Within a sociohistorical context of racism-related physical and emotional threats, Black families in the United States have developed sources of resilience to promote children's safety and positive development. Yet research on Black family resilience has rarely been integrated into one of the most influential theories of child development:…

Navigating challenging peer experiences is typical during early adolescence, and youths' social cognitions--social appraisals and social self-efficacy--about such challenges have implications for their subsequent peer interactions. Parents can play a role in shaping youth social cognitive skills by socializing youth on how to think about…

Black fathers and daughters are the least explored relationship within parent-child and STEM research. This article serves as an examination of the literature around their relationships and STEM learning and as a call to action. Intersectionality, as an analytic lens, examines Black fathers' familial and STEM relationships over time and Black…

This study focused on the difficulties and challenges experienced by sons who had absent fathers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of sons who grew up with absent fathers and the effects on them as adults at home, in school, in their neighborhoods, and their decision-making processes. The sample consisted…

Research Findings: Structural racism places Black families at heightened risk for stress, parenting challenges, and child developmental concerns. These impacts on families persist across the lifespan, though Black families also thrive in spite of the oppression they face. Federally funded programs like Early Head Start (EHS) show promise in…

Father involvement is a salient predictor of children's development and recent studies suggest that African American fathers who are highly involved across infancy and toddlerhood have children who enter school better prepared to succeed. Little is known, however, about the specific dimensions of fathering (e.g., language stimulation) that…

This article examines the digital storytelling practices between an African American mother and son. We used agency as a theoretical framework to explore how the two exercised their own power to collaborate on their digital story. As digital technologies became part of their practice, challenges and tensions arose when both participants attempted…

In this article, Raygine DiAquoi examines the conversations Black families have with their sons to prepare them for racial bias and discrimination. Over the course of a year, DiAquoi conducted a qualitative exploration of the content of "the talk," as this conversation has come to be known, that 17 families have with their sons about…

African American girls experience disparate rates of pregnancy and acquisition of sexually transmitted infections, including human immunodeficiency virus, when compared to their non-Hispanic White counterparts. Among African American girls, current pregnancy rates are equal to the national crisis levels of teen pregnancy reported in 1990. This…

Maternal depressive symptoms predict negative child behaviors, including internalizing problems. However, protective factors, such as positive emotionality and positive parenting behaviors, may play an important a role in attenuating associations between maternal depressive symptoms and child behavior problems. This article presents two studies…

Together, Samuel L. Myers Sr. and Jr. prove that the apple tree, when properly nurtured in the rich intellectual orchards of academia, will bear prime fruit that lands close to its roots. The Doctors Myers both earned bachelor's degrees from Morgan State University and then ventured to Boston for their Ph.D.s in economics. Though their specialties…

Strong, positive coparenting alliances play adaptive functions in a wide variety of family systems. For unmarried, expectant parents in nonromantic relationships, impediments to developing a positive coparenting alliance are formidable. However, these obstacles must be overcome if unmarried fathers are to stay engaged and coparent their child…

Academic achievement gaps for African American children have been associated with disparities in early cognitive development, inequitable access to high-quality education, and father absence, often resulting in lower rates of graduation. Examining ways that may mitigate this problem is important to families and educators. The purpose of this…

Mainstream education often misunderstands the ways that some rural black families display involvement in their children's lives. Teachers may tend to attribute children's academic struggles to what they perceived as a lack of care, concern, and involvement of the families. Such views could keep children from reaching and exceeding their potential,…

In this study, observed maternal positive engagement and perception of work-family spillover were examined as mediators of the association between maternal nonstandard work schedules and children's expressive language outcomes in 231 African American families living in rural households. Mothers reported their work schedules when their child was 24…