African American adolescents must negotiate the transition to adulthood in a society that makes the achievement of positive cultural identity and self-respect difficult. Frequently, young men turn to violence in an attempt to achieve respect in their communities. This article explores factors that predict the use of violence among African American…

The present investigation considers the program outcomes of one community youth project, Leadership Excellence Inc., Oakland Freedom Schools. Oakland Freedom Schools are culturally relevant 6-week summer Language Arts enrichment programs for primarily inner-city African American youth aged 5 to 14 years. In this study, 79 African American youth…

The current study examined associations between home-school dissonance and several academic and psychological variables among 239 African American high school students. Regression analyses revealed that home-school dissonance significantly predicted multiple academic and psychological variables, including academic cheating, disruptive classroom…

In this study, the author reports on a cross-sectional examination of nigrescence attitudes measured with the Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS) using three demographically and developmentally different samples already in the literature: adolescents (n = 143; M age = 14), emerging adults (n = 306; M age = 20.7), and adults (n = 105; M age = 34.1).…

The present study examines the effects of a culturally relevant school-based intervention in promoting cultural assets (i.e., ethnic identity, collectivist orientation, racism awareness, and liberatory youth activism) among a group of African American adolescent girls. The overall goal of the intervention was to promote cultural factors that can…

This study investigated the relationships among Africentric cultural values (i.e., the extent to which an individual adheres to a worldview emphasizing communalism, unity, harmony, spirituality, and authenticity), favorable psychological help-seeking attitudes, perceived counseling stigma, and self-concealment (i.e., the tendency to withhold…

In many African American communities, violence and poverty are often part of daily living. As a result, children are at risk for difficulties in all aspect of their lives, particularly their emotional well-being. This study explored the relationship between exposure to chronic community violence and the development of complex post-traumatic stress…

This article examines the role of culture in the socialization patterns found in the households of low-income African Americans. Using the Triple Quandary theoretical framework, the authors hypothesized that cultural themes consistent with an Afro-cultural ethos would be reported significantly more than those associated with a mainstream cultural…

The primary purpose of this study was to test a path model exploring the relationships among Africentric cultural values, self-esteem, perceived social support satisfaction, and life satisfaction in a sample of 147 African American adolescent girls. This investigation also examined the possible mediating effects of self-esteem and perceived social…

In this study, the authors evaluated the effectiveness of a cultural intervention for increasing cultural values and beliefs. Fifty-nine African American girls in early adolescence participated in a 15-session cultural program or in an activity comparison group. Measures of ethnic identity, gender roles, and relational aggression were administered…

This qualitative study of a community sample of 196 African American women aimed to identify the coping strategies that Black women use to manage the stress of racism and sexism. The findings reveal that they use multiple resistance strategies: (a) three ongoing internal coping strategies (resting on faith--relying on prayer and spirituality;…