Malcolm A. Cort

Willingness to Participate in Organ Donation among Black Seventh-Day Adventist College Students.

Objective and Participants: The authors studied a group of black and white Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) college students (N = 334) to compare the power of religious socialization with racial socialization. Methods: The authors compared the levels of willingness to donate organs between black and nonblack students in an availability sample. Results: Black SDA college students were significantly more likely than white SDA students or SDA students of other races to perceive racism in the healthcare system and to believe that doctors would not make heroic efforts to save their lives if they knew they were organ donors; they were 66.9% less likely to donate organs than were white SDA students or SDA students of other races. Conclusions: Despite a common religion with a purposive indoctrination, the racial socialization of black SDA students exerted a stronger influence on willingness to participate in organ donation than did that of white students and students of other races within this religion.

Education and internalized racism in socio-political context: Zimbabwe and Swaziland

Abstract We focus on the scarcely researched concept of internalized racism (INR), conceptualized as the internalization by blacks of white stereotypes about blacks, to investigate the extent to which it is impacted by education. Samples were drawn from two countries in Southern Africa, Swaziland (N = 308) and Zimbabwe (N = 319). We examined the contrasting socio-political contexts of a history of apartheid in Zimbabwe, and the absence of de jure segregation in Swaziland, the levels of INR, and the relationship of education to INR in both societies. Analysis showed that there was no difference in the levels of INR. Education, our variable of main interest, was negatively related to INR in both societies, and age, and a “sense of helplessness” were positively related to INR also in both societies, although the latter was marginally significant in Swaziland. We discussed the unexpected similarity of INR levels in these societies, and the potential of education to mediate negative psychological effects in both socio-political contexts.

Understanding the relative influence of attitudes and societal norms on dietary intentions among African-Caribbean women

Abstract This study applies the theory of reasoned action (TRA) to understand the relative influence of personal attitude (AT) toward three chronic diseases (diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension), and social normative (SN) groups (family, friends, and church), toward intention to engage in dietary behaviors associated with obesity and chronic disease risk. The sample consists of N = 183 women, aged 18–55 years, in Barbados, West Indies, selected through a stratified cluster sample technique. The instrument includes demographic and anthropometric variables and components of the TRA. Analyses using structural equation modeling (SEM) indicate that the TRA explains 22%, 35% and 19% of the variances in intention to consume high-fat foods, alcohol, and fruits, nuts and vegetables, respectively. SN is a predictor of all three dietary intentions, while AT predicts only intention to eat fruit, nuts, and vegetables. In the models, social pressure from family is relatively more important than friends and church in influencing dietary intentions. It can be concluded that social normative influences have a stronger effect on intentions to consume fatty foods, alcohol, and fruit, nuts and vegetables than do personal attitudes.

The differential gender effect of internalized racism on abdominal obesity in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract This research examined the effect of a psychosocial variable, internalized racism, on abdominal obesity, as measured by waist circumference. Results show that the effect of internalized racism on waist circumference persists net of other controls among women, but not among men. Also, among women who had high levels of internalized racism and high educational levels, a positive relationship to abdominal obesity is evident despite the tendency of education to be protective of abdominal obesity. This study supports other research findings that internalized racism is related to waist circumference among adult women but not among men in Western Hemisphere blacks. It also supports past research findings of a gendered reaction to psychosocial stress. It also illustrates that this relationship occurs on the continent of Africa, an area where research on this phenomenon is scarce.

Attitudes toward Condom Use among High School and University Students in Zimbabwe

Utilizing a sample of students (N = 504) from Matabeleland, Zimbabwe, Africa, this study investigated the extent to which knowledge of AIDS and two components of the Health Belief Model are related to: l) attitude toward condom use, and 2) intentions to use a condom in future sexual encounters. Results indicated that knowledge of AIDS is not significantly related to any of the two dependent variables. However, belief in the efficacy of condoms, and lack of barriers to the use of condoms were significantly related to both dependent variables. Discussion focused on the role of religion and SES in influencing attitudes and decisions about condom use.

Spirituality moderates the relationship of psychosocial stress to metabolic risk factors among Afro-Caribbean immigrants in the US Virgin Islands

ObjectiveSpirituality may contribute to the health advantage of foreign-born blacks compared to United States (US)-born blacks. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that spirituality attenuates the association of psychosocial stress to stress-associated metabolic risk factors among foreign-born Caribbean blacks living in a US jurisdiction.MethodsData on demographic factors, anthropometric measurements (height, weight, and waist), fasting glucose and insulin, lifestyle behaviors (smoking and alcohol use), psychosocial stress, and spirituality were collected from a population-based sample of 319 Afro-Caribbean immigrants, ages 20 and older, who were recruited between 1995 and 2000 in the Virgin Islands of the United States (USVI). Glucose and insulin measurements were used to estimate insulin resistance by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) method. Participants were classified into three levels of spirituality, “low,” “moderate,” and “high,” based on the distribution of spirituality scores. Stepwise regression analyses were used to identify the significant predictors of waist circumference and HOMA-IR within each level of spirituality.ResultsThe predictors of waist circumference and HOMA-IR varied across the levels of spirituality. Psychosocial stress was an independent predictor of waist and HOMA-IR only among participants with a low level of spirituality.ConclusionSpirituality appears to attenuate the association of psychosocial stress to waist circumference and insulin resistance among Afro-Caribbean immigrants in the USVI.

What Does it Mean to be a Christian? Exploring the Religious Identity of Intrinsically and Extrinsically Religious Black Seventh-Day Adventist University Students

This study explored the religious identity of Black Seventh-day Adventist University students and the elements that helped form their religious identity. The unidirectional, bidirectional and channeling models of socialization was used to describe the formation of religious identity. The data were collected in two stages. At the first stage, a convenience sample of 74 students responded to the Religious Orientation Scale (ROS), which measured the levels of religiousness. At the second stage, those participants with the highest intrinsic and extrinsic scores (N = 34) were invited to participate in four focus groups. The findings showed that relationship was the principal theme that described religious identity; while ritualism, coercion, utilitarianism, familial and religious involvement were themes that described the formation of their religious identity.

Attitudes Toward Sexual Abstinence Among Black Seventh-Day Adventist College Students

The purpose of this study was to identify Black Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) college students’ attitudes toward the concept of sexual abstinence. Attitude toward abstinence was operationalized as a dichotomy of acceptance or rejection of the concept as a way to order sexual behavior. The study utilized a convenience sample (N = 330) of unmarried Black students who were baptized SDAs or adherents to the religion. Participants attended a postsecondary Seventh-Day Adventist institution that supports the churchs teaching concerning premarital sex by promoting premarital abstinence within the student body. Findings indicated that students with high levels of intrinsic religiousness were more likely to accept the concept of abstinence. Conversely, those with high extrinsic religiousness were more likely to reject this concept. Covariates, such as being female, having confidence in the ability to remain abstinent, and selecting peers who supported abstinence, predicted support for abstinence. Neither family structure nor education of parent or head of household significantly predicted attitude toward abstinence. Discussion focused on the need and challenge for Christian higher education institutions to incorporate programs to enhance intrinsic religiousness if they are to be successful in promoting sexual abstinence among young adults.

The Effects Of The Practice Of The Newstart Health Regimen On Faculty Stress Among Faculty At Seventh-Day Adventist Colleges And Universities

Utilizing an availability sample of (n = 124) faculty from three postsecondary Seventh-day Adventists institutions that promote a healthy lifestyle philosophy encapsulated in the acronym NEWSTART, this study explored effects of this health/religious regimen on faculty stress among this group. The findings reported in this paper indicate that three of the five components of the Faculty Stress Index were significantly influenced by the practice of the NEWSTART principles. These components are time constraints, reward and recognition, and departmental influence. These results constitute baseline information on health practices used by faculty at SDA institutions and the effectiveness of this model as a means of faculty stress reduction among this group and potentially for faculty at a wider range of educational institutions.

Predicting sexual abstinence among Seventh-day Adventist emerging adults

Abstract This study proposes to strengthen the nascent scholarship investigating sexual behavior among Seventh-day Adventist emerging adults. A sample of 592 unmarried, 18 to 25 year old university students, who are baptized or SDA religious adherents, responded to a questionnaire which investigated their socio-psychological motivations for abstinence. The analysis is guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior. Regression analysis reveals that it is not religiousness, but attitude toward abstinence, the support of friends for the concept of abstinence, and high self-efficacy, that motivates their decision to remain abstinent. These factors remain significant net of other significant co-variates such as authoritarian parenting, coming from a two-parent family, age, and race/ethnicity. Discussion centered on the value of promoting these key constructs rather than religiousness alone, to achieve abstinence among SDA emerging adults.