Lionel D. Scott

The Relation Of Racial Identity And Racial Socialization To Coping With Discrimination Among African American Adolescents

This study purposed to explore whether the strategies used by African American adolescents to cope with perceived discriminatory experiences were related to their racial identity and racial socialization. Results indicated that the degree to which race was central to participants self-conceptions and identities was unrelated to both approach and avoidance coping strategies. In contrast, the frequency to which participants received socialization messages concerning racism from their parents and/or guardians was related to the use of approach coping strategies but unrelated to avoidance coping strategies. The importance of a more systematic focus on African American adolescent stress and coping is discussed.

Relationship of Distress and Perceived Control to Coping With Perceived Racial Discrimination Among Black Youth

This study examines the use of approach (e.g., seeking social support, problem solving) and avoidance (e.g., distancing, internalizing, externalizing) strategies for coping with perceived racial discrimination and their relationship to the subjective feelings of distress evoked by perceived experiences of discrimination and perceived control over discriminatory experiences among a small, relatively homogeneous sample of Black youth (N = 71). Results of hierarchical regression analyses support evidence from the general adolescent stress and coping literature that links avoidance coping to greater feelings of distress and approach coping to a greater sense of personal control. Greater self-reports of distress are related to greater use of internalizing and externalizing coping strategies. Greater self-reports of perceived control over discriminatory experiences are related to greater use of seeking social support and problem-solving coping strategies. Implications for promoting the successful coping of Black youth with perceived racial discrimination are discussed.

Cultural Orientation and Coping With Perceived Discrimination Among African American Youth

This study sought to explore whether the resonance of certain orientations and dimensions asserted to be distinctive of Black culture (affect, communalism, and spirituality) and mainstream American culture (competition, effort optimism, and individualism) wer related to the strategies used by African American youth to cope with perceived discrimination. Participants wer 120 African American youth from two geographical regions in the United States (northern Alabama, n = 71; central Ohio, n = 49). The findings suggested that orientations and corresponding dimensions of Black culture and mainstream American culture might evidence varying degrees of resonance among African American youth from disparate social-environmental contexts. The findings also indicated that spirituality and effort optimism wer related to greater use of self-reliance/problemsolving coping strategies, whereas communalism was related to lower use of externalizing coping strategies. The implications of cultural orientation for the adjustment and psychological functioning of African American youth in the face of multiple racial contingencies are discussed.

Static, dynamic, integrated, and contextualized: A framework for understanding mental health service utilization among young adults

Research has illuminated the problem of untreated mental illness among young adults, including evidence that young people who exit public care systems often discontinue mental health services in adulthood. The present study explored mental health service use experiences during the transition to adulthood among sixty young adults, ages 18-25, from a Midwestern U.S. state. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted. All participants had mood difficulties, and shared three childhood experiences: (a) mood disorder diagnosis; (b) use of public mental health services; and (c) experience with social service systems. Immersion and grounded theory coding techniques were applied to the interview data. Two major themes about mental health service use emerged from the findings, namely the changing nature of service use over time and characterizations of experiences associated with service use at a given point in time. Categories of explanatory constructs that emerged in the latter theme included perceived need, emotions, perceived efficacy of services, and social considerations, among others. Findings suggested a four-facet mid-level theory of service utilization, highlighting both the cross-sectional and time-variant character of service use and decision-making within context. Links between broader theoretical frameworks of service utilization and social psychological models of decision making were noted, and guidelines were presented for ten classes of variables that researchers interested in understanding service use by young adults should consider.

Older Youth Nearing Their Exit from Congregate Care: Current Innovative Programs

SUMMARY The present paper reviews literature on older youth in foster care with a focus on those older youths in residential. We aim to examine what has been written in the scholarly literature about this specific group. Literature was reviewed from the last decade on the problems these youths face and potential solutions for them in the program literature. A literature review was done utilizing keywords. Further, this paper presents highlights from two informational interviews with residential agencies. Here we aim to describe what the Executive Directors and staff members believe older youths need, how they work with them and the important components of a residential facility for older youth. Findings uncovered that both agencies highlighted the importance of pro-social attachments, or caring relationships, along with education and safety. Also, the critical importance of preparing youths enough so that when they leave residential they will have reduced the gap between their skills and others their age, so as to be able to compete in society for jobs and further education. Limitations include lack of generalizability, among others.

Substance use among older youth transitioning from foster care: Examining the protective effects of religious and spiritual capital

School of Social Work, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA School of Social Work, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA Division of Organizational Development, Dept. of Behavioral Health, Washington, DC, USA Silver School of Social Work, New York University, New York, NY, USA Correspondence Lionel D. Scott Jr., School of Social Work, Georgia State University, PO Box 3995, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA. Email: lscottjr@gsu.edu Funding information National Institute of Mental Health, Grant/Award Number: R01 MH61404

Correlates of Somatic Symptoms Among African American Males Transitioning From a Public System of Care

Exploration of somatic symptoms and their correlates among adolescent and young adult African American males are limited in the empirical literature. In the current study, correlates of somatic symptoms among African American males (n = 74) transitioning from a public system of care, namely, foster care, was explored. Potential correlates assessed included indicators of child maltreatment, approach and avoidance coping strategies, as well as the following emotional and behavioral problems: oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, major depressive disorder, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Results indicated that meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, diagnostic criteria for conduct disorder was related to increased somatic symptoms. In addition, greater use of seeking social support as a coping strategy was related to fewer somatic symptoms. The findings provide a good foundation for further exploration of individual, situational, and contextual factors that may influence the physiological and psychological stress responses of vulnerable populations of young African American males.