Black Psychology Take Home Exam 2
Ojillius22
Ch.8PSYC3230.pptxCH. 8: Black Families
Ingrid L. Cockhren, M.Ed
1
How would you describe the makeup of your family??
We will cover all of that in the next 25 minutes!
2
Demographic Characteristics of The Black Family
Estimated 30% of U.S. families conform to traditional structure of father, mother, & child
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Demographic Characteristics of The Black Family
Proportion of AAs who live in heterosexual, married coupled families has declined sharply over the last few decades such that marriage has become a minority lifestyle
34% of African Americans are married
22% are widowed, divorced, or separated
4 out of 10 African American men and women have never been married (highest of any racial group)
4
Do you plan on getting married??
We will cover all of that in the next 25 minutes!
5
Demographic Characteristics of The Black Family
Nearly half (48%) of all African American families are maintained by women with no spouse present.
75 percent of all Black children born in the last 2 decades are likely to live for some portion of their childhood with only their mothers.
Poverty is highest in families maintained by women with no spouse present.
35% of African American families
17% of White families
6
Which category best fits your parents??
We will cover all of that in the next 25 minutes!
7
Demographic Characteristics of The Black Family
AA women have the highest rates of martial separation & are more likely to remain separated without getting a legal divorce.
Why?
Cohabitation as an alternative to marriage is more common among Blacks
Why?
Possibly because male income & employment are lowest among minorities; male economic status may be an important determinant as to whether a man feels ready to marry and a woman wants to marry him
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Characteristics of the Black Family
The Black family is an institution that contains “historical traditions” that set them apart from the European American, Middle class family ideal.
Billingsley (1968) proposes 5 general statements that characterize families of African descent:
They are extended in form
Have fictive kin
Have supportive family patterns
Have flexible family boundaries
Have flexible gender roles in child rearing
Nobles (1985) emphasizes the communalistic socialization of children & the role of the elderly
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Characteristics of the Black Family
Perspective on the Black Family
A deficit perspective has historically been used to characterize African American families as deprived, disadvantaged, and poorly educated.
Many of the empirical investigations on Black families have used European American, middle –class families as the standard of comparison.
Using Whites as the standard is methodologically limited and often results in the biased interpretation of study findings.
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Alternative Structures in the Black Family
Black Fathers
Much of the early research on Black children has been matricentric, or mother-centered
AA fathers represent a significant position in the Black family despite the fact that in every decade post slavery, Black men have experienced high rates of unemployment, and lower levels of education which has influenced their role as providers.
Traditional research on Black fathers has focused on absenteeism in the home and the resulting problems, including delinquency, economic hardship, and lack of male role models, violence, and abuse.
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Black Fathers
Data from the National Survey of Families suggest Black males are more likely to be single full-time fathers than males from other ethnic groups.
Although a significant number of AA children do come from single-parent homes, a father (or father figure) often is present, even if he does not reside in the home w/the child on a full-time basis
The majority of African American men felt that their role in their children’s lives was important and could not be fulfilled or replaced by their children’s mother.
Alternative Structures in the Black Family
Role of the Extended Family
It is not uncommon for Black families to live within an intergenerational family network.
Grandparents
Adult children
Grandchildren
Nieces / nephews
Aunts / uncles
Fictive Kin
Alternative Structures in the Black Family
Role of the Extended Family
Key adaptive strategy
This type of support is an adaptive strategy that allows for the sharing of resources.
This extended network serves as a support structure in the child rearing process for African American parents.
Growing body of research also examined benefits to other family members, particularly the elders
Alternative Structures in the Black Family
Elders in the Black Family
A large number of African American grandparents are living in the same household as their grandchildren (8%) compared to Whites (2%).
Black are more likely than any other ethnic group to take care of their elderly family members.
Alternative Structures in the Black Family
Elders in the Black Family
Black elders have been found to use familial support & assistance more than formal support services
Results in a strong, positive relationship between family involvement & life satisfaction among elders
AA elders have more active support networks than Whites & are more likely to have live-in support & assistance from distant relatives & friends
Alternative Structures in the Black Family
Grandparent-Headed Households (GPHH)
More than half of grandparents report that they are responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.
Cut across SES levels, but they are more likely to exist among families living in poverty
Majority are African American
Grandparents have a positive impact on their grandchildren’s psychological well being & social adaptability
Alternative Structures in the Black Family
Grandparent-Headed Households (GPHH)
Research on the caregivers has been mixed
Single grandmothers are twice as likely to experience depressive symptomology
Grandmothers report additional negative health affects, including increased anxiety, stress, & worry
Caregiving burden & negative affects have been demonstrated to be greater for European American rather than African American grandmothers
Some grandmothers report satisfaction, positive affect, & pride in helping to keep these children out of the foster care system
Alternative Structures in the Black Family
Grandparent-Headed Households (GPHH)
Extended family members may not always provide positive support & benefits
Examples?
Some may be disruptive & act as a burden on the family and, because of the cultural practice of taking in family members in need, some Black families may feel conflicted about withdrawing their support
Alternative Structures in the Black Family
Same-Sex Unions and Parenting
Little is known about AA same-sex unions and parenting practices
Why?
Prior to 1973, they were regularly denied the right to adopt, which limited the number of same sex parents (unless they had a biological child)
Black same-sex households constituted 14% of all same-sex households in the U.S.
According to recent U.S. census, Black and Latino same-sex households are nearly twice as likely as White and non-Hispanic same-sex households to be parenting
Alternative Structures in the Black Family
Same-Sex Unions and Parenting
Black same-sex couples are twice as likely to be living with a biological child as White male same-sex couples.
Black same-sex couples earn less and are less likely to own a home than their White and heterosexual Black counterparts.
Alternative Structures in the Black Family
Baumrind (1972) found that Black women were more independent & self-assertive.
When classifying families on the basis of their patterns of family functioning three types of African Americans Families were listed (Mandara & Murray, 2002):
| Cohesive-authoritative | Conflictive-authoritarian | Defensive-neglectful |
| high level of family cohesion authoritative disciplinary styles encouraged to be assertive & practice pro-racial socialization | high internal conflict, lack of communalism to commitment to other family members strict authoritarian disciplinary parting style (creates an environment in which children may not feel comfortable expressing emotion) high emphasis on achievement | neglectful and authoritarian parental disciplinary practices defensive racial socialization whereby children are socialized to dislike other racial groups and are not taught to be proud of their own racial group |
Which has the greatest risk of dysfunction?
Which leads to higher self-esteem for children?
| Cohesive-authoritative | Conflictive-authoritarian | Defensive-neglectful |
| high level of family cohesion authoritative disciplinary styles encouraged to be assertive & practice pro-racial socialization | high internal conflict, lack of communalism to commitment to other family members strict authoritarian disciplinary parting style (creates an environment in which children may not feel comfortable expressing emotion) high emphasis on achievement | neglectful and authoritarian parental disciplinary practices defensive racial socialization whereby children are socialized to dislike other racial groups and are not taught to be proud of their own racial group |
Alternative Structures in the Black Family
Higher self-esteem is likely because parents in cohesive family types are more likely to express to their children that they are appreciated & valued the way they are & other family types are more likely to express unhappiness w/their children’s abilities & performance
Cohesive type seems to have found a balance between control & nurturance
Racial and Gender Role Socialization
Socialization in Black families has been defined as parents’ “attempt to prepare their children for the realities of being Black in America.”
African American parents reported giving more frequent “preparation for bias” message to their children when compared to Puerto Rican and Dominican parents.
Why?
Racial and Gender Role Socialization
William Cross (1971) developed Nigrescence (process of becoming Black) model:
Pre-encounter
Encounter
Immersion/emersion
Internalization
In the final stage, Blacks feel more positive & secure about their Black identity, but also exhibit increased comfort w/and acceptance of other cultures
This model supports the view that affirmation toward one’s ethnic group leads to a positive ethnic identity & higher levels of acceptance toward other out-groups
Which stage do you feel you are currently in??
We will cover all of that in the next 25 minutes!
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Racial and Gender Role Socialization
Socialization of Gender Roles in the Black Family
Gender roles are socially constructed & vary depending on cultural norms
The disparate proportion of economic deprivation in the African American community, along with racism, has made it difficult and impractical for many African Americans to create sharply defined divisions between male and female gender roles.
There is evidence that African American women have escaped the narrow confines of the restrictive gender roles assumed by a Eurocentric worldview.
Racial and Gender Role Socialization
Socialization of Gender Roles in the Black Family
As a result of AA women’s unique experiences in the U.S., a womanist identity model was developed which closely resembled Cross’s model
The final stage is characterized by a woman defining her womanhood in her own terms & not being bound by external definitions about what it means to be a woman
Racial and Gender Role Socialization
Socialization of Gender Roles in the Black Family
African American daughters, from an early age, are taught to assume strong family roles and to be strong, self-reliant, and independent individuals who are part of and play an integral role in a larger group, the family.
Racial and Gender Role Socialization
Socialization of Gender Roles in the Black Family
Other scholars have argued differences in gender specific parenting:
Some discuss the protective stance that many AA women take toward their fathers/brothers/husbands/sons
Institutionalized racism has made many AA women reluctant to hold AA men to a feminist standard of accountability
Thoughts on this?
Black parents support competence & self-reliance more in daughters than in sons
However, this stance ignores the double burden of sexism & racism
Disability in the Black Family
According to research Black children were found to have higher rates of disability from chronic conditions than did White children.
Services designed to help families that have members with disabilities, are often underutilized by African Americans (especially economically challenged families).
Caretakers of persons w/disabilities often take full responsibility of them, relying on professional services only when deemed absolutely necessary
Disability in the Black Family
One disease that is becoming more prevalent in families is breast cancer.
Black women are more likely to develop breast cancer before 35 and to die of it before age 35.
84 of 100 non-Blacks survive 5 years after diagnosis, but only 69 of 100 Blacks women do.
Medical researchers do not know whether breast cancer is more aggressive in young Black women or whether it is caused by something to which they are more likely to be exposed.
Disability in the Black Family
Too many women wait too long to look for breast cancer; it is highly recommended that Black women begin mammograms at the age of 30 (rather than 40) and purchase health insurance
Disability in the Black Family
Disability in the Black Family
The provision of mental health services for African American individuals and families can be complex because of the great diversity among families and the lack of clear theoretical approaches for working with this population.
AAs are less likely to attend a family support group
The underlying premise of family therapy is that familial functioning impacts optimal functioning of an individuals, whereas individual functioning significantly impacts family dynamics (systems orientation)
Disability in the Black Family
Among AAs, a person's comfort w/seeking help can serve as either a barrier to or an asset in his/her ability to access social supports
Many churches have adopted what they call "outreach services & activities"
The church can normalize the process of receiving assistance & possibly act as a bridge to more formal support services
A System Approach to Studying and Working with Black Families
In Bronfenbrenner’s sociocultural view of development, five environmental systems act as socialization agents:
Microsystem (family, peers, school, neighborhood)
Mesosystem (family functioning can influence academic performance)
Exosystem (parental job stress)
Macrosystem (religion)
Chronosystem (environmental events and transitions over time)
A System Approach to Studying and Working with Black Families
The Black family should utilize and promote the preexisting strengths within the African American community while being careful not to dismiss, in the name of cultural relativism, the harmful effects of unhealthy family functioning.
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