scholarly journals Harvest of Hope: The Impact of a Church Garden Project on African American Youth and Adults in the Rural American South

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-327
Author(s):  
Molly Michelle De Marco ◽  
Tosha Woods Smith ◽  
William Kearney ◽  
Alice Ammerman
Author(s):  
Husain Lateef ◽  
Heather Smyth ◽  
Maya Williams ◽  
Adrian Gale ◽  
Ed-Dee Williams ◽  
...  

Racism and its ramifications are salient societal-level factors that detrimentally affect African American youth and families. Few studies have investigated how African American youth experience discrimination within families and society and colorism’s impact on racial identity, despite extensive racial discrimination research. We assessed whether the perceptions of African American youth of their skin tone affected their racial identity, familial functioning, and everyday discrimination, using the National Survey of American Life–Adolescent Supplement data. We found no significant relationships among skin tone perception, racial identity, familial functioning, or everyday experiences of discrimination. Conversely, age and gender differences were significant predictors of racial identity, family functioning, and discrimination reports. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for social work practice.


2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 610-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail B. Williams ◽  
Joseph P. Ryan ◽  
Pamela E. Davis-Kean ◽  
Vonnie C. McLoyd ◽  
John E. Schulenberg

Little is known about what factors contribute to African American youth desisting from offending. Participants were 3,230 moderate- to high-risk adolescents from Washington State who completed a statewide risk assessment to assess the likelihood of recidivism. Participants were screened by juvenile probation officers between 2003 and 2010. Researchers investigated whether youth possessed protective factors and whether developmental change took place after contact with the juvenile justice system. It was hypothesized that having protective factors would decrease the likelihood of recidivism and the impact of each factor would differ by gender. Findings indicate African American youth have protective factors across a range of domains. However, little developmental change occurs after contact with the juvenile justice system. Impulse control, parental supervision, and pro-social peers were important for reducing recidivism. Problem solving was more influential for African American males, while impulse control and parental supervision were more influential for African American females. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 465-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaurav Dave ◽  
Tiarney Ritchwood ◽  
Tiffany L. Young ◽  
Malika Roman Isler ◽  
Adina Black ◽  
...  

Purpose: Parents and caregivers play an important role in sexual socialization of youth, often serving as the primary source of information about sex. For African American rural youth who experience disparate rates of HIV/sexually transmitted infection, improving caregiver–youth communication about sexual topics may help to reduce risky behaviors. This study assessed the impact of an intervention to improve sexual topic communication. Design: A Preintervention–postintervention, quasi-experimental, controlled, and community-based trial. Setting: Intervention was in 2 rural North Carolina counties with comparison group in 3 adjacent counties. Subjects: Participants (n = 249) were parents, caregivers, or parental figures for African American youth aged 10 to 14. Intervention: Twelve-session curriculum for participating dyads. Measures: Audio computer-assisted self-interview to assess changes at 9 months from baseline in communication about general and sensitive sex topics and overall communication about sex. Analysis: Multivariable models were used to examine the differences between the changes in mean of scores for intervention and comparison groups. Results: Statistically significant differences in changes in mean scores for communication about general sex topics ( P < .0001), communication about sensitive sex topics ( P < .0001), and overall communication about sex ( P < .0001) existed. Differences in change in mean scores remained significant after adjusting baseline scores and other variables in the multivariate models. Conclusions: In Teach One Reach One intervention, adult participants reported improved communication about sex, an important element to support risk reduction among youth in high-prevalence areas.


Author(s):  
Tricia Crosby-Cooper ◽  
Natasha Ferrell

Achieving positive mental health is a worthy desire as positive mental health leads to better success in all aspects of life. Unfortunately, for some youth, achieving positive mental health is a struggle. African Americans demonstrate mental health difficulties approximately 20% more than their White counterparts. To address mental health concerns, schools have increasingly implemented multi-tiered supports to better identify and support students. Unfortunately, interventions implemented in schools have largely ignored the impact that race, culture, and behavioral expectations have on the mental health of African American youth. African American youth exhibit symptoms and behaviors of mental health similar to youth of other cultures and races, yet they experience lower levels of mental health services. To help African American youth experiencing mental health difficulties, stakeholders must implement culturally responsive, evidence-based interventions.


Author(s):  
Tricia Crosby-Cooper ◽  
Natasha Ferrell

Achieving positive mental health is a worthy desire as positive mental health leads to better success in all aspects of life. Unfortunately, for some youth, achieving positive mental health is a struggle. African Americans demonstrate mental health difficulties approximately 20% more than their White counterparts. To address mental health concerns, schools have increasingly implemented multi-tiered supports to better identify and support students. Unfortunately, interventions implemented in schools have largely ignored the impact that race, culture, and behavioral expectations have on the mental health of African American youth. African American youth exhibit symptoms and behaviors of mental health similar to youth of other cultures and races, yet they experience lower levels of mental health services. To help African American youth experiencing mental health difficulties, stakeholders must implement culturally responsive, evidence-based interventions.


Author(s):  
Tricia Crosby-Cooper ◽  
Natasha Ferrell

Achieving positive mental health is a worthy desire as positive mental health leads to better success in all aspects of life. Unfortunately, for some youth, achieving positive mental health is a struggle. African Americans demonstrate mental health difficulties approximately 20% more than their White counterparts. To address mental health concerns, schools have increasingly implemented multi-tiered supports to better identify and support students. Unfortunately, interventions implemented in schools have largely ignored the impact that race, culture, and behavioral expectations have on the mental health of African American youth. African American youth exhibit symptoms and behaviors of mental health similar to youth of other cultures and races, yet they experience lower levels of mental health services. To help African American youth experiencing mental health difficulties, stakeholders must implement culturally responsive, evidence-based interventions.


2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 734-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanna So ◽  
Noni K. Gaylord-Harden ◽  
Dexter R. Voisin ◽  
Darrick Scott

For African American youth disproportionately exposed to community violence and the associated risk of externalizing behaviors, developmental assets that reduce the risk for externalizing behaviors and enhance adaptive coping should be explored. In a sample of 572 African American adolescents ( Mage = 15.85; SD = 1.42), the current study explored whether future orientation or gender buffered the impact of community violence exposure on externalizing behaviors. The current study also examined the interaction between future orientation, gender, and violence-specific coping strategies to determine their association with externalizing behaviors. Future orientation moderated the relationship between violence exposure and delinquent, but not aggressive, behaviors. Future orientation interacted differently with coping for males and females to predict externalizing behaviors. Research and clinical implications are discussed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven R. H. Beach ◽  
Gene H. Brody ◽  
Man Kit Lei ◽  
Sangjin Kim ◽  
Juan Cui ◽  
...  

AbstractWe hypothesized that presence of the short allele in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter would moderate the effect of early cumulative socioeconomic status (SES) risk on epigenetic change among African American youth. Contrasting hypotheses regarding the shape of the interaction effect were generated using vulnerability and susceptibility frameworks and applied to data from a sample of 388 African American youth. Early cumulative SES risk assessed at 11–13 years based on parent report interacted with presence of the short allele to predict differential methylation assessed at age 19. Across multiple tests, a differential susceptibility perspective rather than a diathesis–stress framework best fit the data for genes associated with depression, consistently demonstrating greater epigenetic response to early cumulative SES risk among short allele carriers. A pattern consistent with greater impact among short allele carriers also was observed using all cytosine nucleotide–phosphate–guanine nucleotide sites across the genome that were differentially affected by early cumulative SES risk. We conclude that the short allele is associated with increased responsiveness to early cumulative SES risk among African American youth, leading to epigenetic divergence for depression-related genes in response to exposure to heightened SES risk among short allele carriers in a “for better” or “for worse” pattern.


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