A Meta-Analysis of Culturally Sensitive Interventions Designed to Reduce High-Risk Behaviors Among African American Youth

ABSTRACT

This study sought to determine the effectiveness of culturally sensitive interventions (CSIs) in reducing high risk behaviors with African American youth. A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effectiveness of CSIs across seven studies. African American youth who participated in CSIs were less likely to engage in high risk behaviors compared to those who did not participate. The effect size was moderate (g = .35). Although the findings should be considered tentative, the results provide an initial quantitative assessment of CSI effectiveness that future evaluations and meta-analyses can build upon as CSI research expands.     

Single Mothers,Nonresident Fathers,and Preschoolers’ Socioemotional Development: Social Support,Psychological Well-Being,and Parenting Quality

ABSTRACT

Using data from two waves of a short-term longitudinal study, the influences of mothers’ social support with respect to parenting from nonresident fathers and significant others on behavioral outcomes among poor and near-poor preschool-aged Black children were examined. The sample consisted of 99 single Black mothers—each with a preschool-aged child (ages 3 and 5 years old, respectively, at Time 1 and Time 2)—who were current and former welfare recipients. Results revealed protective effects of nonresident fathers’ presence in the context of mothers’ parenting stress and depressive symptoms at Time 1 that appeared to operate through decreases in the negative influences of these variables on the children's development of behavior problems 1.5 to 2 years later. Greater availability of instrumental support from significant others, including nonresident fathers, was associated with more adequate parenting at Time 1, and through the latter, with fewer child behavior problems at Time 2. Implications of these findings for program and policy interventions are discussed. Nonresident fathers are described in the Appendix.     

Comparing criminal justice responses to violence against women in Canada and China

Canada and China are two very different countries in terms of their socio-economic and political contexts; however, neither country is immune to the social problem of violence against women. This paper compares the criminal justice responses to violence against women in Canada and China in order to explore the pathway of responses to violence against women in different cultural contexts, and discusses the implications for addressing violence against women on an international horizon.     

The Use of Postage Stamps to Teach Social Studies Topics

In recent studies, youths in the United States have demonstrated a remarkable lack of cultural literacy. As the world is becoming increasingly interconnected, it is imperative that students enhance their understanding of other cultures. A classroom correspondence match with a Peace Corps volunteer through the Coverdell Peace Corps World Wise Schools program can help students make this improvement by traveling the globe and raising their cross-cultural awareness—without leaving the classroom. In this article, a returned Peace Corps volunteer and current classroom instructor presents classroom strategies he has used from the Coverdell Peace Corps World Wise Schools program. Using Robert Hanvey's (1976) four levels of cross-cultural awareness, the author demonstrates how this unique program can dramatically improve students' cross-cultural awareness.     

The Price of Opportunity: Race,Student Loan Debt,and College Achievement

This paper examines racial differences in student loan debt and concurrently assesses the potential payoffs and countervailing risks inherent in reliance on loans in a cohort of black and white first‐year college students. Using the 1996–2001 Beginning Postsecondary Student study we find that the use of loans results in greater enrollment persistence and higher odds of college completion, especially for black students. However, black students acquire larger amounts of student loan debt and face a higher risk of default than white students. This is in part due to associated racial differences in family socioeconomic status and type of institution attended. We suggest these findings illuminate the dual‐sided nature of college loans that makes them an imperfect, but overall positive, tool for reducing educational inequality. On the one hand, student loans reduce educational inequality that otherwise results from disadvantaged students' struggles to pay for college and complete college in a timely fashion. At the same time, the degree to which loans reduce racial inequality is diminished by black students' higher loan amounts, the large number of black students who borrow but do not finish college, and the large racial difference in the odds of defaulting on a loan.     

Minority Composition,Inequality and the Growth of Municipal Police Forces, 1960–71

Abstract

Recent studies, in finding that community variables such as percentage Black and income inequality have significant effects on police size and expenditures, call into question the findings of earlier research. However, these recent studies are themselves subject to serious methodological limitations and leave open the question of whether it is class or racial conflict which affects the deployment of police resources. In this study we estimate several simultaneous equation models of police size per capita in 1971 for 88 non-Southern cities. Bach of these models holds constant the effects of per capita police size in 1960. Racial composition and racial inequality are found to be the only significant predictors of the growth in the number of police per capita.     

Reshaping tradition? Women negotiating the boundaries of tradition and modernity in Hong Kong and British families

In debates on social change and personal life, modernity has generally been conceptualized in opposition to tradition, though some have pointed to the persistence of traditional values and practices within modern family relations. In this paper we seek to extend these debates beyond their largely Eurocentric context. Drawing on a comparative qualitative study of women and social change in Britain and Hong Kong, we argue for an understanding of the traditional and the modern that takes account of the ways in which tradition is reshaped in the context of modernity. The accounts of young adult women and their mothers in Hong Kong and Britain reveal varied interpretations of family obligations and practices in relation to normative ideals of family life in each context. We consider how configurations of family life deemed ‘modern’ are inflected by the differing traditions and histories of Hong Kong and British society and argue that these differences are not only cultural, but also attributable to the material conditions under which family relationships are forged and negotiated.     

When Injustice Gets Old: A Systematic Review of Trans Aging

A lack of knowledge regarding the needs and experiences of trans and gender-nonconforming older adults contributes to and perpetuates the experiences of marginalization associated with being trans. Mitigating the conditions of marginalization—including those that are compounded by age—requires the production of trans aging knowledge. It was with the intent to produce such knowledge that this systematic review was undertaken. In so doing, five medical databases, eight social science databases, and two gray literature databases were searched. These included the following: CINAHL (1942–), Medline (1942–), Health Services/Technology Assessment Texts, Web of Science, EMBASE (1947–), Sociological Abstracts (1952), Social Services Abstracts (1806–), Gender Studies Database (1972–), LGBT Life with Full Text, Ageline (1978–), PsycINFO (1806–), Scopus, ERIC, The New York Academy of Medicine Grey Literature Report, and Dissertations & Theses: Full Text. A total of 436 titles and abstracts were independently reviewed. Of these, 106 full-text articles were retrieved; 34 met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. The following themes were identified: 1. the methodological challenges associated with conducting research with trans and gender nonconforming older adults;

2. violence and abuse among trans and gender nonconforming older adults;

3. discriminatory policies and practices in health and mental health care;

4. the lack of appropriate HIV/AIDS education, prevention, and treatment strategies for trans and gender nonconforming older adults;

5. obstacles in education, employment, government systems, and housing; and

6. the lack of adequate social support networks.

Gaps in the literature, recommendations for future research, and implications for policy and practice were also identified.     

Habitat near nest boxes correlated with fate of eastern bluebird fledglings in an urban landscape

Nest boxes are commonly erected in managed landscapes such as backyards, golf courses and parks, attracting cavity-nesting birds to habitats they would not otherwise occupy. Although studies have shown that habitat around natural nests influences postfledging survival, this relationship has not been examined for artificial nest cavities, which humans may site at inappropriate locations. In Williamsburg, Virginia, we compared vegetation surrounding nest boxes which produced eastern bluebird fledglings that were predated by hawks within 10 days of leaving the nest to vegetation surrounding nest boxes producing surviving fledglings. We found a significant difference between PC scores for forest denseness around nest boxes that produced surviving versus predated fledglings; fledglings that survived tended to come from nest boxes with high forest and canopy cover, close trees and little grass.     

What We Can Learn of Resilience from Older African-American Women: Interviews with Women Who Worked as Maids in the Deep South

Resilience theory is increasingly informed by an in-depth study of personal narratives and story telling by survivors of personal trauma and cultural hardship. From the perspective of risk and resilience theory, this study examines the personal narratives of three older African-American women who engaged in domestic service from childhood. Collectively, their autobiographical memories describe experiences coping with the forces of an oppressive social and economic system. Our analysis of these personable narratives reveals how these women not only endured the cruelties of segregation and racism but somehow prevailed over them.