Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-61).

Thesis (M.S.)--Springfield College, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 34-40)

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, 2007. / Title from screen (viewed on June 11, 2007) Department of Sociology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-72)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 77-82). Also available via the Internet.

Sexually transmitted diseases have reached epidemic proportions, especially among African Americans. However, African American women have emerged as being one of the hardest hit groups by the most fatal of sexually transmitted diseases - the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Although there has been much speculation regarding contributing risk factors specific to this group, previous research has focused mostly on low-income, uneducated or drug-addicted individuals. Still, these factors do not account for the infection rates among educated, non-addicted and financially stable women. In this study, psychological variables of self-efficacy and locus of control were explored study as potential risk factors in sexual decision making for African American women enrolled at two Midwestern universities. Locus of control was a significant predictor of normative beliefs regarding safer sex practices, while self-efficacy was not found to be a significant predictor for sexual decision-making. However, there was a significant interaction between self-efficacy and locus of control in relation to participants' intentions to practice safer sex. The results and implications for counseling, counselor education, research and prevention are discussed.

Data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control demonstrates that African American women, in particular young people between the ages of 14-25, have an increased incidence of infection with the sexually transmitted pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Estradiol is a key regulatory hormone in female reproductive function. It has been studied extensively in the cardiovascular field, and has been linked to breast and endometrial cancers in women. However, its impact on infectious diseases is largely unknown. Given what is known about the effect of estradiol on immunologic and inflammatory disorders in women, I hypothesize that estradiol alters the infectivity of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the female reproductive tract by altering the host inflammatory immune response. This may explain a risk factor for increased rates of infection in some populations. I sought to develop a relevant in vitro model. After screening a number of candidate cell lines, I selected the human endometrial adenocarcinoma cell line, Ishikawa. These cells express specific estrogen receptors and respond to exogenous estrogen stimulation. Estrogen treatment of Ishikawa cells did not have an impact on the invasion of N. gonorrhoeae, nor did it impact bacterial growth. However, gonococcal induced chemokine secretion was reduced by estrogen, as measured by interleukin-8 secretion. I conclude that estrogen blunts the inflammatory response to Neisseria gonorrhoeae without altering bacterial infectivity.

The purpose of this study was to explore adult African American women’s interpretations of early gender and sex-related socialization messages within the familial environment, with an emphasis on the projection of hypersexuality. The exploration of sexual socialization practices has been a longstanding area of research (e.g., Raffaelli & Ontai, 2001). However, in accordance with a recommendation from the APA Task Force (2007) on the sexualization of girls, more research is needed to examine the specific ways in which girls of color are impacted by sexualization. African American women have a unique history within the United States, as the use of controlling images that depicts their alleged hypersexuality have been used to legitimize their social marginalization. This strategy may also have paved a pathway to the expectation of hypersexuality of young African American girls. This concept was highlighted in a popular twitter hashtag, #FastTailedGirls, which showcased adult African American women’s reflections on the consequences of being mislabeled as hypersexual (Trudy, 2013). Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (Smith & Osborn, 2008), I conducted eight semi-structured interviews with adult African American women to explore their meaning making of early gender and sex-related socialization messages within the familial environment, with attention to culturally relevant constructs. Seven emergent themes were derived from participants’ stories: (a) Learning expectations, (b) Presumed guilty, (c) Assumptions of hypersexuality, (d) Concern for safety, (e) Coping, (f) Respectability, and (g) Resisting.

No description available.

Peters (1985), defines racial socialization as "tasks Black parents share with all parents - providing for and raising children ... but include the responsibility of raising physically and emotionally healthy children who are Black in a society in which Black has negative connotations" (p. 161). Racial socialization is a complex multidimensional construct and scholars have made attempts to capture the essence of its process. However, due to its complexity, no single or commonly accepted definition currently exists in the literature (Lesane-Brown, 2006). To date, most of the racial socialization literature has addressed the types of messages that African American parents transmit to their children, for example, preparation for bias and promotion/socialization of mistrust (Hughes & Chen, 1999). However, what is specifically absent in the current racial socialization literature are the types of messages transmitted to African American women related to skin tone. Sociologists and psychologists have demonstrated that the racial socialization of skin tone impacts an African American woman's sense of self worth and efficacy (Boyd-Franklin, 1989; 2003; Jones & Shorter-Gooden, 2004). Utilizing a qualitative methodological design, with a phenomenological orientation, the purpose of this study was to better understand the lived experiences of the racial socialization of skin tone in a cohort of older African American women. Twenty older African American women (10 light skinned and 10 dark skinned) from three mid-sized, Midwestern cities were interviewed utilizing an adapted classical phenomenology interview approach (Siedman, 2006). This researcher, two-hour semi-structured interviews, and 30-60 minute formal member checks were the primary research tools implemented to obtain rich data for this project. Once the interview data was collected, the interviews were professionally transcribed verbatim to capture the full essence of the participants' lived experiences of the phenomenon under investigation. The data were then critically and rigorously analyzed, by hand, utilizing a phenomenological data analytic method as outlined by Hycner (1985; 1999). Five salient thematic domains, along with twenty-three subthemes, emerged from the phenomenology data analysis procedure. An additional verification method (i.e., inter-rater reliability Kappa coefficient) was employed to assist in cross-validation of the study's findings (Landis & Koch, 1977). Kappa coefficients demonstrated that of the twenty-three subthemes, which emerged from the analysis, 7 had slight inter-rater agreement 5 had fair inter-rater agreement, 7 had moderate inter-rater agreement, 2 had substantial inter-rater agreement, and 2 had almost perfect inter-rater agreement. Limitations of the current study, recommendations for future research, and recommendations for clinical practice are also discussed.