Diane R. Brown

Stressful life events, social support networks, and the physical and mental health of urban black adults.

The direct and the buffering effects of social support networks have been documented, but few studies have examined their health outcomes for blacks and, specifically, the differences in physical and mental health. This study uses six measures of social support to examine the relationships of social support to health outcomes for black males and females. The data are from a community sample of 451 urban black adults. Results show significant differences by sex according to source of social support and particular health outcomes. Number of nearby relatives and perceived social support have direct and buffering effects, respectively, on mental health for black females, but no significant influences emerge for black males. On the other hand, the number of confidants for black males and the degree of religiosity among black females were inversely related to physical health, suggesting differences in conceptual models of social support for mental and physical health.

Patterns of social affiliation as predictors of depressive symptoms among urban blacks

This paper focuses on patterns of social affiliation viewed historically as sociocultural adaptations to stresses associated with minority group status. Data are from a community-based sample of 927 Black adults residing in a large metropolitan area. Specifically, this analysis assesses the extent to which patterns of social affiliation such as close family ties, religious involvement, and participation in voluntary associations diminish the detrimental impact of chronic economic strain on the level of depressive symptoms. The findings provide no support for a sociocultural adaptation explanation. Moreover, the results show an unexpected relationship among religious involvement, chronic economic strain, and depressive symptoms. At the most intense levels of religious involvement, a significantly higher level of depressive symptomatology was evident among those experiencing chronic economic strain. In contrast, those with less religious involvement had fewer depressive symptoms when experiencing chronic economic strain. Implications of findings are discussed relative to social changes affecting patterns of affiliation and sociocultural adaptation in Black communities.

Religious Socialization and Educational Attainment among African Americans: An Empirical Assessment.

As American society becomes more complex and diverse, scholars are devoting more attention to understanding the socialization processes that contribute to social cohesion and societal integration. Increased interest in socialization processes stems from the need for individuals to acquire the necessary skills, knowledge, values and roles that enable them to function effectively in a society affected by rapid technological change and growing cultural diversity (Bush & Simmons, 1981). In attempting to understand socialization processes, Michener et al. (1990) indicate that there are at least four components to be considered: (1) the agent (the person or institution that serves as the source of what is being learned); (2) the learning process; (3) the target (the person being socialized); and (4) the outcome. Among the major agents of socialization are the family, the school, peer groups, mass media, public opinion, and religion. Each agent plays a key role in the lives of an individual, and these agents of socialization exert their influences in different ways and at different times (Berns, 1985). This paper addresses three of the four components of socialization: the agent, the target, and the outcome. Specifically, the paper focuses on the role of religion as an agent of socialization for African Americans. Educational attainment is examined as the outcome.

SOCIAL SUPPORT NETWORK DIFFERENTIALS AMONG MARRIED AND NONMARRIED BLACK FEMALES

Being married has generally been associated with better mental health for adult females, in part because of the social support derived from a primary network relationship. Without the benefit of a spouse, it would be expected that nonmarried adult females would have fewer sources of social support and concomitantly lower levels of psychological well-being. Focusing on selected network characteristics, this study analyzes the differences in social support available to a sample of 91 married and 183 nonmarried Black females residing in a metropolitan area. Results indicate that having a spouse has little influence on the number of socially supportive relationships or the most important sources of assistance with financial problems. A marital partner is a source of emotional support for married Black females, but only for less than one-third. Family members and extended kin are major sources of social support for Black females, irrespective of marital status.

Racial differences in prevalence of phobic disorders

Few community-based field studies have examined racial differences in the prevalence of phobia disorders. Using data from two sites of a large epidemiologic survey, this study investigates risk factors associated with the one-month prevalence of phobia disorders from 2340 black and 3936 white respondents. Findings indicate that recent prevalence is higher for blacks than whites, with racial differences remaining even when demographic and socioeconomic factors are held constant. Additional significant risk factors for recent phobia pertained to site and being female, being young, and having low education attainment.

Unemployment and Psychological Distress among Black American Women

Abstract With data from a community-based survey of 245 black women, this study distinguishes those who view themselves as unemployed from those who are homemakers. Findings indicate that employed women and homemakers do not differ significantly in the level of depressive symptoms. On the other hand, unemployed women are significantly more depressed than employed women, irrespective of age, household income, level of education, marital status and presence of children in the household. Although poor physical health was related to high levels of depressive symptoms for unemployed and employed black women, high religiosity and satisfactory perceptions of social support from family members and friends were considerably more important in reducing distress among unemployed women in contrast to employed women.

Social Support and Depressive Symptoms among Blacks

Depressive symptoms among a sample of Black adults were investigated as a function of three structural characteristics of social support networks: (1) frequency of contact with network members, (2) durability of network relationships, and (3) reciprocity of network relationships. Overall, respondents had frequent contact with their network members, long-term network relationships, and little reciprocity in network relationships. None of these structural characteristics were significantly related to depressive symptoms. Several demographic factors, however, had an effect on depressive symptom scores and network characteristics. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Socio-demographic vs domain predictors of perceived stress: Racial differences among American women

Using data from a national probability sample of black and white females, this study focuses on racial differences and similarities in factors affecting levels of global perceived stress. Selected socio-demographic characteristics as well as satisfactions with the major domains of life — such as self, standard of living, health, family life, and leisure — are examined as predictors of global perceived stress. Generally, domain satisfactions are found to be stronger predictors of perceived stress than are socio-demographic characteristics. Moreover, no racial differences between black and white females are found when socio-demographic factors are controlled. However, a significant racial difference is encountered for one domain: satisfaction with leisure appears to be a stronger predictor of perceived stress for black females than it is for white females.