Understanding the African American Research Experience (KAARE)

Summary

Despite recognition that the African American population is underrepresented in studies of health and mental health treatment and prevention efforts, few investigations have systematically examined barriers to African American research participation. Without their participation, treatment and prevention strategies designed to curtail the spread of HIV in their communities will be bound to achieve less than optimal outcomes. Based on the assumption that successful recruitment of African Americans requires knowledge of (a) their beliefs about research, (b) their perceptions of the research process and researchers, (c) their motivations to participate, and (d) the historical and social factors that may be the source of at least some ambivalence, the current study undertook semi-structured interviews with 157 African American, low-income mothers residing in a large urban community where they and their children were at high risk for HIV. Given the sensitive nature of the research topic, members of the community were trained to conduct the interviews. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the interview content suggest that despite having been consented, many participants (a) are not aware of their rights under informed consent and (b) lack knowledge of how the research will be used. Despite this and the subtle suspicion of White researchers held by some, many decide to participate for altruistic reasons. The implications for recruitment of participants in general and African Americans in particular into HIV prevention studies are discussed as are the implications for service providers directly or indirectly involved in the development and delivery of these interventions.     

Behavioral health correlates of exposure to community violence among African-American adolescents in Chicago

AimsThough public health researchers are more aware of behavioral health concerns among African American youth, few studies have explored how exposure to community violence may be related to adverse youth concerns. This study examines the relationship between exposure to community violence and mental health problems, substance use, school engagement, juvenile justice involvement, and STI risk behaviors.MethodsA total of 638 African American adolescents living in predominantly low-income, urban communities participated in the study by completing self-report measures on exposure to community violence, mental health, school engagement proxies, substance use, delinquency markers and sexual risk behaviors.ResultsAdolescents who reported higher rates of exposure to community violence were significantly more likely to report poorer mental health, delinquent behaviors, a history of juvenile justice involvement, lower school bonding and student-teacher connectedness. These youth were also significantly more likely to use alcohol, cigarettes, and illicit substances, and engage in sexual risk behaviors.ConclusionsFindings suggest that there is a critical need for culturally relevant prevention and intervention efforts for African American adolescents who are frequently exposed to community violence.     

Researching an-'other' minority ethnic community: Reflections of a black female researcher on the intersections of race,gender and other power positions on the research process

There is a dearth of discussion on the methodological dilemmas faced by minority ethnic researchers who research minority ethnic communities of which they are not a part. The paper explores the political and ethical issues involved in a black woman researching South Asian women's lives, analysing the research process, and focusing on issues of choice of research group, access and placing. This paper represents a reflexive account of the research relationships developed in longitudinal qualitative doctoral research between a black (of African descent) postgraduate student and sample of 19 South Asian female student teachers in England and draws on literature of women interviewing women and ethnic or 'race' matched research. The methods employed were documentary analysis, observing meetings, a focus group, two student questionnaires, one-to-one interviews with staff and group and one-to-one interviews with South Asian female student teachers. It is argued that whilst social characteristics such as gender, language, religion and culture are important in determining notions of commonality and difference, a shared experience of racism between the researched and the researcher may affect the research relationship most significantly.     

Decolonising research in a Sub-Saharan African context: exploring Ubuntu as a foundation for research methodology,ethics and agenda

In all parts of the world, researchers are addressing the colonial legacy of research. This article aims to contribute to the decolonisation of research in a sub-Saharan African context by exploring Ubuntu as an indigenous Southern African research paradigm. Drawing on lessons learnt from participatory action research with South African science teachers and on Ubuntu research literature, I develop, and reflect on, characteristics of an Ubuntu research ethics, agenda and methodology. Understood as humanness, Ubuntu encompasses a dimension of becoming human and being human. Both dimensions are realised through lived community and respectful, caring relations with other living beings and the environment. Thus, ethical protocols evolve around relating positively to others. Ubuntu research agendas contribute to strengthening community and methodologies are community based, relational and participatory. The emphasis of the article is not on presenting Ubuntu research as categorically oppositional to conventional methodologies, but on an approach to research that is grounded in indigenous African epistemologies.     

Using feminist ‘reflexive practice’ to explore stress and well-being of local researchers in South Sudan

ABSTRACT

This article discusses using feminist methods of reflexive practice to support and learn about the well-being of researchers working on gender-based violence research in South Sudan. In particular, we focus on the experiences of South Sudanese researchers undertaking this research in their own country. We share key findings and offer personal reflections on and suggestions for improving fieldwork. As feminists ourselves we placed a high value on sharing personal reflections on emotional challenges that the research team faced. However, our South Sudanese colleagues did not find these approaches very useful, preferring to discuss technical challenges, and placed emphasis on the importance of professionalism. This experience suggests the need for more culturally diverse feminist research tools, and for better recognition of the crucial role played by national researchers in international research projects. We end with recommendations.     

Methodological Issues in Conducting Community-Based Health and Social Services Research Among Urban Black and African American LGBT Populations

Abstract

Health and social service utilization experiences of disenfranchised groups have recently gained renewed public attention. Reducing and eliminating racial disparities in health care has become a major national agenda. While a fairly substantial literature on Black and African American health outcomes and social service utilization does exist, and may help to influence interventions to reduce disparities, there is no comparable literature for Black and African American lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons. In this article the author examines factors affecting research with urban Black and African American LGBT populations. A brief case study is included that demonstrates the viability of the recommended research methods and discusses the possible negative consequences of deviating from these methodological suggestions.     

Design Teams as Learning Systems for Complex Systems Change

Summary

Systems change in child welfare and cross-systems change involving other service sectors are needed in response to two developments: (1) New policy mandates (e.g., TANF, AS FA) and (2) Research on the co-occurring and interlocking needs of many child welfare families. A four-state initiative was structured in response to these needs. Collaborative learning and action research groups called design teams were structured to identify competencies and to develop new service delivery systems. Faculty facilitators representing social work education programs were assigned to these teams and charged with their development and evaluation. Facilitators served as linkage agents for university-communitystate agency partnerships, and they promoted curriculum change. These study reports two sets of findings related to these design teams: (1) Findings from semi-structured interviews of design team members; and (2) Findings from the participatory action research completed by two faculty facilitators. Key themes related to design team processes are presented. Drawing on these emergent themes, components that help explain effective design team processes are identified. Selected implications for social work education programs and faculty also are identified     

Overlooking African American Males

ABSTRACT

This study describes a group of seven, urban African American grandmother caregivers' perceptions of family resources. Data for this ethnography design were collected through participant observation, field notes, taped interviews and a genogram to capture those who were available and unavailable to provide support. The identification of themes yielded that grandmothers could only depend upon family members with resources; sons were viewed as most reliable and dependable; and family members were unable to contribute when managing their own problems. The study results suggest intergenerational programs aimed at the family system is important for meeting the needs of grandmother caregivers.     

The Adolescent Sexual Development of African American Gay Men with AIDS: Implications for Community-Based Practice

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study describes the adolescent sexual development of ten African American gay men living with AIDS. The informants retrospectively describe the challenges of being a gay adolescent in a mostly heterosexist and homophobic environment. They report unsupportive homophobic and heterosexist family members, community members and school officials. They also describe their burgeoning sexual orientation, sexual initiation as well as consensual and non-consensual sexual experiences with their peers. Additionally, several informants describe seeking sexual experiences with adult men. Later they suggest the adult men became their primary sources of emotional and psychological support. Implications for community practice, intervention and research with both African American gay adolescents and adult men living with AIDS are discussed.     

Talent,the Staying Power of Racism,and Transformation: Trans-Atlantic Observations

Abstract

This paper argues that the transformation of universities will not happen until the central issue of racial discrimination is consciously addressed at Predominantly White Universities (PWUs) in South Africa. The paper makes a concerted effort to address issues that reveal why Black faculty members in North American and South African academies have had to struggle to make their presence felt as far back as the beginning of the twentieth century. It does this by looking initially at the history of intelligence testing the early pioneering South African Black faculty members, and by comparing the current contemporary scenes of both societies insofar as what African American and Black South African faculty members undergo. The paper concludes by positing that only in the event of a strong anti-racist agenda will genuine transformation of the PWUs be possible without alienating Black talent.     

Research with American Indian communities: The value of authentic partnerships

Developing evidence for practice is particularly difficult when attempting to accurately capture the experiences of diverse communities. In American Indian communities, the lack of communication between researchers and their subjects has been increasingly recognized. Recent adjustments to research methods, such as community-based participatory research (CBPR) have attempted to emphasize the importance of recognizing the needs and wishes of those studied. Yet, perhaps due to imperfect application, they may fall short in promoting participation and yielding accurate results. A number of fallacies can hinder successful use of the model including the assumption that ‘cultural sensitivity’ or even locating a project in the community of interest will open the door to successful engagement. Reality-based research was conceived to address these potential deficiencies. It builds on CBPR and is proposed as a means to more effectively develop a connection between American Indians who might benefit from the research relationship and the researchers themselves. An example of a reality-based research project on tobacco use is provided and steps for adopting this approach in child welfare are outlined. These steps set this article apart from other works seeking to address this issue and provide concrete practical assistance to researchers in the field.     

Emancipatory engagement: An urban womanist social work pedagogy

ABSTRACT

Standing on the hope of the initial social work course from 1914 at Morgan College, this article provides insight into the significant learning outcomes of contemporary students in advanced social work practice with urban African American families. This research introduces the conceptual framework of urban womanist social work pedagogy as an inclusive practice-informed knowledge produced through the rituals, traditions, values, culture, and resilience of historically disenfranchised communities. Urban womanist social work teaching methods honor truth telling from the ones who have lived there. Urban womanist social work affirms transformative-centered research, teaching, and scholarship produced through institutions such as historically black colleges and universities (HBCU’s). The students’ reflective narratives reveal a process of transformation, centered in the freedom standpoint, which includes recognizing the location and context of their individual and collective identity as African Americans in the profession of social work. Urban womanist social work pedagogy cumulatively equips our students with intergenerational knowledge that inform their assessment of critical issues in Baltimore’s African American communities.     

Why We Can't Wait!

Abstract

An Afrocentric theoretical approach is utilized as a framework in guiding practitioners working with African American families. Afrocentricity places African American history, culture, and African heritage at the center of persons of African American families. An Afrocentric perspective also epitomizes the political, economic, and social freedom of African American families and communities. More importantly, understanding the cultural dynamics of African American families and their historical and contemporary use of resources (e.g., worldview, language, spirituality, etc.) to adapt and overcome certain life circumstances can be useful in assessment and treatment.     

Partnering with community stakeholders: engaging rural African American families in basic research and The Strong African American Families Preventive Intervention Program

The Center for Family Research has implemented the first family-community preventive intervention program designed specifically for rural African American families and youths. Basic information garnered during a decade of research in rural African American communities formed the theoretical and empirical foundations for the program, which focuses on delaying the onset of sexual activity and discouraging substance use among youths. The Center's researchers have formulated future directions for engaging rural families in basic research and preventive intervention programs.     

Understanding African American Discipline Styles

ABSTRACT

Discipline styles among African American parents are closely scrutinized; yet, they may be among the most positive aspects of African American child rearing. Families headed by “hardline” disciplinarians often interface with human, service providers who may perceive them as dysfunctional.

The authors report the findings of an exploratory study which examined discipline styles among African American families from various socioeconomic backgrounds in a midwestem community In-depth interviews were conducted, using a naturalistic method of inquiry. Emergent themes were analyzed, using an interactive model to contrast elements of African American and perceived European American methods of discipline. Based on research findings, multilevel service suggestions are provided.     

Family Law and Foster Care

Abstract

There are challenges associated with teaching family law and public policy; however, cooperative learning, a recognized teaching strategy that serves to enhance students' overall development, including academic, cognitive, and social growth, can be used successfully to teach this subject matter. In this paper, we describe how we taught students about some aspects of qualitative research methods, foster care policies, and pertinent family law concepts and practices; this was done through the initiation of a research team of undergraduate and graduate students. We explain the development of a cooperative research team, and the methods used to teach family law, using foster care as a context. The observed outcomes for students and faculty members are offered to readers.     

Re-Uniting African American Scholars,Practitioners and the Community

ABSTRACT

That African American communities are too often desolate places where it seems, in Hurston's words, “life has been and gone,” argues for increasingly creative community development strategies. This paper presents an historically-based, corporate empowerment model designed to address the desolation, by re-uniting scholars, practitioners and other community stakeholders for collective benefit and empowerment. Through an African-centered evaluative discussion, the authors assume the professional risk of sharing an outcome that may be viewed as a failure. The efficacy of the model, juxtaposed against the continued powerlessness of African American scholars, practitioners and communities, is explored. Practice challenges and implications are discussed.     

The Psychological Effects of Skin Color on African Americans' Self-Esteem

Abstract

Skin color distinction is a well-kept secret in African American communities. This paper analyzes the psychological effects of this phenomenon using the framework of symbolic inter-actionism and “interpersonal theory.” It suggests that the hue of one's skin tends to have a psychological effect on the self-esteem of African Americans, although that assertion is not borne out in the literature. Strategies are proposed for addressing skin color discrimination with persons with very dark skin.     

Towards African-centred theories of masculinity

ABSTRACT

Research on men and masculinities in South Africa, and the related intervention programmes, depends largely on theories of gender developed in the Global North. Such theories define masculinity as socially constructed and accomplished relationally in social action. Masculinity does not have an “inner essence.” This article argues that Northern gender theories offer inadequate accounts of African masculinities because of their being embedded in western epistemologies. In order to account fully for the complex lives of African men, scholars need to develop theories of masculinity based on African conceptions of reality. Such theories should treat masculinity as both socially constructed and as being influenced by unseen elements of personhood, as encapsulated in traditional African thoughts. To illustrate these ideas, the author uses anthropological and philosophical literature on African concepts of personhood, together with examples taken from personal experiences and observations.