While several studies examining African Americans' mental health rates appeared in the past, existing research does not describe internal and external factor influences on positive ethnic identity development and their mediating effects on mental health help-seeking attitudes for this population. This quantitative study used structural equation modeling to examine the relationships between 3 ecological levels (the individual level/level of bicultural identity, the family level/family ethnic socialization, and the social context level/self-concealment) and examine their collective influence on ethnic identity development and mental health help-seeking attitudes of African Americans. The choice of variables for this study was grounded in Stokols' social ecological theory, Lewin's theory of psychological fields, and Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems that outline human development. Results were measured by responses to surveys from 161 African American males and females residing within the Atlanta, Georgia area. The family and social level were more predictive of ethnic identity development and ethnic identity positively and negatively, respectively, related to bicultural self-efficacy. Having the ability to communicate in both mainstream and ethnic cultures was directly predictive of positive attitudes toward seeking professional help. The social change implications of this study included gaining insight into African Americans' difficulty with developing positive ethnic identity and mental health help-seeking, providing professional clinicians with a model of the process of ethnic identity and mental health help-seeking attitude development, and improved advancement in training and cultural-based interventions for clinicians specifically working with minority populations.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T20:22:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rosangela Ferreira de Carvalho Borges.pdf: 1866105 bytes, checksum: e4e01a81b2d5dff42b8037da917714ef (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-08-25 / Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian / As its main purpose this thesis presents, not only how the ethnic identity of the African black immigrants from the PALOP -Portuguese-speaking African Countries - and their descendents is built in the Portuguese Newspapers Público, Correio da Manhã e O Expresso, in 2003, 2004 and 2005, as well as the ethnic identity of the Brazilian black men in the magazine Raça Brasil during the same period. It also aims at realizing both the case of the black Brazilians in Brazil and the black African immigrants from the PALOP living in Portugal which are the recurring themes, the proximities, the distances and resemblances that can be found in the Portuguese newspapers discourse and in the magazine Raça Brasil, although both are inserted in historical, social, politics, economic and cultural distinct realities. Defining this proposal , the investigation takes into account the theoretical contributions of the Max Weber, Fredrik Barth, Stuart Hall and Michel Wieviorka, as a means to capture the specifications of what is defined as an ethnic proper identity. The methodological option is the qualitative-quantitative approach through the content and discourse analysis by the use of the computer tool Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS, including interviews made with leaderships connected to the black African immigrants from the PALOP in Portugal and the black Brazilians in Brazil, which made it possible to conjugate different factor involved in the investigated reality. It also searches not to privilege just the results per se, but to enlighten the reflection about the relationship between the media, the ethnic identity and the private actions bonds and the context in which they occur / Esta tese apresenta como principal proposta verificar como é construída não só a identidade étnica dos imigrantes negros africanos dos PALOP e seus descendentes nos jornais portugueses Público, Correio da Manhã e O Expresso, em 2003, 2004 e 2005, como também do negro brasileiro na revista Raça Brasil durante o mesmo período. Busca-se também perceber, tanto no caso dos negros brasileiros no Brasil como no dos imigrantes negros africanos dos PALOP em Portugal, embora ambos estejam inseridos em realidades históricas, sociais, políticas, econômicas e culturais diversas, quais as recorrências temáticas, as proximidades, as distâncias e as semelhanças encontradas nos discursos dos jornais portugueses e da revista Raça Brasil. Na definição desta proposta, a investigação conta sobretuto com as contribuições teóricas de Max Weber, Fredrik Barth, Stuart Hall e Michel Wieviorka, no sentido de captar especificidades do que se define como uma identidade propriamente étnica. A opção metodológica é a abordagem qualiquantitativa por meio da análise de conteúdo e de discurso através da ferramenta computadorizada Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS, juntamente com entrevistas com lideranças vinculadas aos imigrantes negros africanos dos PALOP em Portugal e aos negros brasileiros no Brasil, que possibilitam a conjugação de fatores diferenciados da realidade investigada. Procura-se também, não privilegiar apenas os resultados por si mesmos, mas evidenciar a reflexão da relação entre a mídia e a identidade étnica e os vínculos das ações particulares e o contexto em que estas se dão

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T14:57:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rosangela Ferreira de Carvalho Borges.pdf: 1866105 bytes, checksum: e4e01a81b2d5dff42b8037da917714ef (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-08-25 / Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian / As its main purpose this thesis presents, not only how the ethnic identity of the African black immigrants from the PALOP -Portuguese-speaking African Countries - and their descendents is built in the Portuguese Newspapers Público, Correio da Manhã e O Expresso, in 2003, 2004 and 2005, as well as the ethnic identity of the Brazilian black men in the magazine Raça Brasil during the same period. It also aims at realizing both the case of the black Brazilians in Brazil and the black African immigrants from the PALOP living in Portugal which are the recurring themes, the proximities, the distances and resemblances that can be found in the Portuguese newspapers discourse and in the magazine Raça Brasil, although both are inserted in historical, social, politics, economic and cultural distinct realities. Defining this proposal , the investigation takes into account the theoretical contributions of the Max Weber, Fredrik Barth, Stuart Hall and Michel Wieviorka, as a means to capture the specifications of what is defined as an ethnic proper identity. The methodological option is the qualitative-quantitative approach through the content and discourse analysis by the use of the computer tool Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS, including interviews made with leaderships connected to the black African immigrants from the PALOP in Portugal and the black Brazilians in Brazil, which made it possible to conjugate different factor involved in the investigated reality. It also searches not to privilege just the results per se, but to enlighten the reflection about the relationship between the media, the ethnic identity and the private actions bonds and the context in which they occur / Esta tese apresenta como principal proposta verificar como é construída não só a identidade étnica dos imigrantes negros africanos dos PALOP e seus descendentes nos jornais portugueses Público, Correio da Manhã e O Expresso, em 2003, 2004 e 2005, como também do negro brasileiro na revista Raça Brasil durante o mesmo período. Busca-se também perceber, tanto no caso dos negros brasileiros no Brasil como no dos imigrantes negros africanos dos PALOP em Portugal, embora ambos estejam inseridos em realidades históricas, sociais, políticas, econômicas e culturais diversas, quais as recorrências temáticas, as proximidades, as distâncias e as semelhanças encontradas nos discursos dos jornais portugueses e da revista Raça Brasil. Na definição desta proposta, a investigação conta sobretuto com as contribuições teóricas de Max Weber, Fredrik Barth, Stuart Hall e Michel Wieviorka, no sentido de captar especificidades do que se define como uma identidade propriamente étnica. A opção metodológica é a abordagem qualiquantitativa por meio da análise de conteúdo e de discurso através da ferramenta computadorizada Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS, juntamente com entrevistas com lideranças vinculadas aos imigrantes negros africanos dos PALOP em Portugal e aos negros brasileiros no Brasil, que possibilitam a conjugação de fatores diferenciados da realidade investigada. Procura-se também, não privilegiar apenas os resultados por si mesmos, mas evidenciar a reflexão da relação entre a mídia e a identidade étnica e os vínculos das ações particulares e o contexto em que estas se dão