‘Ghost in the Shell’: Reflections on Fieldwork in Kazakhstan

After independence from the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan proclaimed Kazakhs the title ethnic group, and the Kazakh language the national language. This deprived the Russian-speaking population of its former dominant social position. Being a Russian-speaking citizen of Kazakhstan, the daughter of a half-Korean half-Russian father and a half-Kazakh half-German mother, I did my field work as a presumed ‘native’ anthropologist at Kazakhstan State University with linguistically divided groups of students. The relations between the field and the researcher disclosed different geopolitical realities of knowledge production and challenged the legacy of relativist methodology. I reflect on this experience and examine different conceptualisations of the native positionality in the post-Soviet context. Reflections in this paper raise new questions about nation-building in post-socialist states and about ‘nativeness’ itself, and contribute to the criticism of postmodern theory.     

Nativity Seen in the Anthropocene: Contemporary Fieldwork and Subjective Challenges

Ongoing political changes, diasporic mobilities and new communication modalities present anthropologists with novel challenges for conducting ethnographic field work. As both configurations of and expectations for varied forms of social identity change, so too has the notion of the native, what Arjun Appadurai once called the technical preserve of anthropologists. Through reflection on contemporary field work experiences in Kazakhstan, the Philippines and South Korea, this set of papers considers how changing political and cultural regimes, diasporic mobilities and social media also tag the native anthropologist, a concept which can be to the advantage of the researcher, but also can create new problems and complexities for research.     

Challenging the Myths of Black Women—A Short-Term,Structured, Art Experience Group: Exploring the Intersections of Race,Gender, and Intergenerational Trauma

ABSTRACT

The authors describe a short-term structured group process for African American women in the suburbs of Washington, DC, highlighting the perspective of the group leaders. The group was started to address the unique needs of African American women who are also survivors of childhood abuse and neglect. The group leaders used discussion and art in the group to explore the intersections of race, gender, and intergenerational trauma. Having shared experiences with the participants of the group, the authors explore the ways the group leaders were changed and challenged in the process.     

Involvement in the Juvenile Justice System for African American Adolescents: Examining Associations with Behavioral Health Problems

While researchers have found that African American youth experience higher levels of juvenile justice involvement at every system level (arrest, sentencing, and incarceration) relative to their other ethnic counterparts, few studies have explored how juvenile justice involvement and number of contacts might be correlated with this broad range of problems. A convenience sample of 638 African American adolescents living in predominantly low-income, urban communities participated in a survey related to juvenile justice involvement. Major findings using logistic regression models indicated that adolescents who reported juvenile justice system involvement versus no involvement were 2.3 times as likely to report mental health problems, substance abuse, and delinquent or youth offending behaviors. Additional findings documented that the higher the number of juvenile justice system contacts, the higher the rates of delinquent behaviors, alcohol and marijuana use, sex while high on drugs, and commercial sex. These findings suggest that identifying and targeting youth who have multiple juvenile justice system contacts, especially those in low-resourced communities for early intervention services, may be beneficial. Future research should examine whether peer network norms might mediate the relationships between juvenile justice involvement and youth problem behaviors.     

Mental illness etiology beliefs among African American men with serious mental illness and their social support networks

Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 26 African American men with serious mental illness who were consumers of community mental health services and 26 members of their social support networks. All participants were asked what they believed had caused the consumers’ mental illness. Consumer participants most commonly identified chronic life stressors as a causal factor, while social supports most often identified intrinsic factors such as genetics or biology as causes of mental illness. Some support participants believed that unintentional drug use had precipitated the onset of mental illness or had no causal theories. The fact that some support participants could not identify a causal explanation may indicate failure on the part of mental health care systems to engage with consumers’ social support networks and provide education about mental illness and its causes. The implications of etiology beliefs on mental health service utilization are discussed.     

Forensic Evaluation of Deaf Individuals: Challenges and Strategies

ABSTRACT

Forensic evaluation of deaf individuals presents unique challenges due to many examinees’ fund of information deficits, potential for language deprivation, and examiners’ frequent lack of creativity regarding communication methods. This article describes challenges most frequently encountered in competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility evaluations and offers strategies for overcoming them. The value of employing multiple communication methods, especially the use of illustrations, is emphasized. Suggestions also are offered regarding preparing evaluation reports and effectively communicating “key deaf fundamentals” to legal personnel. Encouragement is offered for qualified, sign-fluent professionals to engage in forensic work.     

Psychological Distress,Couple Interactions,and Parenting: A Dyadic Analysis of African American Couples

Parental depression is a well‐established risk factor for couple conflict and ineffective or hostile parenting (M. C. Lovejoy, P. A. Graczyk, E. O'Hare, & G. Neuman, 2000; L. M. Papp, M. C. Goeke‐Morey, & E. M. Cummings, 2007). Although research suggests that caregiver depression may impact parenting indirectly via increased conflict between couples (e.g., R. D. Conger et al., 2002), few studies take into account the behaviors of both caregivers in exploring these relations. The goal of the current study is to employ an actor–partner mediator model to examine the complex relations among psychological distress, negative couple interactions, and parenting. Using a sample of 162 African American couples with children, we find evidence that the psychological distress of each caregiver has an effect on couple interactions for both men and women. The effects from each caregivers' distress to parenting are mainly indirect through the interactional behaviors of the mother toward the father, consistent with the father vulnerability hypothesis (e.g., E. M. Cummings, M. Goeke‐Morey, & J. Raymond, 2004).     

Impact of support networks for breastfeeding: A multicentre study

Background

The rates of breastfeeding worldwide are slowly improving since 1996. Europe is still trailing behind the global breastfeeding incidence and prevalence rates. Thus, breastfeeding promotion, protection, prolongation and support have become an important challenge as breastfeeding sharply decreases in the first six months of life.

Negative Religious Rhetoric in the Lives of Black Cisgender Queer Emerging Adult Men: A Qualitative Analysis

Given the intersection of racial, religious, and sexual identities for Black queer populations, the current study examines sexuality-related religious rhetoric. Twenty Black cisgender queer men were recruited to participate in a qualitative interview. Using thematic analysis, the research team identified four themes: negative religious rhetoric, personal consequences of negative religious rhetoric, social consequences of negative religious rhetoric, and growth from negative religious rhetoric. Participants explained the pervasiveness of negative religious rhetoric within their churches and family structures. Men also conveyed how negative religious rhetoric frames societal ideologies around same-sex behavior, often condoning violence toward queer populations. Although men had negative experiences, participants articulated the importance of using oppression as a platform for growth. Black cisgender queer men are present within religious institutions; however, such negative religious rhetoric may negatively affect their mental and physical health. Researchers, clinicians, and clergy should consider the ways negative religious rhetoric marginalizes queer populations.