of African American hypertensive and normotensive mother-daughter dyads and determined degree of mother-daughter concordance of physiologic response. Sixteen African American hypertensive mothers and 21 African American normotensive mothers and their teenage daughters discussed 2 topics, one involving no conflict and the other involving participant-identified conflict. Differences in blood pressure (BP), both systolic and diastolic, and heart rate (HR) were examined. As expected, hypertensive mothers and their daughters had higher BP levels (responsivity) than did their normotensive counterparts. For mothers, differences were due largely to group differences at baseline. For daughters, differences were due largely to group differences in body mass. BP reactivity (change) did not differ significantly between the groups. Few HR effects were observed. There was moderate BP concordance and low HR concordance. The findings suggest that conflict management and body mass may be important factors to consider among families at risk for hypertension.

The Oshodi Empty-Pot Healing Approach (OEPHA) is rooted in African ancient traditions and is characterized by Afrocentric-based psychological theories on therapeutic and personality dimensions. The OEPHA aims to create and fortify processes of optimal balance, vitality, harmony, and an index of achievement-survival motives. Therapy undergoes a circle of therapeutic actions in response to the 11 phases of the OEPHA: Entrustment, Expressivement, Ejectment, Elaboration, Enactment, Embankment, Empowerment, Ensemblement, Encirclement, Enlightenment, and Enrichment. The operationalization of the OEPHA was shown through a case study.

This study examined an acculturation scale designed for use in the African American population. Consisting of 10 items presented in Likert-scale format, the scale asked about: race-related cultural and media preferences (music, radio, television); racial balance in contexts of social interaction (friends, church congregation, parties, neighborhoods); race-related attitudes (relying on relatives for help, desirability of interracial marriage); and degree of comfort in interaction with Whites versus Blacks. Responses were gathered from a national probability sample of more than 900 African Americans. The data generally indicated an African American orientation within the sample but demonstrated notable variation on all items. The scale showed good reliability (internal consistency). Results from factor analysis pointed toward unidimensional structure. Evaluation of construct validity by examining sociodemographic correlates provided notable evidence of validity.

The study examines the relations of self-concept, self-esteem, and racial preference to the academic achievement of African American preschool children. The children were 49 to 63 months of age and enrolled in a Head Start program. Three self-perception measures were obtained for each child, and a measure of academic achievement was obtained yielding 2 scores: a Knowledge Cluster Score and a Skills Cluster Score. Regression analyses indicated that academic self-esteem accounted for a significant amount of the variance in both the Knowledge and Skills Cluster Scores of the children. Racial attitude was also a significant predictor of Knowledge Cluster scores, and self-concept predicted Skills Cluster scores; however, these measures accounted for less variance in achievement than did academic self-esteem. Findings suggest that the development of academic self-esteem is important for the school achievement of minority children.

Little research focuses on the distinction between emotional and social loneliness, particularly within the African American population. This article provides insight into these overlooked dimensions of loneliness. African American under-graduates (50 men, 50 women) from a large predominantly White, Midwestern university completed measures of social and emotional loneliness, the Revised Self-Monitoring Scale, an index of perceived control, and several sociometric questions. Regression analyses indicated social loneliness—a lack of companionship—was inversely related to “number of close friends” and Ability to Modify Self-Presentation. For men, emotional loneliness—lack of intimacy with friends—was inversely related to having a reciprocated best friend. For women, emotional loneliness was inversely related to perceived control. Sensitivity to the Expressive Behavior of Others was significantly and inversely correlated with emotional loneliness only when individuals had high scores on the perceived control scale. We urge development of better scales for assessing these 2 critical forms of loneliness.

This study examines panel data from the National Survey of Black Americans with regard to the predictors of African American quality of life between 1980 and 1992. Objective measures (such as health, education, and income) indicate that the situation for African Americans has either stagnated or declined during this period. Regression analyses found: (a) measures of general life satisfaction, happiness, and family satisfaction to be interrelated across time; (b) global well-being measures of general life satisfaction and happiness to be the strongest predictors of each other; and (c) variation in general life satisfaction to be consistently accounted for by domain well-being measures of family satisfaction and health satisfaction. Implications for further research are discussed.

This preliminary study was designed to test the hypothesis that African Americans would be more likely to use relative or flexible time than would European Americans. Despite the formulations by many Afrocentric scholars of differences in time orientations, there has been relatively little empirical work on this topic. Data were collected from 55 African American and European American students attending a mid-sized private university on the East Coast. Participants responded to relative or mathematical (clock) time choices in 12 scenarios. The results indicated that African Americans were significantly more likely to use relative time for 5 of the 12 scenarios. Marginally significant differences were found for 3 of the 12 scenarios. European Americans did not differ from African Americans in use of relative time for more informal situations, but differed in more formal and structured situations. The implications of the findings for cross-cultural interactions and for African Americans who function within European environments are discussed.