Lawrence E. Gary

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.

Residential Satisfaction and Socioeconomic and Housing Characteristics of Urban Black Adults

Most studies directed at examining which factors within the residential environment best predict expressed satisfaction of residents use responses pertaining to the immediate physical and social environment. While earlier studies limited themselves to the physical environment alone (Cottam, 1951; Kennedy, 1950; Mogey & Morris, 1960; Riemer, 1945) and sometimes included the social environment as well (Fried & Gleicher, 1961; Gans, 1961; Wilner, Walkley, Pinkerton & Tayback, 1962), not until recently did studies begin to use attitudinal factors in the understanding of residential satisfaction. The perception of expressed satisfaction as an attitude, it is believed, could assist in further exploring linkages between satisfaction and social behavior (Francescato, Weidemann, & Anderson, 1987). In this regard, studies have attempted to predict satisfaction through the multivariate analyes of socioeconomic and demographic variables, as well as those relating to other personal characteristics of residents (Canter & Rees, 1982; Francescato, Weidemann, Anderson, & Chenoweth, 1974, 1979; Robinson, 1973-74). Not much work has been done on the residential satisfaction of Blacks. Thus, what one may refer to as constituting Blacks ex-

Predicting attitudes toward substance use in a black community: implications for prevention.

This study identified those demographic and sociocultural factors that best predict the attitudes of black adults toward substance use. Data were collected by survey research methods from a probability sample of 411 black adults who resided in an urban community. The study found that racial consciousness was the best predictor of substance use attitudes and that gender, age, church involvement, and marital status were other significant predictors.

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.

Drinking, Homicide, and the Black Male

There has been a significant growth in the amount of literature on the role of men in American society. To a large extent, this literature has focused on documenting the privileges, benefits, and the negative consequences of being a man in the United States (Brenton, 1966; Farrell, 1974; Goldberg, 1977; Kriegel, 1979; Pietropinto and Simmenauer, 1977; Pleck, 1981; Sexton, 1969). However, very little attention has been concentrated on the unique concerns or needs of Black men. As indicated in their book, Men and Masculinity, Pleck and Sawyer (1974) state the following:

Some Determinants of Attitudes toward Substance Use in an Urban Ethnic Community

Personal interview responses of a stratified random sample of 411 non-institutionalized black adults, 18 yr. of age and older, who resided in a large northeastern city showed sex, age, marital status, community involvement, racial consciousness, and religious involvement as significantly related to attitudes toward substance use. Educational status was not an important predictor of attitudes. Women, persons 65 yr. of age and older, and married respondents were less tolerant of substance use than men, persons less than 25 yr. of age, and those who were single. Respondents involved in church and community activities and those with a high level of racial consciousness were more likely to express intolerant attitudes toward substance use than those not so involved and aware. The significance of these findings and implications for programs for prevention of substance abuse and future research are discussed.

The Significance of Research for the Survival of Black Colleges.

The major objective of this paper is to examine critically problems and proposed solutions related to developing research activities at predominantly Black colleges. Given the broad nature of this topic, it is necessary to set some limitation on this presentation. While research has a role to play in community or two-year colleges, I will focus primarily on four-year colleges and universities. For this paper, I will discuss research from the perspective of the behavioral sciences, but one should not assume that research in the natural sciences are not important for strengthening the academic position of Black colleges. Black colleges refer specifically to those Black institutions of higher learning founded for Black people. Several of these institutions were established prior to the abolishment of slavery in the United States. However, with a few exceptions,