African American Girls: Reframing Perceptions and Changing Experiences PDF
Preview African American Girls: Reframing Perceptions and Changing Experiences
Advancing Responsible Adolescent Development Faye Z. Belgrave African American Girls Reframing Perceptions and Changing Experiences 123 Advancing Responsible Adolescent Development Editor: RogerJ.R.Levesque Faye Z. Belgrave African American Girls Reframing Perceptions and Changing Experiences 123 Prof.FayeZ.Belgrave VirginiaCommonwealthUniversity DepartmentofPsychology 806W.FranklinSt. RichmondVA23284 Box841218 USA [email protected] ISBN978-1-4419-0089-0 e-ISBN978-1-4419-0090-6 DOI10.1007/978-1-4419-0090-6 SpringerDordrechtHeidelbergLondonNewYork LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2009926173 (cid:2)c SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,LLC2009 Allrightsreserved.Thisworkmaynotbetranslatedorcopiedinwholeorinpartwithoutthewritten permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY10013, USA),except forbrief excerpts inconnection with reviews orscholarly analysis. Usein connectionwithanyformofinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware, orbysimilarordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdevelopedisforbidden. Theuseinthispublicationoftradenames,trademarks,servicemarks,andsimilarterms,eveniftheyare notidentifiedassuch,isnottobetakenasanexpressionofopinionastowhetherornottheyaresubject toproprietaryrights. CoverDesign:Frido Printedonacid-freepaper SpringerispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia(www.springer.com) Preface Overthepast15years,Ihavehadtheopportunitytoconductresearchandinterven- tion programmingwith African American girls. Several of my graduate students, mostlyAfricanAmericanwomen,pursuingtheirdoctoratesinpsychologyworked closely with me in this work. We have conducted hundreds of literature reviews, read many journal articles and reports, published many papers, and engaged over a thousandAfricanAmericanadolescentgirlsina culturalcurriculumspecifically designed for them. This book was written to summarize this work and was con- ceivedtobeaneducationalresourcefordiverseaudienceswhoworkwithAfrican American girls including: (1) researchers who conduct research and intervention programming;(2)professionalswhoworkwithAfricanAmericanadolescentgirls such as teachers, social workers, preventionspecialists, therapists and counselors, andmentalhealthworkers;and(3)ageneralaudienceofpersonswithaninterestin AfricanAmericanadolescentfemale’swell-beinganddevelopmentsuchasparents, community leaders, girl’s group leaders (i.e., Girl Scout leaders), and church and spiritualleaders. Thisbookisbothdescriptiveandpractical.Eachchaptercoversthemostcurrent literatureonAfricanAmericanadolescentgirls,andreviewsanddiscusseswaysin which they are similar to and unique from girls in other ethnic groups and from AfricanAmericanboys.An understandingofwhotheyareandhowtheyfunction allowsustomakerecommendationsaboutwaystosupportthesegirlsandtorefo- cus and/or strengthen already positive attributes. A related purpose is to begin to address some of the disparities African American girls face (i.e., teen pregnancy, HIVinfection,obesity,etc.). Therearethreepartstothisbook.Thefirstpart,“WhoAmI”providesanintro- ductionto theremainderofthetext(Chap.1) andhowAfricanAmericanfemales viewthemselves(Chap.2).Thesecondparton“HowDidICometoBe”includes bothproximalanddistalinfluencesonAfricanAmericangirls’behaviorandwell- being.Thispartdiscussesherfamilyandkin(Chap.3),friendsandpeers(Chap.4), andcommunity(Chap.5).Communitypeersandfamilieshaveagreatinfluenceon herexpectationsandachievement,anda chapteronachievementandexpectations is also included in this part (Chap. 6). The third part ‘Who Will I Become’ dis- cusses contemporaryissues facing African American girls that impact her health, social,andoverallwell-being.Chaptersonhealthandwellness(Chap.7),sexuality v vi Preface (Chap. 8), and pro-social behavior and aggression (Chap. 9) are addressed in this part.Chapter9isfollowedbyconcludingcomments. My hopeis that the reader will be inspiredto attend to African Americangirls withasharperfocusonherstrengths,hertalents,andotherassets. Richmond,VA FayeZ.Belgrave Contents Preface.............................................................................. v PartI 1 DescriptionandDemographics ............................................. 3 UniversalandDivergentPerspectives......................................... 4 WhothisBookisAbout....................................................... 4 HeterogeneityAmongAfricanAmericanGirls .............................. 5 AfricanAmericansandBlacksintheUnitedStates ......................... 5 WheredoAfricanAmericansLive?....................................... 6 FamilyStructure............................................................ 6 SocioeconomicIndicators ................................................. 6 AfricanAmericanChildrenandTeens.................................... 7 OverviewofChapters.......................................................... 7 Part1:WhoamI?.......................................................... 7 Part2:HowdidICometoBe?............................................ 7 Part3:WhowillIBecome? ............................................... 8 2 SelfandIdentity .............................................................. 11 TheSelf ........................................................................ 12 WhatistheSelfandwhatdoesitMeantoAdolescentGirls? ........... 12 Self-ConceptAmongAfricanAmericanGirls............................ 13 WhatareOtherAspectsoftheSelf?...................................... 13 DoAfricanAmericanGirlsAssumeMultipleRoles?.................... 13 Why is Self-Conceptand Other Aspects of the Self GenerallyPositiveAmongAfricanAmericanGirls?............ 14 RacialandEthnicIdentity..................................................... 15 WhatisEthnicIdentity?................................................... 15 WhyisEthnicIdentityImportantforAfricanAmericanGirls? ......... 16 vii viii Contents Relationships................................................................... 16 WhyareRelationshipsImportanttoAfricanAmericanGirls? .......... 16 Whatdoesa RelationalOrientationMeanforAfrican AmericanAdolescentGirls? ...................................... 17 GenderRoleBeliefs ........................................................... 17 WhatareGenderRoleBeliefs?............................................ 18 GenderRoleBeliefsInfluenceAttitudes,Expectations,andBehaviors. 18 WhyareGenderRoleBeliefsImportant?................................. 19 What are the Gender Role Beliefs Among African AmericanAdolescentGirls? ...................................... 19 WhatdoesitMeantobeAndrogynous?.................................. 20 BodyImage .................................................................... 21 WhyisBodyImageImportant?........................................... 21 EthnicDifferencesinBodySizePerception.............................. 21 AfricanAmericanAdolescentFemalesandSkinColor andHairTexture................................................... 22 HowdoestheMediaInfluenceSelf-PerceptionofAfrican AmericanAdolescentFemales?................................... 22 SexualIdentity................................................................. 23 Life-CourseExpectations...................................................... 24 Summary....................................................................... 24 RecommendationsandResources............................................. 25 IncreasingPositiveAffirmationsandRelationships...................... 25 PromotingEthnicIdentity ................................................. 25 PromoteAndrogynousGenderRoleBeliefs.............................. 28 PromotePositiveRelationships............................................ 28 PromotePositiveBodyImage............................................. 29 Resources....................................................................... 29 PartII 3 FamilyandKin ............................................................... 33 TheAfricanAmericanFamily ................................................ 34 WhoisinherFamily? ..................................................... 34 Grandparents............................................................... 35 FamilyStructureandWell-Being ............................................. 35 RaisingGirlsinAfricanAmericanHouseholds.............................. 36 RacialandGenderSocialization .......................................... 36 ParentingMethods......................................................... 37 AfricanAmericanGirls’RoleswithintheFamily ........................... 38 ProjectNaja ................................................................ 38 Mother–DaughterRelationshipsandCommunication....................... 39 WhatdoAfricanAmericanGirlsLearnfromtheirMothers?............ 40 Father–DaughterRelationshipsandCommunication ........................ 41 Contents ix WhatdoAfricanAmericanGirlsRelationshipswiththeir FathersLookLike?................................................ 41 InfluenceofFathersonDaughter’sSelf-Attributes....................... 42 Father–DaughterCommunicationandConflict........................... 43 Father–DaughterRelationshipsandSexualBehavior.................... 44 ParentalMonitoringandStructure............................................ 44 ParentalInfluencesonDaughter’sLife-CourseExpectations ............... 45 Summary....................................................................... 46 RecommendationsandResources............................................. 46 MonitorandSupervise..................................................... 46 EncourageandProvideOpportunitiesforMeaningful RelationshipswithMales.......................................... 47 CommunicationisEssential............................................... 47 ParentsShouldRaciallySocializetheirDaughtersabout whatitMeanstobeanAfricanAmericanGirlandWoman..... 47 HaveGirlsReflectonwhatFamilyMeanstothem ...................... 48 Evidence-BasedParentingPrograms...................................... 48 Resources....................................................................... 49 4 PeersandFriends............................................................. 51 Definitions...................................................................... 51 WhyareFriendsNeeded?..................................................... 52 FriendsProvideNeededRelationships ....................................... 52 FriendshipPatterns............................................................. 53 DevelopmentalAspectofFriendships .................................... 53 WhatdoSame-SexFriendshipNetworksLookLike? ................... 53 Cliques...................................................................... 54 RespectandTrust .......................................................... 54 InterracialFriendships..................................................... 55 InternetFriendships........................................................ 55 RomanticFriendships.......................................................... 56 DatingInitiation............................................................ 56 PreferenceforDatingPartners ............................................ 57 DatingandAcademicAchievement....................................... 57 InterracialDating........................................................... 58 TheNegativeSideofPeersandFriendships ................................. 58 Gangs....................................................................... 59 BirdsofaFeatherFlockTogether............................................. 60 DrugUse.................................................................... 61 SexualActivity............................................................. 62 AcademicAchievement.................................................... 62 PromotingPositiveRelationshipsAmongGirls.............................. 63 Summary....................................................................... 64 x Contents RecommendationsandResources............................................. 65 IncreasingPositiveFriendshipsThroughActivities...................... 65 IncreasingPositiveRelationshipsandProsocialBehavior............... 65 PreventingGangMembership............................................. 65 InterventionsforEnhancingPositiveRelationships...................... 66 Resources....................................................................... 67 5 CommunitiesandNeighborhoods .......................................... 69 UnderstandingtheRoleofPovertyinDisadvantagedCommunities........ 70 NeighborhoodInfluencesonBehaviors....................................... 71 NeighborhoodInfluencesonAcademicAchievement andExpectations................................................... 71 NeighborhoodInfluencesonDrugUseandViolence.................... 73 NeighborhoodInfluencesonSexualBehavior............................ 74 NeighborhoodInfluencesonOtherOutcomes............................ 75 CommunityResourcesandAssets............................................ 75 InvolvementinCommunityActivities .................................... 75 Community-BasedPreventionPrograms ................................. 76 UrbanCommunities ........................................................... 77 StressinUrbanContext.................................................... 77 CopingwithStressinDisadvantagedNeighborhoods ................... 78 ExposuretoCommunityViolence ........................................ 79 RuralCommunities............................................................ 79 RuralCommunitiesandRiskySexualBehavior.......................... 81 TheSchoolasCommunity .................................................... 81 Teacher’sExpectationsforAfricanAmericanGirls...................... 82 Single-SexEducationClassesandSingle-SexEducationSchools ...... 83 Summary....................................................................... 84 RecommendationsandResources............................................. 85 ProvideOrganizedAfter-SchoolActivitiesinNeighborhoods .......... 85 ProvideMechanismsWhereinGirlsCanContributetothe BeautyofTheirCommunity ...................................... 85 InvolveGirlsinVolunteerWorkandCivicEngagement................. 85 TrainaCadreofGirlsWithinaNeighborhoodtoBePeer AmbassadorsforTheirNeighborhood............................ 85 UseSocialMarketingTechniquestoInformtheCommunity............ 86 TrainTeachersinHowtoPromotePositiveDevelopment withGirls........................................................... 86 RecommendationsfromtheInstituteofMedicine,National ResearchCouncil.................................................. 86 Resources....................................................................... 87 6 ExpectationsandAchievement.............................................. 89 AcademicAchievement ....................................................... 90 TheGenderGapinAcademicAchievement.............................. 90 EducationalExpectations.................................................. 92
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