Journal of Black Psychology

Skin color in relation to perceived attractiveness, personality ratings, and perceived life success of African Americans was investigated in a 2 (sex of participant) 2 (skin color of stimulus person) 2 (sex of stimulus person) design. Based on prior research, Skin Color Sex of Stimulus Person and Sex of Participant Skin Color interactions were hypothesized. Lighter skinned African American women and dark-skinned African American men were expected to receive higher attractiveness, personality, and life success ratings from White participants. In addition, women were expected to rate dark-skinned individuals higher. The results obtained supported the hypotheses for perceived life success only. African American women with fair skin were rated higher than fair-skinned African American men on intelligence and parenting skills. In addition, women rated dark-skinned individuals higher than men did on intelligence. Women also rated the dark-skinned individuals higher than fair-skinned individuals on enthusiasm. Findings are discussed in terms of marketplace theory.!

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which racial contexts moderate the importance and function of intragroup skin-tone stigma among Black Americans. One hundred and thirty-two Black students were recruited from both a predominantly Black university and a predominantly White university and completed measures on skin tone, skin-tone importance, peer-group acceptance, self-esteem, and racial identification. The authors found that Black students in the predominantly Black university placed significantly higher importance on skin tone than Black students in the predominantly White university. Furthermore, both higher perceived peer acceptance and higher self-esteem were correlated with darker skin tone at the Black university but not at the White university. However, stronger racial identity was equally correlated with darker skin tone in both contexts. The results of this study suggest that the importance of skin tone is moderated by racial context.

This study examines the use of approach (e.g., seeking social support, problem solving) and avoidance (e.g., distancing, internalizing, externalizing) strategies for coping with perceived racial discrimination and their relationship to the subjective feelings of distress evoked by perceived experiences of discrimination and perceived control over discriminatory experiences among a small, relatively homogeneous sample of Black youth (N = 71). Results of hierarchical regression analyses support evidence from the general adolescent stress and coping literature that links avoidance coping to greater feelings of distress and approach coping to a greater sense of personal control. Greater self-reports of distress are related to greater use of internalizing and externalizing coping strategies. Greater self-reports of perceived control over discriminatory experiences are related to greater use of seeking social support and problem-solving coping strategies. Implications for promoting the successful coping of Black youth with perceived racial discrimination are discussed.

Research on ecological factors that influence the experience of racial socialization by African American adolescents is limited but necessary in understanding how youth come to be exposed to these messages. This study examines how the cultural diversity of an adolescent’s neighborhood and his or her experience with racism moderates the frequency of experiencing protective and proactive racial socialization communications received from their families. Results reveal that boys are more likely than girls to receive coping with antagonism and cultural pride communications in high culturally diverse neighborhoods when they’ve had a personal experience with racism. Conversely, girls from low culturally diverse neighborhoods, predominantly Black, report receiving more cultural pride messages from family if they had a personal experience with racism. The moderating effects of neighborhood cultural diversity and racism on the racial socialization of Black youth are discussed.

This article examines the role of culture in the socialization patterns found in the households of low-income African Americans. Using the Triple Quandary theoretical framework, the authors hypothesized that cultural themes consistent with an Afro-cultural ethos would be reported significantly more than those associated with a mainstream cultural ethos. Scenarios depicting socialization activities reflecting the four distinct cultural themes were constructed. Seventy-one low-income African American parents reported how often they perform the activities reflecting the cultural themes in question. Findings revealed that parents reported communal practices significantly more than those activities linked to the remaining three cultural themes. Implications and future research directions are discussed.