Tiffany G. Townsend

Family Influences on Racial Identity among African American Youth.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of parental efficacy, family coping, and adaptive family functioning on the development of racial identity among African American youth. Fifty-two African American parent-child dyads were participants. Results of a hierarchical regression revealed family adaptability and family cognitive reframing to be significant predictors of racial identity. Findings suggest that intervention programs targeting the racial identity of African American youth should include a parenting/family component that facilitates adaptive family functioning and that helps parents model culturally specific coping strategies for their children.

Stress and Stress Reduction among African American Women: A Brief Report

This brief report looks at the impact of discrimination, poverty and daily hassles on the stress and the subsequent health of African American women. Using this contextual framework, an Africentric, female-centered stress reduction program is presented to address the specific needs of this population. Thirty-three African American women between the ages of 22 and 63 participated in either an 8-h pilot of the proposed Africentric program or a 7-h standard stress reduction intervention. Descriptions of both interventions are presented. Implications for the use of stress reduction techniques in health promotion efforts among African American women are discussed.

Cultural Protective Factors for Community Risks and Substance Use Among Rural African American Adolescents

Relatively little attention has been afforded to protective factors for community-level risks among non-urban populations. This study examined the extent to which traditional cultural attitudes and behaviors of 137 African American adolescents (ages 12–17) from a rural community moderated the relationship between perceived community disorganization and substance use behaviors. Results from hierarchical linear regression revealed that traditional cultural attitudes and behaviors were differentially related to community disorganization and adolescent substance use. In terms of protective influences, religious beliefs and practices and traditional family practices moderated the effect of community disorganization on substance use. Specifically, religious beliefs and practices demonstrated a protective-stabilizing effect as community disorganization increased; traditional family practices demonstrated a protective but reactive effect. Attitudes of cultural mistrust increased youths susceptibility to substance use as community disorganization worsened—vulnerable and reactive. The findings underscore the importance of examining the link between cultural and contextual factors in an attempt to understand the etiology of substance use among rural African American adolescents.

Eliminating Health Disparities: Challenges for African American Psychologists

The health status of racial and ethnic minorities continues to lag far behind that of the majority population (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2008a), especially for African Americans. In fact, African Americans have much higher disease and death rates than other racial and ethnic groups in this country (Kawachi, Daniels, & Robinson, 2005). The state of African American health and health care was nationally exposed in October 1985 in a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services called the Report of the Secretary’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health (Heckler, 1985). The report highlighted the growing inequities in the health of U.S. minorities, particularly African Americans, calling for a focus on developing strategies that would reduce this disparity. Accordingly, a version of this manuscript, initially published in the Journal of Black Psychology by the second author in 1989, was a challenge to African American psychologists to aid in this fight (Belgrave, 1989). Unfortunately after almost two decades and the establishment of several federal offices to address health disparities—both Department of Health and Human Services and CDC established Offices of Minority Health in the mid-1980s (U. S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2008)—drastic inequities in the health status of African Americans in the United States continue to persist. As was the case in 1989, heart disease is the leading cause of death for African American adults in the United States, with cancer following closely behind (CDC, 2008a). Cerebrovascular diseases (often resulting in strokes), diabetes, and chronic lower respiratory disease (including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and other smoking-related disorders) are among the top 10 leading health-related causes of mortality, morbidity, and disability among African American adults in this country (CDC, 2008b). A grave health concern in the African American community is HIV infection. While AIDS was beginning to

A Collaborative Mental Health Research Agenda in a Community of Poor and Underserved Latinos

The goal of this project was to engage community members and grassroots organizations in a discussion regarding perceived mental health needs and priorities of the population of underserved Latinos in Montgomery County, Maryland. Community-based participatory research was used to establish structures for participation and to design studies that effectively address local mental health needs. Four focus groups with 30 Latino lay health promoters and 20 key informant interviews were conducted to ascertain communal mental health needs and priorities. The main issues that emerged included mental health stigma, consequences of immigration-related stress, violence and alcoholism, and concerns about psychotropic medications. Ideas to address these issues and foster wellness through research were generated during a community-based workshop that included consumers, primary care and mental health clinicians, researchers, and representatives of local organizations and federal agencies. The product of this process was an implementable mental health research agenda, which is presented and discussed.

Ethnic Disparities in Trauma-Related Mental Illness: Is Ethnic Identity a Buffer?

Despite evidence that racial and ethnic characteristics influence the impact of traumatic exposure on psychological health, little is known about how race and ethnic identity can alter, and possibly protect against, the effects of trauma on the psychiatric diagnoses of women. Therefore, the present study examined the moderating role of race/ethnicity and ethnic identity in the link between trauma exposure and psychiatric diagnosis for African American and Caucasian college women. Participants were a sample of 242 women from the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States who self-identified as African American or Black (31%) and European American or Caucasian (69%; M age = 19.5 years). Interviews were conducted over the phone to screen for trauma, followed by longer in-person interviews. Each of the interviewers was supervised, and interviews were reviewed to control for quality. Regression analyses revealed that the number of traumatic events was a stronger predictor of lifetime psychiatric diagnoses for Caucasian women. In addition, ethnic identity served as a protective factor against trauma exposure among participants. The findings suggest that ethnic identity is a relevant buffer against potential psychiatric diagnoses as result of exposure to traumatic events for both Caucasian and African American women.