Should African Americans be construed as a race or as an ethnic group? If African Americans are defined as an ethnic group, what role does culture play in their lives and how can we measure their culture? This groundbreaking volume argues that we should reject the concept of race and define African Americans as a cultural group. It presents the first scale ever devised for measuring acculturation among African Americans, along with powerful studies that empirically explore the role of culture and acculturation in African American behavior, health, and psychology. Among the authors' findings are how acculturation predicts symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, and physical problems, such as hypertension.
Annotation An anthology of 11 studies synthesize research findings on acculturation that have been reported in specialist journals on the ethnic groups studied, or on theoretical and empirical issues, and so not readily available to psychologists in general. They discuss developments in theory, measurement, and applied research; individual and family processes; and acculturation, psychosocial adjustment, and health. Most of the contributors are research psychologists in the US. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).
Multiculturalism is a prevalent worldwide societal phenomenon. Aspects of our modern life, such as migration, economic globalization, multicultural policies, and cross-border travel and communication have made intercultural contacts inevitable. High numbers of multicultural individuals (23-43% of the population by some estimates) can be found in many nations where migration has been strong (e.g., Australia, U.S., Western Europe, Singapore) or where there is a history of colonization (e.g., Hong Kong). Many multicultural individuals are also ethnic and cultural minorities who are descendants of immigrants, majority individuals with extensive multicultural experiences, or people with culturally mixed families; all people for whom identification and/or involvement with multiple cultures is the norm. Despite the prevalence of multicultural identity and experiences, until the publication of this volume, there has not yet been a comprehensive review of scholarly research on the psychological underpinning of multiculturalism. The Oxford Handbook of Multicultural Identity fills this void. It reviews cutting-edge empirical and theoretical work on the psychology of multicultural identities and experiences. As a whole, the volume addresses some important basic issues, such as measurement of multicultural identity, links between multilingualism and multiculturalism, the social psychology of multiculturalism and globalization, as well as applied issues such as multiculturalism in counseling, education, policy, marketing and organizational science, to mention a few. This handbook will be useful for students, researchers, and teachers in cultural, social, personality, developmental, acculturation, and ethnic psychology. It can also be used as a source book in advanced undergraduate and graduate courses on identity and multiculturalism, and a reference for applied psychologists and researchers in the domains of education, management, and marketing.
Providing students with a readable, basic text on fundamental issues and methods that distinguish the field of ethnic psychology within mainstream psychology, the authors overview the field of ethnic psychology with emphasis on the experiences of African American, Asian American/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Hispanic/Latino, and multiethnic individuals.
African American Males in Education: Researching the Convergence of Race and Identity addresses a number of research gaps. This book emerges at a time when new social dynamics of race and other identities are shaping, but also shaped by, education. Educational settings consistently perpetuate racial and other forms of privilege among students, personnel, and other participants in education. For instance, differential access to social networks still visibly cluster by race, continuing the work of systemic privilege by promoting outcome inequalities in education and society. The issues defining the relationship between African American males and education remain complex. Although there has been substantial discussion about the plight of African American male participants and personnel in education, only modest attempts have been made to center analysis of identity and identity intersections in the discourse. Additionally, more attention to African American male teachers and faculty is needed in light of their unique cultural experiences in educational settings and expectations to mentor and/or socialize other African Americans, particularly males.
In their later years, Americans of different racial and ethnic backgrounds are not in equally good-or equally poor-health. There is wide variation, but on average older Whites are healthier than older Blacks and tend to outlive them. But Whites tend to be in poorer health than Hispanics and Asian Americans. This volume documents the differentials and considers possible explanations. Selection processes play a role: selective migration, for instance, or selective survival to advanced ages. Health differentials originate early in life, possibly even before birth, and are affected by events and experiences throughout the life course. Differences in socioeconomic status, risk behavior, social relations, and health care all play a role. Separate chapters consider the contribution of such factors and the biopsychosocial mechanisms that link them to health. This volume provides the empirical evidence for the research agenda provided in the separate report of the Panel on Race, Ethnicity, and Health in Later Life.
The Classic Edition of 'Immigrant Youth in Cultural Transition', first published in 2006, includes a new introduction by the editors, describing the ongoing relevance of this volume in the context of future challenges for this vital field of study. It emphasizes the importance of continued actions and policies to improve the quality of interactions between multiple ethno-cultural groups, and highlights how these issues have developed the field of cross-cultural psychology. In the original text, an international team of psychologists with interests in acculturation, identity, and development describes the experience and adaptation of immigrant youth, using data from over 7,000 immigrant youth from diverse cultural backgrounds and national youth living in 13 countries of settlement. They explore the way in which immigrant adolescents carry out their lives at the intersection of two cultures (those of their heritage group and the national society), and how well these youth are adapting to their intercultural experience. It explores four distinct patterns followed by youth during their acculturation: *an integration pattern, in which youth orient themselves to, and identify with both cultures; *an ethnic pattern, in which youth are oriented mainly to their own group; *a national pattern, in which youth look primarily to the national society; and *a diffuse pattern, in which youth are uncertain and confused about how to live interculturally. The study shows the variation in both the psychological adaptation and the sociocultural adaptation among youth, with most adapting well. This Classic Edition continues to be highly valuable reading for researchers, graduate students, and public policy makers who have an interest in public health, psychology, anthropology, sociology, demography, education, and psychiatry.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary! The most internationally-cited resource in the arena of multicultural counseling, the Handbook of Multicultural Counseling by J. Manuel Casas, Lisa A. Suzuki, Charlene M. Alexander, and Margo A. Jackson is a resource for researchers, educators, practitioners, and students alike. Continuing to emphasize social justice, research, and application, the Fourth Edition of this best-seller features nearly 80 new contributors of diverse backgrounds, orientations, and levels of experience who provide fresh perspectives to every chapter. Completely updated, this classic text includes new chapters on prevailing social issues and covers the latest advances in theory, ethics, measurement, clinical practice, assessment, and more.
In recent years the topic of acculturation has evolved from a relatively minor research area to one of the most researched subjects in the field of cross-cultural psychology. This edited handbook compiles and systemizes the current state of the art by exploring the broad international scope of acculturation. A collection of the world's leading experts in the field review the various contexts for acculturation, the central theories, the groups and individuals undergoing acculturation (immigrants, refugees, indigenous people, expatriates, students and tourists) and discuss how current knowledge can be applied to make both the process and its outcome more manageable and profitable. Building on the theoretical and methodological framework of cross-cultural psychology, the authors focus specifically on the issues that arise when people from one culture move to another culture and the reciprocal adjustments, tensions and benefits involved.
