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This study aims to examine the impact of education and household income on African American women's perception of HIV risk on PrEP use. Secondary data from the Be-PrEPared dataset on 202 African American women's attitudes toward condom use, biomedical prevention strategies, and risks associated with HIV transmission. African American women with a greater level of education and a perceived risk of HIV were more likely to utilize PrEP than African American women with a lower level of education and no reported risk of HIV. Additionally, women with a higher household income and perceived HIV risk were more likely to use PrEP as well. These associations were still present when taking HIV knowledge into account. It is the job of health practitioners and public health/health education professionals to improve PrEP interventions to be more culturally competent which will make adults more cognizant of the health issues related to HIV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work extends examination of African American students' attitudes toward learning and achievement to contrast the oppositional culture (Ogbu and Fordham) and cultural integrity perspectives. We assessed 200 students' responses to classrooms designed to support competitive, individualistic, communal or high-verve thinking, and behavior. Students preferred activity structures and physical ecologies supporting the expression of communalism and high verve. Relationships with grade point average (GPA) were also examined. Interviews corroborated the questionnaires. Students' positive attitudes toward academic success are moderated by the value orientation of what must be done to succeed. Implications for reinterpreting students' resistant/disengaged behavior are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, a number of prominent Republican elites have argued that the economic plight of African Americans is attributable to undocumented immigration to the United States. Have these arguments concerning the link between black economic well-being and undocumented immigration become commonplace in the rhetoric of Republican elites, and if so, does exposure to these appeals impact black vote choice? Employing data from over forty years of congressional speeches, the campaign speeches and public addresses of President Donald Trump, televised campaign advertisements from the Wisconsin/Wesleyan Advertising Projects, and a survey experiment embedded in the 2016 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, we find that Republican elected officials have increasingly made substantive appeals to blacks on the issue of immigration reform, that exposure to this type of substantive appeal leads blacks to more strongly support a fictional Republican candidate, and that this support is moderated by a respondent's level of linked fate. These findings challenge existing scholarship that Republican elites ignore the concerns of the black community and suggest that Republicans may be using the issue of immigration to drive a wedge in the Democratic electoral coalition by targeting the Democratic Party's strongest constituency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores differences among African Americans, Latinos, and whites regarding which attributes are most important to being truly American and how these competing conceptions relate to an individual's level of racial animus toward African Americans. Using nationally representative survey data, we first find that Americans of different races vary across six different components of national identity and do so in ways consistent with theorizing on symbolic racism and inter-group conflict. Specifically, Americans place more importance on those components shared with indivduals of the same race. We then analyze how these differing beliefs about national identity influence racial animus. Here, we find robust evidence that individuals who prioritize the ascriptive, exclusive elements of national identity are more racist, while individuals who embrace its most inclusive element are less so. Finally, we reveal that the relationship between conceptions of national identity and racism is moderated substantially by race, and this robust relationship for whites and Latinos is virtually identical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that black workers' perceptions of racial discrimination derive not just from being in the minority, but also from their position in the organizational structure. Researchers have shown that black individuals encounter an enormous amount of racial discrimination in the workplace, including but not limited to exclusion from critical social networks, wage disparities, and hiring disadvantages. But fewer studies examine the extent to which black workers believe racial discrimination is a salient factor in their occupational mobility or the factors that might explain their divergent perceptions of racial discrimination. Based on 60 in-depth interviews with black medical doctors, nurses, and technicians in the healthcare industry, we show that black workers' status within an organizational hierarchy fundamentally informs perceptions of the nature and type of workplace racial discrimination. These findings have implications for understanding how racial dynamics at work are linked to mental health, occupational satisfaction, and organizational change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the Family and Community Health Survey, the current study explores developmental pathways from age 11 to 24 of African American males and females. This study describes the number and type of trajectories of offending for male and female African Americans, as much research in the past on trajectories has focused on White and/or male samples. We also investigate predictors of offending for the females both between and within trajectory groups. Results indicated that females who experienced higher levels of racial discrimination and greater parental hostility were more likely to be in a late bloomer group, compared with the low-level group. In addition, higher levels of racial discrimination and deviant peer affiliation were predictive of more offending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variety of experiences of African American adolescents is still misunderstood and neglected. Empirical and lay reports consistently report that drug use is rampant within African American communities despite the fact that national statistics show that African Americans engage in substance use less than their White counterparts. Thus, the current study investigates the relations between African American adolescents' school encouragement, academic future expectations (AFE), and substance use engagement. The participants are 206 African American adolescents (females = 65.7%), mean age 15.78 (SD = 1.18), who reside in a southern, urban city. The regression results indicated that there was an inverse, trend level relation between school encouragement and the global substance use assessment (β = −.05, p < .10; ΔR2 = .02). AFE moderated the relation between school encouragement and all of the substance use variables except alcohol. Simple slopes analyses revealed that AFE only significantly moderated the relation between school encouragement and substance use for students who reported low levels of AFE, indicating that increased school encouragement may serve as a protective factor against substance use engagement for those students who may be disconnected from academic achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African American women living with HIV were asked to reflect on the perceived risks and benefits of research participation after completing a study examining socially sensitive issues in their lives, including intimate partner violence (IPV) and HIV. Administration of standardized quantitative instruments yielded positive responses to the research experience. However, qualitative assessments of perceived risks and benefits revealed more nuanced responses. For example, confidentiality concerns were more prominent in open-ended responses as was participants’ positive attitudes toward monetary compensation. In addition, some women reported that study participation provided them with new insights about their experiences with IPV. Findings suggest that empirical studies on research protections involving potentially distressing and socially sensitive experiences with vulnerable populations require both quantitative and qualitative assessments of perceived risks and benefits. We discuss implications of our findings for ethics practices in trauma-related research among populations with multiple social vulnerabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To examine attitudes toward tobacco control policies among older African American homeless-experienced smokers.Approach: A qualitative study.Setting: Oakland, California.Participants: Twenty-two African American older homeless-experienced smokers who were part of a longitudinal study on health and health-related outcomes (Health Outcomes of People Experiencing Homelessness in Older Middle Age Study).Method: We conducted in-depth, semistructured interviews with each participant to explore beliefs and attitudes toward tobacco use and cessation, barriers to smoking cessation, and attitudes toward current tobacco control strategies including raising cigarette prices, smoke-free policies, and graphic warning labels. We used a grounded theory approach to analyze the transcripts.Results: Community social norms supportive of cigarette smoking and co-use of tobacco with other illicit substances were strong motivators of initiation and maintenance of tobacco use. Self-reported barriers to cessation included nicotine dependence, the experience of being homeless, fatalistic attitudes toward smoking cessation, substance use, and exposure to tobacco industry marketing. While participants were cognizant of current tobacco control policies and interventions for cessation, they felt that they were not specific enough for African Americans experiencing homelessness. Participants expressed strong support for strategies that de-normalized tobacco use and advertised the harmful effects of tobacco.Conclusion: Older African American homeless-experienced smokers face significant barriers to smoking cessation. Interventions that advertise the harmful effects of tobacco may be effective in stimulating smoking cessation among this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarship in the area of group identity has expanded our understanding of how group consciousness and linked fate operate among racial and ethnic minority populations in the United States. What is yet to be tested is whether the measures employed adequately capture the multidimensional theoretical constructs associated with group consciousness across racial and ethnic populations. To address this question, we make use of the 2004 National Political Study (N = 3,339) and apply principal components analysis and exploratory factor analysis to assess whether measures used for both group consciousness and linked fate are interchangeable, as well as whether these measures are directly comparable across racial and ethnic populations. We find that the multidimensional approach to measuring group consciousness is a sound strategy when applied to African Americans, as the dimensions fit the African American experience more powerfully than is the case for non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics, and Asian populations. Our analysis suggests that scholars interested in exploring group identity among the African American population have fewer analytical concerns in this regard than those working with other populations where the underlying components associated with group consciousness appear to be operating differently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies focusing on black–Latino intergroup perceptions in zero-sum environments (e.g., jobs) have found little perceived outgroup discrimination or a tendency for each group to perceive the injustices faced by the other group. In contrast, we examine the non-zero-sum criminal justice domain. Although we find some asymmetry—that is, blacks are somewhat more likely to see discrimination toward Latinos than vice-versa, we mainly find both groups acknowledge the discrimination faced by the other disadvantaged group, especially those who feel closely linked to the fate of their own group. Under such circumstances, blacks and Latinos recognize a common sense of deprivation and discrimination and are likely to regard the other group as facing comparable victimization, potentially seeing the other group as a coalition partner for remediating mutual concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using original survey data from the Cooperative Congressional Election Survey (CCES), we examine variation in racial and ethnic group and partisan attitudes toward legislators and representation. Respondents were asked about their views on descriptive representation, its importance for their own elected official, and whether it was important to have more descriptive representatives in general. Using respondents’ personal characteristics such as education, partisanship, race, ethnicity, income, and race and ethnicity of their House of Representatives member, we analyze the impact of these variables on attitudes toward representation. We find that Latino and Black respondents place a high level of importance on having descriptive representatives in their own districts in addition to articulating a high degree of importance to having more representatives from their respective group. However, Latino Republicans place less importance on descriptive representation overall than Latino non-Republican respondents. Non-Latino Republicans also place importance on more legislators of their same race or ethnicity. The findings have implications for democratic governance as the demographics of the United States rapidly changes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Using three national surveys from the Great Recession period in America, I demonstrate two aspects of group-based political attitudes beyond citizens’ partisanship preferences: (1) the economic scapegoating of African Americans by whites during the recession and (2) Latinos’ and African Americans’ use of their marginalized economic status as a lens for understanding how mortgage companies and bankers treated their communities during the downturn. I also discuss the broad impact of disparate economic opinions on citizens’ political outlook for the future. The key patterns of political attitudes are shown to be remarkably consistent from 2009 to 2012. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Previous studies of descriptive representation have not been able to overcome the classic endogeniety problem. For example, do Black elected officials cause Blacks to be more empowered? Or are Black politicians only elected in contexts where Blacks are already empowered? We address this shortcoming by utilizing genetic matching and the 1996 National Black Election Study. Genetic matching creates a pseudo-experimental environment where Blacks in districts with Black elected officials are matched with similarly situated Blacks in districts without Black representation. This research design allows us to better assess the causality of descriptive representation and changes in political attitudes. This study provides strong evidence that higher levels of efficacy are a result of descriptive representation, rather than the cause of it. Thus, our study demonstrates Black office-holding at the congressional level empowers the Black electorate. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study examined a national sample of more than 600 Black Americans and their views on bias in the American criminal justice system. The research found that 26% of the Black respondents did not believe there was bias in the American criminal justice system. To explore the segment of respondents holding these views, we separated the sample into Blacks who believe there is bias in the system (referred to as the discrimination thesis or DT supporters) and those who opposed this belief (referred to as the no-discrimination thesis or NDT supporters). The NDT supporters were more likely to be younger, male, less educated, and have lower income than those respondents who supported the DT. NDT supporters were also more likely to believe that Blacks and Whites had equal job opportunities, have more confidence in the police, and believe that racism was not widespread. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study tests a comprehensive model linking Grey’s Anatomy viewing and perceived realism of this program with organ donation knowledge, barriers—including medical mistrust, disgust, bodily integrity, and superstition—and subsequent organ donation attitudes. In addition to testing the hypothesized structural model, ethnic differences were examined by way of (a) the multigroup method to test for differences in path coefficients, (b) multivariate analysis of variance to examine differences among the study variables, and (c) χ2 tests to assess differences in organ donation registrations among African Americans (n = 200), Caucasians (n = 200), and Latinos (n = 200). Support for the overall structural model was found and various differences emerged among the African American, Caucasian, and Latino sample across study variables. The results from this research are discussed with an emphasis on the theoretical and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite significant changes in American society, Blacks still lag behind Whites on several important socioeconomic indicators. Attributing this gap to structural reasons (e.g., racial discrimination) or to person-centered reasons (e.g., individual willpower) is highly correlated with the extent to which individuals feel that the government should implement policies to ameliorate racial disparities. Scholars have shown that Blacks have shifted their explanations of Black disadvantage from structural attributions to person-centered over the past three decades. Some suggest that this change is because all Blacks are becoming more conservative while others suggest that cohort replacement is undergirding the shift. I used a newly developed method, the intrinsic estimator, to determine whether period, age, and/or cohort effects are responsible for the shift. I find that, generally, Blacks are less inclined to suggest that discrimination is a credible explanation due to period effects, but the increase in person-centered attributions is primarily due to cohort variation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Reactions to Bill Cosby’s comedy and his political views show the way in which many have failed to clearly distinguish between these two strands of his connection to the freedom struggle. This has been complicated by Cosby’s projection of some of his political ideals through his comedy while he chose to neglect others. The militant and radical words of Cosby in Playboy in 1969, his endorsement of civil rights causes, help for the under-privileged, and critique of systemic racism contrasted with the color-blind worldview projected by his comic creations. His more recent message of Black self-determination and community action that has links to conservative thought exists alongside repeats of The Cosby Show and the associated projection of a color-blind world symbolically led by Barack Obama. Such duality and visibility has so often made Cosby a reference point for the position of Blacks in America in the years since the civil rights movement. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article provides qualitative findings from a community-based, mixed-method study of African American caregivers of elders. Using constant comparative analysis of 21 in-depth interviews, investigators explored the reciprocal, interactive influence between caregiving and religion or spirituality. Findings suggested that participants perceived their approach to care as a personal ministry. Analysis of the core category of Caregiving as Ministry identified four characteristics of the participant's care approach: (a) caregiving is an honor and a blessing, (b) caregiving is my identity, (c) caregiving is sustained by a personal relationship with God, and (d) caregiving is a higher calling from God. The article concludes with three implications for direct and community-based social work practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Data suggest that colorectal cancer could be cut by approximately 60% if all people aged 50 years or older received regular screening. Studies have identified socio-cultural attitudes that might inform cancer education and screening promotion campaigns. This article applies item response theory (IRT) to a set of survey items selected to assess sociocultural attitudes in order to determine how current measures may affect what we know about how these attitudes affect colorectal cancer screening (CRCS). Design and Methods. A survey of colorectal cancer screening, screening attitudes and cultural beliefs was administered to 1021 African Americans - 683 women and 338 men, ages 50 to 75. Eligibility criteria for participation included being born in the United States, selfidentified African American male or female, age 50 to 75 years. The IRT analysis was performed on 655 individuals with complete data for the 43 observed variables. Results. Twenty-nine items comprise the Multi-construct African American Cultural Survey (MAACS) that addresses seven cultural constructs: mistrust/distrust, privacy, ethnic identity, collectivism, empowerment, and male gender roles. The items provide adequate information about the attitudes of the population across most levels of the constructs assessed. Among the sociocultural variables considered, empowerment (OR=1.078; 95% CI: 1.008, 1.151) had the strongest association with CRCS adherence and privacy showed promise. Conclusions. The MAACS provides a fixed length questionnaire to assess African American CRCS attitudes, two new constructs that might assist in CRCS promotion, and a suggested focus for identification of additional constructs of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does class position influence Blacks’ beliefs about the causes of poverty and racial inequality? Prior research has established that Blacks are more structural in orientation than Whites. However, existing studies have not adequately assessed the role that class position plays in shaping intraracial attitudinal differences among Blacks. Both multivariate and trend analyses of nearly four decades of data from the Houston Area Survey indicate that privileged Blacks often sharply differ from disadvantaged Blacks and privileged Whites across a range of racially specific and racially neutral individualistic and structural attributions. The results of this study directly concern ideological tensions within the Black community over whether racism and/or personal merit most strongly influences a Black person’s prospects for success. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Anger is a common reaction to stressful life events. However, little is known about anger’s use and efficacy as a coping strategy for racism. Is anger a coping strategy for racism that improves mental health? Or does anger operate in an opposing way, deteriorating mental health? The analyses for this research focused on a probability sample of African Americans who reported experiences of acute (n = 246) or chronic (n = 120) racial discrimination in a survey interview. General linear model results revealed that using anger to cope with racial discrimination negatively affected the general well-being and psychological distress of African Americans. These findings raise concerns about the effectiveness (or lack therefore of) of anger as a common coping mechanism for racism, given the deleterious effects it may have on African Americans’ mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Two studies examine African Americans’ perceptions of prejudice and nonprejudice in Whites and their perceptions of Whites’ impression management behaviors related to prejudice. Responses to open-ended questions about what makes them think a person is and is not prejudiced and general advice for Whites were collected from a total of 236 African American university students. The most common behaviors listed that indicated prejudice included name calling and stereotyping. Indications of nonprejudice included positive behaviors (smiling, helping), equal treatment, and seeking out interaction with minorities. Respondents also advised Whites to be authentic. Results also indicated that common impression management behaviors by Whites may backfire. Results are discussed in terms previous research and the complicated nature of interracial interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Commensurate with unemployment as conduit of Black self-hate is Black male aggression directed at racial peers. Consumed by poverty and most importantly unemployment, Black males have internalized norms via legacy of the antebellum that embrace violence. Their ability to obtain gainful employment can serve as a powerful alternative to the pathologizing influence of self-hate and to approaches emphasizing homicide to the exclusion of others. To reverse the trends, successful Blacks must be willing to mentor those less fortunate by being personally or actively involved. Their existence as role models can help decrease self-hate until such time as mentees can become permanently and gainfully employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the results from a survey of 344 African American adults concerning the personal characteristics they desire in their ideal marriage partner. The findings indicate that both African American men and women seek well-educated, financially stable, monogamous, and affluent partners who are spiritual, religious, self-confident, and reliable. The most significant finding is that respondents want ideal marriage partners who earn significantly more than they do, gender notwithstanding. In addition, respondents' income and gender significantly predict the differential between their incomes and their ideal partners. It appears as though respondents seek ideal marriage partners with incomes that will move them squarely into the middle class. Future studies should use larger and more representative samples, and include variables such as criminal history, skin shade, and physical characteristics in their analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the author discusses various reports within the issue on topics including an interview with former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, internationalization of higher education and student affairs, and African American perceptions and their experience in college.