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Willis HA, Polanco-Roman L, Derella OJ, Zayde A. Emotional impacts of racial discrimination on caregiver-child dyads: Can mentalizing-focused parenting groups buffer against racism-related stress? Dev Psychopathol 2024:1-12. [PMID: 38477321 DOI: 10.1017/s095457942400049x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
Black and Latinx caregivers face high risk for parenting stress and racism-related stress due to experiences of racial discrimination (RD). This study aimed to explore the associations between RD, parenting stress, and psychological distress in caregiver-child dyads, as well as the impact of a mentalizing-focused group intervention on caregivers' experiences of RD distress. Ethnoracially minoritized caregivers of children aged 5-17 years old participated in a non-randomized clinical trial (N = 70). They received either a 12-session mentalizing-focused group parenting intervention or treatment-as-usual in outpatient psychiatry. We assessed self-reported frequency and distress related to RD, parenting stress, and psychological distress at baseline (T1) and post-intervention (T2). Caregiver- and self-reported child psychological distress were also measured. The results showed that greater RD frequency and greater RD distress separately predicted higher overall parenting stress and parental role-related distress. Greater RD distress was linked to increased psychological distress in caregivers. Similarly, greater RD frequency and distress among caregivers were associated with higher caregiver-reported, but not self-reported, child psychological distress. No significant changes in RD distress were observed between T1 and T2 for either of the treatment groups. These findings highlight the exacerbating role of RD on parenting stress and psychological distress among ethnoracially minoritized caregivers and their children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henry A Willis
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, MD, USA
| | | | - Olivia J Derella
- Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Amanda Zayde
- Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
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Savell SM, Niguse M, Caluori N, Brown-Iannuzzi JL, Wilson MN, Lemery-Chalfant K, Shaw DS. Cascading Influences of Caregiver Experiences of Discrimination and Adolescent Antisocial Behavior. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL FOR THE SOCIETY OF CLINICAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY, AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, DIVISION 53 2024:1-15. [PMID: 38252485 PMCID: PMC11260903 DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2024.2301770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Although a growing body of work has found that parents' experiences of racial and socioeconomic (SES) based discrimination are directly related to their children's behavior problems , more work is needed to understand possible pathways by which these factors are related and to identify potential targets for prevention and/or intervention. METHOD Using a large (N = 572), longitudinal sample of low-income families from diverse racial backgrounds, the current study explored whether caregivers' experiences of racial and SES discrimination during their children's middle childhood (i.e. ages 7.5-9.5) predicted youth-reported antisocial behavior during adolescence and potential factors mediating these associations (e.g. caregiver depressive symptoms and positive parenting practices). RESULTS We found that higher levels of caregiver experiences of discrimination at child ages 7.5-9.5 predicted higher levels of caregiver depressive symptoms at child age 10.5, which were related to lower levels of caregiver endorsement of positive parenting practices at child age 14.5, which in turn, predicted higher levels of youth-reported antisocial behavior at age 16. CONCLUSION The findings highlight the adverse effects of racism and discrimination in American society. Second, the findings underscore the need to develop interventions which mitigate racism and discrimination among perpetrators and alleviate depressive symptoms among caregivers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon M. Savell
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
| | - Mihret Niguse
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
| | - Nava Caluori
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
| | | | - Melvin N. Wilson
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
| | | | - Daniel S. Shaw
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
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Maultsby K, López R, Wolff J, Spirito A, Esposito-Smythers C. Longitudinal Relations Between Parenting Practices and Adolescent Suicidal Ideation in a High-Risk Clinical Sample: A Moderated Mediation Model. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2023; 51:613-623. [PMID: 36652026 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-022-01018-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Parenting behaviors are associated with adolescent suicidal ideation (SI), but few studies have examined this relation longitudinally or investigated underlying mechanisms. We investigated a moderated mediation model to evaluate perceived burdensomeness as a mediator in the longitudinal relation between parenting behavior (warmth and verbal hostility) and adolescent SI. We hypothesized that this association would be particularly strong among adolescents with greater functional impairment. The sample included 147 adolescents (Mage = 14.9, Age Range = 12-18 years, 76.2% female) and a primary caregiver (Mage = 43.5, Age Range = 27-60 years, 81.4% female) enrolled in a clinical trial. Caregivers completed measures of warmth and verbal hostility (PCPR) and adolescents completed measures of functional impairment (CDI-2), perceived burdensomeness (INQ), and SI (SIQ-JR) at baseline, 12 and 18 months. Two moderated mediation path analyses, one for each parenting behavior, were conducted. Age, sex, treatment condition, baseline and 12-month SI, baseline perceived burdensomeness, and the alternate baseline parenting behavior were included as covariates. Neither model yielded a significant direct effect between baseline parental verbal hostility or warmth and 18-month SI. However, lower warmth and higher verbal hostility were positively associated with 18-month SI indirectly through greater 12-month perceived burdensomeness among youth with relatively higher levels of functional impairment. Perceptions of burdensomeness are a mechanism by which low parental warmth and high parental verbal hostility contribute to SI, but only among youth with greater functional impairment. Interventions to address youth perceptions of burdensomeness may be beneficial, particularly for the most highly impaired youth.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Roberto López
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Jennifer Wolff
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Anthony Spirito
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
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Holloway K, Varner F. Forms and frequency of vicarious racial discrimination and African American parents' health. Soc Sci Med 2023; 316:114266. [PMID: 34340866 PMCID: PMC10409599 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2020] [Revised: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND African Americans often witness or learn about others' racial discrimination experiences (i.e., vicarious racial discrimination). Vicarious racial discrimination may contribute to adverse physical and psychological health outcomes for African Americans. We examined relations between four types of vicarious racial discrimination and depressive symptoms and self-rated health among African American parents. METHODS Path analyses were conducted to examine the linkage between each type of vicarious racial discrimination and both depressive symptoms and self-rated health. Chi-square difference tests were conducted to determine if the four forms of vicarious racial discrimination significantly differed in their relations to both depressive symptoms and self-rated health. RESULTS Witnessing or learning about their children's racial discrimination experiences was significantly related to higher parental depressive symptoms. Witnessing or learning about a racial discrimination experience of a stranger through the news or social media was significantly related to lower self-rated health. CONCLUSIONS The findings highlight the importance of examining the health implications of vicarious racial discrimination. Different types of vicarious racial discrimination experiences matter concerning depressive symptoms and self-rated health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen Holloway
- Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 108 E. Dean Keeton St., Stop A2702, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
| | - Fatima Varner
- Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 108 E. Dean Keeton St., Stop A2702, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
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Leath S, Butler-Barnes S, Haynes-Thoby L. "They Just Keep Coming": A Study of How Anti-Black Racial Violence Informs Racial Grief and Resistance Among Black Mothers. JOURNAL OF CHILD AND FAMILY STUDIES 2022; 31:3450-3467. [PMID: 36105272 PMCID: PMC9461437 DOI: 10.1007/s10826-022-02421-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Scholars have begun to address how exposure to vicarious racial violence influences stress and coping processes among Black families in the U.S. Yet, fewer scholars have considered the importance of racial grief as a component of the coping process. The current study drew upon semi-structured interview data from 31 Black mothers in the U.S. (25-52 years; M age = 35 years) to explore how mothers processed and responded to vicarious anti-Black racial violence. We used consensual qualitative research methods and identified the following themes: (a) recognizing the endemic nature of racial violence, (b) feeling frozen in fear after a new case of racial violence, and (c) transforming grief into grievance as a route to racial justice. The findings contextualize Black mothers' concerns about the racial violence that they and their children might experience during their lifetime, and how they channel this grief into actionable change against racial injustice. Authors discuss strengths-based ways to frame the role of grief and loss in the context of racism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seanna Leath
- Psychological and Brain Sciences Department, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO USA
| | - Sheretta Butler-Barnes
- School of Social Work, Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO USA
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Condon EM, Barcelona V, Ibrahim BB, Crusto CA, Taylor JY. Racial Discrimination, Mental Health, and Parenting Among African American Mothers of Preschool-Aged Children. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2022; 61:402-412. [PMID: 34153495 PMCID: PMC8683578 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2021.05.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Revised: 05/08/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Indirect exposure to racism experienced by a caregiver (ie, vicarious racism) is associated with poor outcomes for children, but mechanisms of vicarious racism transmission are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between experiences of racial discrimination and parenting among African American mothers and to identify psychological mediators and moderators of this relationship. METHOD African American mothers (N = 250) with young children (mean age = 3.7 years old) reported on perceived racial discrimination (Race-Related Events Scale), parenting (Parenting Stress Index, Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire), coping (Coping Strategies Index), and mental health (Stress Overload Scale, Beck Depression Inventory). Multivariable linear regression was used to examine associations between perceived racial discrimination and parenting and to test coping as a moderator of these relationships. Ordinary least-squares regression-based path analysis with bootstrapping was used to examine mediation by stress overload and depressive symptoms. RESULTS At least one experience of racial discrimination was reported by 57% of women. Experiences of racial discrimination were associated with increased parenting stress (β = 0.69, p = .02), and this relationship was mediated by stress overload (95% CI [0.35, 1.09]) and depressive symptoms (95% CI [0.27, 1.18]). Racial discrimination was not associated with parenting styles, and coping strategies largely did not moderate the relationships examined. CONCLUSION Racial discrimination has harmful intergenerational effects on African American children and families. Systemic-level interventions are needed, including adoption of policies to promote racial justice and eliminate structural racism in the United States. Future research on coping strategies specific to racism-related stress is needed to inform approaches to intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Jacquelyn Y. Taylor
- Center for Research on People of Color, Columbia University School of Nursing, New York
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Smith NA, McDonald A, Wei W, Johnson SA, Adeji D, Witherspoon DP. Embracing Race, Resisting Oppression: African American Parents as Experienced Guides for Navigating Racial Oppression: Dismantling Systems of Racism and Oppression during Adolescence. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE 2022; 32:115-133. [PMID: 34939723 DOI: 10.1111/jora.12712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2020] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
This study examined how discrimination experiences, beliefs, and coping in middle adolescence contributed to heterogeneity in African American parent-adolescent relationship (PAR) profiles three years later. Data were from the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study in which 589 African American caregivers (92% female; Mage = 39.15, SD = 6.72; range = 27-74 years old) were interviewed when youth were in 8th and 11th grades. We used previously identified profiles of ethnic-racial socialization, general parenting practices, and relationship quality: No-nonsense High Socializers, Indulgent Average Socializers, Unengaged Silent Socializers, and Authoritative Cultural Socializers. Results indicated that parents' discrimination experiences, racial coping self-efficacy, and racial coping socialization when youth were in the 8th grade predicted membership in PAR profiles three years later controlling for youth gender, parent marital status, and family socioeconomic status.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Wei Wei
- The Pennsylvania State University
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Jelsma E, Varner F, Engineer N. Perceptions of adolescents' racial discrimination experiences, racial identity, and depressive symptoms among Black American fathers. FAMILY RELATIONS 2022; 71:163-180. [PMID: 38322197 PMCID: PMC10846898 DOI: 10.1111/fare.12613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2020] [Accepted: 03/21/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
Objective This study examined whether Black American fathers' perceptions of their adolescents' experiences of racial discrimination were related to fathers' depressive symptoms and if this association was moderated by fathers' racial identity beliefs and adolescent gender. Background Racial discrimination is not only an individual-level but also a family-level stressor for Black families. Racial discrimination experienced by parents can spillover to influence their children; however, fewer studies have examined how adolescents' discrimination experiences relate to parents' psychological outcomes, especially among Black fathers. Method Data were collected via online survey from 240 Black fathers (Mage = 45.93 years, SD = 8.72) of adolescents (Mage = 14.44 years, SD = 2.11) residing in the United States. Participants completed questions about their racial identity beliefs and depressive symptoms, as well as their adolescents' experiences with racial discrimination. Results Regression analyses revealed that adolescent-experienced racial discrimination was directly associated with fathers' depressive symptoms. Fathers whose race was more central to them (racial centrality) had higher depressive symptoms when their adolescents had high racial discrimination experiences. Also, fathers' beliefs about how Black people are viewed by society (public regard) moderated the relation between adolescent-experienced racial discrimination and fathers' depressive symptoms differently based on adolescent gender. Adolescent gender also moderated the relation between fathers' personal feelings about being Black (private regard) and their depressive symptoms. Conclusions Overall, fathers' beliefs about their race, as well as the gender of their adolescents, play a role in their psychological health when their adolescents experience discrimination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Jelsma
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Fatima Varner
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Nabeeha Engineer
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
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Varner F, Holloway K, Scott L. The Roles of Gender and Parenting in the relations between Racial Discrimination Experiences and Problem Behaviors among African American Adolescents. RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT 2022; 18:256-273. [PMID: 35340406 PMCID: PMC8953153 DOI: 10.1080/15427609.2021.2020583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The goal of this study was to examine whether, in African American families with adolescents, the associations between adolescents' racial discrimination experiences and adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors differed based on involved-vigilant parenting and the genders of the parent and child. The sample included 567 African American parents of adolescents who completed an online survey on parenting, race-related stressors, and adolescent outcomes. Path analyses examining main effects and the interaction between adolescents' racial discrimination experiences, as reported by the parent, and involved-vigilant parenting were conducted in MPlus 8.2. Multigroup analyses by the gender pairing of the parent and target child were also conducted. Adolescent racial discrimination experiences were positively related to internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. Multigroup analyses indicated that high maternal involved-vigilant parenting buffered the association between girls' racial discrimination experiences and problem behaviors whereas high paternal involved-vigilant parenting buffered the association between boys' racial discrimination experiences and problem behaviors. Overall, the results indicated that when adolescents experienced high levels of racial discrimination, involved vigilant parenting was protective for problem behaviors when received from same gender parents. Involved-vigilant parenting was compensatory when received from cross-gender parents.
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Holloway K, Varner F. Parenting despite discrimination: Does racial identity matter? CULTURAL DIVERSITY & ETHNIC MINORITY PSYCHOLOGY 2021; 27:781-795. [PMID: 34279979 PMCID: PMC8497417 DOI: 10.1037/cdp0000452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous research suggests that parents' characteristics and race-related experiences shape the racial socialization messages they give their children. Parents' beliefs about race may also relate to how they interpret and respond to race-related stressors. The current study drew on the Sociohistorical Integrative Model for the Study of Stress in Black Families to examine the moderating roles of gender and racial identity subscales (i.e., racial centrality, private regard, and public regard) on the relations between race-related stressors (i.e., personal, vicarious, and anticipated racial discrimination) and racial socialization. METHOD Path analyses were conducted in Mplus 8.2 using online survey data from a national sample of 567 African American parents of adolescents. RESULTS There were seven significant three-way interactions. Racial centrality and gender moderated the relations between both personal and vicarious racial discrimination and each racial socialization message. Private regard and gender moderated the relations between personal racial discrimination and preparation for bias and between vicarious racial discrimination and cultural socialization. Public regard and parent gender moderated the relation between personal racial discrimination and cultural socialization. CONCLUSIONS The findings highlighted that parents' experiences of personal, vicarious, and anticipated racial discrimination have different relations with their racial socialization messages. In addition, they highlighted that racial identity and parent gender are related to the type of racial socialization messages African American parents who are exposed to race-related stressors give their children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Williams AC, Jelsma E, Varner F. The role of perceived thought control ability in the psychological functioning of Black American mothers. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY 2021; 91:246-257. [PMID: 33983773 PMCID: PMC9878470 DOI: 10.1037/ort0000540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The purpose of the study was to investigate the extent to which perceived thought control ability (PTCA) promotes the psychological functioning of Black American mothers, as well as moderates the negative effects of key stressors faced by this population, including discrimination experiences, financial strain, and parenting stress. METHODS An online survey was administered to 305 Black American mothers across the U.S. Participants completed measures of PTCA, psychological well-being (life satisfaction and emotional well-being), psychological distress (depressive and anxiety symptoms), and stressors (discrimination experiences, financial strain, and parenting stress). RESULTS Discrimination experiences, financial strain, and parenting stress were related to higher anxiety and depressive symptoms. Financial strain and parenting stress were also related to lower life satisfaction and emotional well-being. PTCA protected against the link between discrimination experiences and depressive symptoms (β = -.15, p < .001), discrimination experiences and anxiety (β = -.15, p < .001), and parenting stress on anxiety (β = .08, p = .04). PTCA also was associated with higher life satisfaction (β =.19, p = .001) and emotional well-being (β =.42, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS This study provides evidence that PTCA is a culturally relevant and practical psychological resource for psychological functioning among Black American mothers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Elizabeth Jelsma
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin
| | - Fatima Varner
- Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin
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