This volume brings together leading experts from different disciplines to offer new perspectives on contemporary African American families. A wealth of knowledge is presented on the heterogeneity of Black family life today; the challenges and opportunities facing parents, children, and communities; and the impact on health and development of key cultural and social processes. Comprehensive and authoritative, the book critically evaluates current policies and service delivery models and sets forth cogent recommendations for supporting families' strengths. Following an overview that traces the ongoing evolution of theory and research in the field, the book examines how African American families fare on numerous indicators of well-being. Throughout, contributors identify factors that promote or hinder healthy child and family development, writing from a culturally sensitive, nonpathologizing stance. The concluding chapter provides an up-to-date framework for culturally competent mental health practice.
This book argues that a theory of crime specific to the African American experience is justified by qualitative and quantitative data, not just because of the disproportionately higher percentage of African Americans (in the U.S. population) who are offenders, but also because of the vastly higher percentage of Black Americans who are non-offenders.
This volume takes an in-depth look at the family resources and coping mechanisms of African Americans. Organized in two sections, the book first examines African American families in a broader context, then moves on to relationships within families. Chapters cover topics such as: growing up and surviving in the inner city; the resilience of families in military and foreign environments, or when faced with a lack of prenatal care, or with single parenthood; healing forces in African American families; and a comparative study of mother-daughter interaction in African American and Asian American families.
`This book stands out for a number of reasons...the result is an authoritative, provocative and challenging collection, which will doubtless help to stimulate further debate in the field′ Susan Condor, Department of Psychology, Lancaster University `The authors are to be commended for assembling an unusually stimulating collection of chapters...the book is clearly distinguished by the breadth of its coverage and the theoretical insights it offers. It is a valuable addition to any collection on this topic′ Jack Dovidio, Department of Psychology, Colgate University `This is a comprehensive text that is extremely well written by top social psychologists, with all of the major theoretical perspectives represented. The editors should be commended for putting together this lively and engaging text′ Nyla Branscombe, Department of Psychology, University of Kansas A range of international events have recently focused attention on issues of prejudice, racism and social conflict: increasing tensions in former Eastern bloc countries, political conflict in Northern Ireland and the United States, as well as racial conflict in the Baltic States, Middle East, Africa, and Australasia. In light of these events, Understanding Prejudice, Racism and Social Conflict presents a timely and important update to the literature, and makes a fascinating textbook for all students who need to study the subject. A variety of theoretical and conceptual approaches are necessary to fully understand the themes of prejudice and racism. This textbook successfully presents these, uniquely, by examining how these themes manifest themselves at different levels - at the individual, interpersonal, intergroup and institutional levels. It aims to integrate the different approaches to understanding racism and prejudice and to suggest new ways to study these complex issues. This integrated, international focus should make it key reading for students in many countries. With contributions from world-leading figures, Understanding Prejudice, Racism and Social Conflict should prove to be an invaluable teaching resource, and an accessible volume for students in social psychology, as well as some neighbouring disciplines.
How are people and communities able to prevail despite challenge? What helps them bounce back from adversity and even grow in knowledge and understanding? And can this resilience be taught? During the past decade, exciting scientific advances have shed light on how resilience operates from neurons to neighborhoods. In The Resilience Handbook, experts in the science of resilience draw on human and animal research to describe the process of resilience and follow its course as it unfolds both within individuals and in social networks. Contributors also highlight the promise of new interventions that apply what we know about resilience processes to bolster positive health, and raise some of the pressing questions and issues for the field as it matures. This handbook is designed to be used by students as an invitation to a burgeoning field; by researchers, as a framework for advancing theories, hypotheses, and empirical tests of resilience functions; and by clinicians, as a comprehensive and up-to-the-minute integration of theory and practice.
Prejudice: The Target's Perspective turns the tables on the way prejudice has been looked at in the past. Almost all of the current information on prejudice focuses on the person holding prejudiced beliefs. This book, however, provides the first summary of research focusing on the intended victims of prejudice. Divided into three sections, the first part discusses how people identify prejudice, what types of prejudice they encounter, and how people react to this prejudice in interpersonal and intergroup settings. The second section discusses the effect of prejudice on task performance, assessment of ones own abilities, self-esteem, and stress. The final section examines how people cope with prejudice, including a discussion of coping mechanisms, reporting sexual harassment, and how identity is related to effective coping. - Includes an introduction, the consequences of prejudice, and how to cope with prejudice - The editors are top researchers in the field of prejudice - All the contributors are major figures in the social psychological analysis of intergroup relationships
Equity and Justice in Development Science: Implications for Diverse Young People, Families, and Communities, a two volume set, focuses on the implications of equity and justice (and other relevant concepts) for a myriad of developmental contexts/domains relevant to the lives of young people and families (e.g. education, juvenile justice), also including recommendations for ensuring those contexts serve the needs of all young people and families. Both volumes bring together a growing body of developmental scholarship that addresses how issues relevant to equity and justice (or their opposites) affect development and developmental outcomes, as well as scholarship focused on mitigating the developmental consequences of inequity, inequality, and injustice for young people, families, and communities. - Contains a wide array of topics on equity and justice which are discussed in detail - Focuses on mitigating the developmental consequences of inequity, inequality, and injustice for young people, families, and communities - Includes chapters that highlight some of the most recent research in the area - Serves as an invaluable resource for developmental or educational psychology researchers, scholars, and students
This innovative text is the first to examine the contemporary psychological experience of African Americans through the lens of a positive, strengths-based model. It combats the deficit perspective that has permeated the psychological literature about African Americans by focusing on the strengths that have facilitated their growth and resilience—while also considering existing challenges and struggles. The author examines in depth the major areas of psychological research across family, peer, and romantic relationships, education, work, ethnic-racial socialization and identity, prosocial behavior and civic engagement, and the mental and physical health of African Americans today. With a focus on real life applications, the text includes pedagogical elements introducing topics in Current Events, Interventions in Practice, Individual Issues, African Cultural Values, and Media and Technology. Additional features include learning objectives in each chapter, discussion questions, a closing summary, an extensive trove of additional resources, and PowerPoints and a sample syllabus for instructors. Print version of book includes free, searchable, digital access to the entire contents. Key Features: Serves as the first text to examine African American psychology from a strengths-based perspective Grounded in a lifespan perspective Focuses on ethnic-racial socialization and ethnic-racial identity Addresses mental and physical health Demonstrates how communities have used strength-based techniques to achieve positive outcomes Integrate values common to Western Africa Includes learning objectives, discussion questions, closing summary, and boldfaced key terms Provides PowerPoints and a sample syllabus
African American Females: Addressing Challenges and Nurturing the Future illustrates that across education, health, and other areas of social life, opportunities are stratified along gender as well as race lines. The unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privilege between men and women intersects with race and class to create multiple levels of disadvantage. This book is one result of a unique forum intended to bring into focus the K–12 and postsecondary schooling issues and challenges affecting African American girls and women. Focusing on the historical antecedents of African American female participation and the contemporary context of access and opportunity for black girls and women, the contributors to this collection pay particular attention to the interaction of gender with race/ethnicity, class, age, and health, with the central aim of encouraging thoughtful reading, critical thinking, and informed conversations about the necessity of exploring the lives of African American females. Additionally, the book frames important implications for recommended changes in policy and practice regarding a number of critical matters presently affecting African American females in schools and communities across the state of Michigan and nationwide.
