Linda James Myers

Collective Self-Esteem and Africultural Coping Styles in African American Adolescents

The authors examine the relationships between dimensions of collective self-esteem and Africultural coping styles in a sample of African American adolescents. They found that African American adolescents with higher public collective self-esteem (i.e., the belief that others feel positively about their cultural group) reported greater use of spiritual-centered Africultural coping styles to deal with stressful situations. Results also revealed that higher importance to identity collective self-esteem (i.e., the belief that their cultural group is an important part of their self-concept) was related to greater use of collective coping strategies among African American adolescents.

Black Americans' and White Americans' views of the etiology and treatment of mental health problems

Black Americans, in contrast to White Americans, use the mental health system in different ways. For example, Blacks tend to terminate treatment earlier than Whites. One explanation for the racial differences is that members of the two groups hold different views about mental health problems and their treatment. To test this explanation, subjects read and responded to questions about vignettes describing individuals encountering personal difficulties that ranged from adjustment challenges to severe psychiatric illness. Black American respondents rated spiritual factors as more important in the etiology and treatment of the difficulties than did Whites. The implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.

Transpersonal Psychology: The Role of the Afrocentric Paradigm:

Conspicuously absent in the literature of transpersonal psy chology in its search for a paradigm is an exploration of traditional African culture and world view. Such a legacy of omission from philosophical and psychological endeavors is common. This is due to the fact that until recently African culture has been so badly misunderstood because of the imposition of alien world view in its analysis. The unity and integration of knowledge that we seek in a transpersonal paradigm has its framework already existent in the African world view and is identified in Afrocentric psychological theory.

The Effects of World View on Adaptation to Single Parenthood Among Middle-Class Adult Women:

The nature of the relationship between middle-class adult womens world view and their report of the quality of their adjustment to being single mothers was explored. Single mothers and those from two-parent families completed five instruments assessing their world view and emotional adjustment to being mothers. The many statistically significant findings indicated that, although there was considerable person-to-person variation, single mothers who advocated a more Afrocentric world view—defined as more spiritual, communal, and interpersonal and less achievement-oriented, materialistic, and individualistic than the alternate Eurocentric perspective—had higher self-esteem, less depression and anxiety, and were more satisfied with being mothers. The results also indicated that single mothers were less well adjusted than those from two-parent families.

Physiological Responses To Anxiety and Stress Reactions to Oppression, Galvanic Skin Potential, and Heart Rate

The relationship between stress and health has been well established. However, little attention has been paid to extraordinary socio-cultural factors which precipitate stress, such as racism, sexism, etc. In a racist society, one would expect that increased stress and anxiety might be precipitated within those groups toward whom the discrimination is directed. While a common sense analysis would lead to this conclusion, the quantification of data confirming it is absent in psychological literature, particularly in terms of physiological effects and reactions to oppression. The purpose of this study is to examine the potential relationships between physiological responses to anxiety and stress, and reactions to oppression among Black males. The aim will be not only to explicate such a relationship, but also to explore the relevance of quantitative methods for increasing our understanding of human behavior from Afrocentric, as well as Eurocentric, perspectives. Hector Myers (1976) describes membership in the Black race as entailing exposure to highly stressful experiences, triggered essentially by the fact of race. He goes on to identify poverty and ethnicity as two of the most important consequential factors contributing to

Restoration of Spirit

So the way we live now, what draws our spirits forward, if our souls are not energized by the urge to attain projections of our own best selves? History gives us easy, painful answers to that question. Insistently, over centuries, we have been offered the self-projections of people who came determined to unburden us of our land, our resources and our freedom . . . because in our ignorance of self those lethal values seemed to hold promises of salvation. See where we are today.

Optimal Theory and Career Assessment: Towards an Inclusive, Global Perspective

This article explores the impact of limiting the analysis of human experience to one cultural mindset using career development and assessment as a field of inquiry to illustrate the point. The aim is to reveal considerations for the enhancement of the applicability of psychological theory to broader segments of the worlds population, particularly African and other so-called third world populations. Specific attention is given the role of worldview in social context and the shaping of inquiry and research; the natural limits of a fragmented, yet hegemonic mindset; the value of an alternate perspective in expanding scope and insight for future reference; and, recommendations for implementing these insights in career assessment with implications for career counselor training.

Mental Health Assessment and Treatment of African Americans in Cultural Context

This chapter reviews research and conceptual issues involving the physical and mental health of African Americans. A summary of sociodemographic findings is followed by a discussion of the relationship of race, physical and mental health, with emphasis on the role of ethnic identity, racism, and discrimination in the prediction of the trajectory of physical and mental health in the African American community. Culturally sensitive guidelines are also provided in the context of assessing and treating African American clients.