Journal of Black Psychology

Moderating effects of psychological adjustment on the relationship of kinship support with parenting practices were assessed among 204 low-income African American mothers of adolescents. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that kinship support, optimism, and self-esteem were positively associated with mothers’ emotional support of their adolescents. Moderating effects of mothers’ adjustment revealed that the positive association of kinship support with emotional support was less apparent when mothers were more depressed. Additional evidence of moderation was found, in that the positive association of kinship support with emotional support was more apparent when mothers had higher levels of self-esteem. Kinship support and optimism were positively associated with mothers’ maintenance of organization in the family. Evidence of the moderating effects of mothers’ adjustment revealed that the positive association of kinship support with family organization was more evident when mothers had higher levels of self-esteem. Findings were discussed in terms of the need for more research on the contexts in which social support occurs.

A total of 52 African American senior citizens (aged 59-99 years) were asked to participate in a study examining psychological resources (ego resilience and dispositional optimism) and the experience of racial stress as a function of geographical location (north vs. south). This is an understudied population, and African American seniors who remain relatively active within their respected communities may provide useful information regarding these psychological constructs in particular and successful aging in general. Participants completed the ego resilience, optimism, stress, and distress surveys. When collapsed across geographical location, resilience was negatively correlated with distress and positively correlated with optimism. Dispositional optimism was negatively correlated with levels of psychological distress. African American seniors who resided in the north reported significantly less distress than those in the south. Findings support resiliency and optimism as stress buffers for older African Americans.

The present study tested the moderating effect of culture-specific coping strategies to understand the relationships between race- and gender-based discrimination and psychological symptoms for African American women. Previous literature suggests that African American women experience adverse psychological outcomes related to race and gender discrimination. Therefore, it was hypothesized that coping strategies would influence the severity of discrimination-related psychological consequences, such that frequent use of coping efforts would be related to less severe psychological symptoms. Moderated structural equation modeling was used to test the study hypothesis. Results revealed that race and gender discrimination were associated with increased psychological symptoms. No moderating effect of coping strategies was found. Implications for future research are discussed.

This qualitative study examined the parentification of eight Black American college females and its impact on their college experiences. Two 90-minute focus groups were conducted in order to gain insight about how these women overcame personal and family challenges while being away from their families of origin. Results highlight the push-pull factors experienced by the participants from both school and their family of origin and how they dealt with barriers to successful college completion.

The disidentification hypothesis predicts that African American boys achieve less in school than African American girls do because boys have less personal investment in doing well academically (i.e., they are disidentified). When do such gender differences emerge? Using self-perception and achievement data from longitudinal studies of children (N = 113) at high risk for academic problems because they come from low-income families, the authors examined whether elementary school—aged and early adolescent African American boys are more prone to low achievement and disidentification than African American girls. Multiple regression analyses indicated no gender differences in reading or mathematics achievement between boys and girls at age 8 or at age 12. At age 12, African American boys’ self-esteem was predicted by academic performance in ways similar to that of African American girls. Thus, no gender differences emerged in elementary school achievement and no gender-specific disengagement patterns were confirmed among at-risk African American students.

To circumvent the disproportionately low number of persons of African descent in psychology, this study offers strategies for recruiting and retaining Black students and professionals. Data for this study were collected from 44 Black students and 3 Black faculty. Participants responded to questions that inquired about their perspectives regarding (a) effective recruitment and retention strategies, (b) being the vast minority in school/work settings, and (c) counselor race-ethnicity. Data were analyzed using the grounded theory constant comparative analysis approach. This study contributes to all psychology fields in at least two ways: first in its presentation of innovative strategies that have the potential to enhance racial-ethnic diversity in psychology and second in its presentation of insights that may improve the mental and behavioral health services provided to diverse people. While the need for greater diversity is highlighted for the school psychology subfield, it is noted that psychology in general is in need. Additionally, though the study pays greater attention to student concerns, all the findings also factor into postgraduate life. Recommendations for future research are offered.