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Summary: An evolution of thought and practice regarding the relationship of racism to well-being, healing, and trauma continues within social work and the helping professions. Additionally, empirical research on colorism as a key dimension of racism suggests that colorism negatively impacts the psychological and physical well-being of African Americans. However, few studies have examined well-being among African Americans in the context of historical trauma, through the lens of colorism. In this paper, the intersectionality of colorism and historical trauma is explored to inform culturally responsive social work education, practice, and research regarding African American well-being. It is the first step toward developing a colorist-historical trauma framework. The impact of colorism as a function of historical trauma response transmission among African Americans is presented. Findings: Advances in culturally responsive practice in social work address the impact of social determinants of health, such as racism. However, the impact of colorism within systemic racism is often unacknowledged. The authors assert that social work practice must attune to the differentiated socioemotional, political, and economic needs that exist among African Americans due to the impact of colorism and historical trauma. An intersectional lens, such as the colorist-historical trauma framework, is essential for culturally responsive practice. Applications: The colorist-historical trauma framework contributes to the professional social work discourse aimed at strengthening effective micro-, meso-, and macro-level practice with African Americans for well-being. Implications for social work practice, research, and education are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress is a significant contributor to disease and often worsens pre-existing conditions. Little research to date has focused on stress and coping in black families, particularly black women. The present study examined how self-esteem affects family coping and problem solving among mothers and daughters (N = 119). Results indicate that black mothers had significantly higher amounts of self-esteem than did daughters, potentially signifying that many issues that reduce self-esteem have been resolved for mothers, whereas daughters might still be dealing with issues that lower their self-esteem. Black mothers scored significantly lower than their daughters on perception of ability to solve problems, suggesting that black daughters might still be facing issues that they are actively using problem-solving skills to address. A significant difference between mothers and daughters on the amount of stress they experienced further supports the intergenerational nature of stress, problem solving, and lower self-esteem in the sample of daughters. The results suggest that black women with spouses or domestic partners are better able to adapt to stress than those who are not in partnerships or married. This study provides a more in-depth understanding of intergenerational family processes related to stress and coping among black women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about cross-cultural supervision dynamics between Black, female supervisors who provide clinical supervision of White supervisees. This study examined transference enactments which occurred between Black, female clinical supervisors (N = 57) and White supervisees. The results show that White supervisees' racist and sexist behaviors towards the Black, female supervisors demonstrated remnants of stereotypical images historically attributed to Black women (i.e., Mammy, Jezebel, and/or Sapphire). Moreover, the findings highlight the need to initiate multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills to enhance clinical skills. The paper concludes with recommendations for cross-cultural supervisory dyads and implications for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how skin color stratification, termed "colorism," affects the psychological well-being of African American women. Previous research has shown that the experience of colorism is pervasive within the black community and that black women have been culturally or personally affected by intraracial discrimination. This article describes a qualitative study that used focus groups to investigate the experiences of black women that were categorized according to their self-ascribed skin tone group. The findings indicated that women of different hues have distinctive experiences based on their skin tone, and that these experiences influence how they felt about themselves and interact with others. The article concludes with a discussion of practice, research, and policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes how 15 African American women 18 to 55 years of age coped with traumatic life events during and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The study's main question is how did African American women cope with traumatic events during and following Hurricane Katrina? Second, we explore how the intersection of race, gender, and social class influenced their experiences. An exploratory design of primary and secondary data using grounded theory methods generates a mid-level theory about resilience, spirituality and coping among Black women in the aftermath of the storm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]