scholarly journals A Dream Deferred: African American Women’s Diminished Socioeconomic Returns of Postponing Childbearing from Teenage to Adulthood

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari ◽  
Shanika Boyce ◽  
Mohsen Bazargan ◽  
Cleopatra H. Caldwell
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Marital Status ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
White Women ◽  
The United States ◽  
Continuous Measure ◽  
American Women ◽  
Upward Social Mobility

Background: Brookings Institution has identified postponing childbirth from teenage to adulthood as a major strategy that is needed for upward social mobility of women. However, according to the Minorities’ Diminished Returns (MDRs), the associations between aspirations, investments, behaviors, and socioeconomic position (SEP) may be diminished for marginalized groups such as African Americans. Objective: To extend the existing knowledge on the MDRs, the current study had two aims: First to compare White and African American women for the association between postponing childbearing to adulthood and SEP in a national sample of American women. Second, to test correlates of postponing childbearing to adulthood and SEP at birth with long term outcomes 15 years later when the child was 15 years old. Methods: For this longitudinal study, data came from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study (FFCWS), a national longitudinal prospective study in the United States (US) that followed an ethnically diverse sample of women from childbirth for 15 years from 1998 to 2016. For the first aim, this study included 2679 women composed of 723 Whites and 1956 African Americans. For the second aim, among 1842 individuals who had available data 15 years later, we measured various economic, behavioral, and mental health outcomes when the child was 15 years old. For aim 1 we ran linear regression. Postponing childbearing to adulthood was the independent variable. The dependent variable, SEP (poverty) was treated as a continuous measure with higher score indicating more poverty. Confounders included marital status and delivery characteristics. For the aim 2, we ran Pearson correlation test (exploratory analysis) to test if baseline SEP correlates with future outcomes. Results: Postponing childbearing from adolescence to adulthood was associated with higher SEP in adulthood, net of all confounders including marital status and education. We found a significant interaction between postponing childbearing from adolescence to adulthood and race on SEP, suggesting that the economic reward of postponing childbearing may be weaker for African American women than for White women. Conclusions: Although postponing the age at childbirth is a recommended strategy for women who wish to maximize their chance of upward social mobility, this strategy may be associated with smaller economic returns for African American women than White women. The results can also be interpreted as MDRs in investments in terms of a postponing childbearing. In a fair society, the same investment should be similarly rewarded across diverse racial groups. In the reality, however, the US society differently rewards White and African American women who postpone childbearing. Research should explore the roles of social stratification, blocked opportunities, and concentrated poverty in explaining the unequal return of such an investment for African American and White women.

scholarly journals African American Women and Domestic Violence: Addressing their Voice of Silence

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernice Kennedy ◽  
Chalice Rhodes (Former Jenkins)
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Domestic Violence ◽  
African American ◽  
Black Women ◽  
African American Women ◽  
White Women ◽  
The United States ◽  
Slave Owner ◽  
American Women ◽  
Strong Black Women

Abstract Historically, during slavery, the international slave trade promoted normalization of violence against African American women. During slavery, African American women endured inhuman conditions because of the majority race views of them as being over-sexualized, physically strong, and immoral. This perception of the African American women as being highly sexual and more sexual than white women results in slave owner justifying their sexual violation and degrading of the African American women. The stereotypical representations of African American women as strong, controlling, dangerous, fearless, and invulnerable may interfere with the African American women receiving the needed services for domestic violence in the community. The Strong Black Women Archetype has been dated back to slavery describing their coping mechanism in dealing with oppression by developing a strong, less traditionally female role. The authors developed a model: The Multidimensional Perspectives of Factors Contributing to Domestic Violence of African American Women in the United States. This model depicts historically, the factors contributing to domestic violence of African American women in the United States. Also, this model addressed the African American women subscribing to the Strong Black Women Archetype to cope with domestic violence. Despite the increase in domestic violence in African American women, they focused more on the issue of racism instead of sexism in America. African American women have experienced the two obstacles of racism and sexism in America. However, African American women and men believe racism is more critical than sexism. Therefore, domestic violence in the African American population may remain silent because of cultural loyalty. However, the voice of silence of African American females is gradually changing with the upcoming generations.

African American Women Speak: A Phenomenological Study of African American Women’s Beliefs and Perceptions about Compliance to Treatment Regimen in the Healthcare System

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernice Kennedy ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Treatment Regimen ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Women

African Americans comprise approximately 13% of the U.S. Population; however African American women are in the upper percentile of healthcare diseases that are preventable such as cardiovascular disorders (e.g., heart disease, blood pressure, and strokes), cancer, and diabetes and HIV/AIDS. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to provide a forum for African American women living in a southeastern state of the United States to share their experiences with the healthcare system and health practices. The Health Belief Model was a useful health promotion framework for guiding this study. This study sought to answer the following research question: (a) What do African American women report about their beliefs and perceptions about affecting treatment regimen in the healthcare system. The research study consisted of 50 African American women recruited from various communities in one rural county of a southern state in the United States. Results of findings consist of nine themes: The nine themes were as follows: (a) distrust of health care providers; (b) difficulties communicating to health provider; (c) poor quality of patient education instructions; (d) lack of knowledge about treatment regimen; (e) Inadequate time management and inability to manage health treatment regimen; (f) inadequate access to care; (f) unaffordable cost; (g) lack of healthy lifestyle practices; and (I) inadequate coping skills. The community /public health nurse is in a key position to advocate and promote health promotion programs for vulnerable groups in communities. Forming partnerships would be useful in developing programs to improve the overall health needs of African American women. Culture competent education for health professionals remains a critical issue in the current health system when improving compliance with the treatment regimen for African American. Future research needs to examine the contributing psychosocial factors of African Americans and compliance with the treatment regime.

Genetic Counseling and Testing in African American Patients With Breast Cancer: A Nationwide Survey of US Breast Oncologists

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Foluso O. Ademuyiwa ◽  
Patricia Salyer ◽  
Yu Tao ◽  
Jingqin Luo ◽  
Whitney L. Hensing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
African American ◽  
Genetic Counseling ◽  
African American Women ◽  
White Women ◽  
Nationwide Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Perceived Barriers ◽  
American Women ◽  
Counseling And Testing

PURPOSE To determine if physicians' self-reported knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding genetic counseling and testing (GCT) vary by patients' race. METHODS We conducted a nationwide 49-item survey among breast oncology physicians in the United States. We queried respondents about their own demographics, clinical characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, practices, and perceived barriers in providing GCT to patients with breast cancer. RESULTS Our survey included responses from 277 physicians (females, 58.8%; medical oncologists, 75.1%; academic physicians, 61.7%; and Whites, 67.1%). Only 1.8% indicated that they were more likely to refer a White patient than refer an African American patient for GCT, and 66.9% believed that African American women with breast cancer have lower rates of GCT than White women. Regarding perceived barriers to GCT, 63.4% of respondents indicated that African American women face more barriers than White women do and 21% felt that African American women require more information and guidance during the GCT decision-making process than White women. Although 32% of respondents indicated that lack of trust was a barrier to GCT in all patients, 58.1% felt that this was a greater barrier for African American women ( P < .0001). Only 13.9% believed that noncompliance with GCT is a barrier for all patients, whereas 30.6% believed that African American women are more likely than White women to be noncompliant ( P < .0001). CONCLUSION We demonstrated that racial differences exist in oncology physicians' perceived barriers to GCT for patients with breast cancer. This nationwide survey will serve as a basis for understanding physicians' determinants of GCT for African American women and highlights the necessity of education and interventions to address bias among physicians. Awareness of such physician biases can enable further work to address inequities, ultimately leading to improved GCT equity for African American women with breast cancer.

scholarly journals Structural Violence of Schooling: A Genealogy of a Critical Family History of Three Generations of African American Women in a Rural Community in Florida

Genealogy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Evelyn Newman Phillips ◽  
Wangari Gichiru
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Family History ◽  
African American Women ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Structural Violence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Structural Barriers ◽  
American Women ◽  
Three Generations ◽  
American Children

Through the lens of structural violence, Black feminism and critical family history, this paper explores how societal structures informed by white supremacy shaped the lives of three generations of rural African American women in a family in Florida during the middle to the late twentieth century. Specifically, this study investigates how disparate funding, segregation, desegregation, poverty and post-desegregation policies shaped and limited the achievement trajectories among these women. Further, an oral historical examination of their lives reveals the strategies they employed despite their under-resourced and sometimes alienating schooling. The paper highlights the experiences of the Newman family, descendants of captive Africans in the United States that produced three college-educated daughters and a granddaughter despite structural barriers that threatened their progress. Using oral history interviews, archival resources and first-person accounts, this family’s story reveals a genealogy of educational achievement, barriers and agency despite racial and gendered limitations in a Southern town. The findings imply that their schooling mirrors many of the barriers that other Blacks face. However, this study shows that community investment in African American children, plus teachers that affirm students, and programs such as Upward Bound, help to advance Black students in marginalized communities. Further, these women’s lives suggest that school curriculums need to be anti-racist and public policies that affirm each person regardless of the color of their skin. A simple solution that requires the structural violence of whiteness be eliminated from the schooling spheres.

“I Don’t Know and I Don’t Want to Know”: A Qualitative Examination of Older African American Women’s Knowledge and Experiences With HIV

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (7) ◽  
pp. 644-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faye Z. Belgrave ◽  
Sarah J. Javier ◽  
Deborah Butler ◽  
Chelsie Dunn ◽  
Joann Richardson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Black Church ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
Hiv Knowledge ◽  
Female Population ◽  
American Women ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
Older African American Women

While older African American women (e.g., aged 50 years and older) comprise only 11% of the female population in the United States, they account for 50% of HIV diagnoses among women in this age group. Unique sociocultural factors, including a lack of HIV knowledge and stigma, contribute to HIV risk among older African American women. The goal of this qualitative study was to obtain a nuanced perspective from older African American women about HIV knowledge and experiences with HIV using the framework of intersectionality theory. Focus groups were conducted with 35 African American women who were 50 years and older, nonpartnered, and heterosexual. Women were asked what they knew about HIV and if they thought older women were at risk for HIV. A thematic analysis using NVivo 11 yielded two central themes and three subthemes: HIV knowledge, including experiential knowledge, superficial knowledge, and no knowledge, and stigma around HIV in the Black church. Implications for developing HIV prevention programs and testing messages are discussed.

scholarly journals Meaning of Pregnancy Terms Among African-American Women

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Solomon ◽  
Sandra Suther ◽  
Ivette Lopez ◽  
Alicestine Ashford ◽  
Linda Amankwaa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
White Women ◽  
Childbearing Age ◽  
American Women ◽  
Planning Policy ◽  
Pregnancy Intendedness ◽  
Women's Lives ◽  
Recurrent Patterns ◽  
Descriptive Method

The concept of pregnancy intendedness is complex and may not bear the same meaning to all women. Moreover, researcher definition and women’s meaning were thought to be different. Some researchers have indicated that it is unclear how well women understand and relate to questions used by the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) and how the classifications relate to women’s lives. The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of terms such as planned and/or intended pregnancy among African-American women of childbearing age using a qualitative exploratory descriptive method. Although African-American women want children, they are three times as likely to experience an unintended pregnancy as white women. Data extracted from transcripts were coded and analyzed for recurrent patterns and themes. For this study, the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980) was employed to frame interview questions and to interpret data. Findings suggest participants and partners often did not have the same perceptions or meanings of pregnancy planning or intentions. These findings have implications for research and family planning policy.

scholarly journals Acculturative status, age, and hypertension among African American women

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 2083
Author(s):  
Fern J. Webb ◽  
Christina Jones ◽  
Ross Jones ◽  
Kristen Morga ◽  
Lori Bilello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
The United States ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Traditional Values ◽  
American Women ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Research Assistants

Background: Understanding culture’s impact on hypertension (HTN) is important since its prevalence in African American women (AAW) in the United States is among the highest. It is therefore important to know if younger AAW have similar acculturation status as older AAW when developing culturally relevant interventions.  The objective of this study was to examine the association between acculturation status and age, determining whether acculturation status and age are significantly associated with hypertension among AAW.Methods: Acculturation status, age, and HTN were analyzed using data from the listening to our voices study (LOVS), a population-based observational study of 294 AAW conducted throughout Florida. LOVS was promoted via African American women research assistants trained to inform and recruit AAW living in Ft. Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Miami, and Tampa.Results: Findings demonstrate that AAW held traditional values regardless of age. Moreover, AAW of younger ages had higher average acculturation scores compared with older AAW indicating stronger agreement with traditional values, practices and beliefs. Acculturation subscale scores were not associated with HTN. AAW with HTN scored higher on the traditional food subscale compared to AAW without HTN.Conclusions: These findings indicate the significance of considering the beliefs, values, and practices of AAW when developing health interventions. Health interventions developed should be tailored toward AAW of varying ages to incorporate activities relevant to their cultural beliefs, values and practices.

scholarly journals Gene-Environment Interaction for Hypertension Among African American Women Across Generations

2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacquelyn Y. Taylor ◽  
Yan V. Sun ◽  
Steven C. Hunt ◽  
Sharon L.R. Kardia
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Cytosolic Calcium ◽  
The United States ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Chromosome 2 ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Offspring Cohort ◽  
American Women

African American women have the highest prevalence of hypertension and obesity of any group in the United States. African American girls have the highest incidence of obesity of any groups of children in the nation, and diagnoses of hypertension have been rising among this group. Because both genetic heredity and body mass index (BMI) are important risk factors for hypertension, this study examined the gene-BMI interaction for hypertension across the lifespan in two generations of African American women. Participants comprised of 868 African American women in the parent cohort and 322 in the offspring cohort from the Hypertension Genetic Epidemiology Network (HyperGEN) study, part of the Family Blood Pressure Program (FBPP). A total of 115 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were evaluated among the parent cohort and 491 among the offspring cohort for tests of SNP-BMI interaction using methods of false discovery rate (FDR; <.20) and examination of minor allele frequency (MAF; >.05) and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (>.10). One SNP (located in the CAPN 13 gene, rs1879282) passed adjustments for the multiple testing mentioned above and had a significant (p < .01) gene-BMI interaction on both systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) among African American female offspring. The rs1879282 SNP is located on chromosome 2 on the calpain (CAPN) 13 gene, which is part of a family of cytosolic calcium-activated proteases involved in apoptosis, cell division, modulation of integrin—cytoskeletal interactions, and synaptic plasticity. This SNP was not available for testing in the African American parent cohort.

African American Women, Racism and Triple Oppression

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-117
Author(s):  
Rajendra Prasad Chapagain
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Black Men ◽  
Black Males ◽  
White Women ◽  
Black American ◽  
American Women ◽  
Black American Women ◽  
Sexual Repression

African American women have been made multiple victims: racial discrimination by the white community and sexual repression by black males of their own community. They have been subjected to both kind of discrimination - racism and sexism. It is common experience of black American women. Black American women do have their own peculiar world and experiences unlike any white or black men and white women. They have to fight not only against white patriarchy and white women's racism but also against sexism of black men within their own race. To be black and female is to suffer from the triple oppression- sexism, racism and classicism.

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