Religiosity is considered to be an important component of the cultural orientation and worldview of African Americans. African American women, in particular, have been found to be unique in their level of religious devotion and activity compared to other demographic groups but there has been minimal research examining the positive effects of religiosity over time. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the role of religiosity dimensions and ethnic identity in predicting self-esteem, social support, healthy behaviors, and licit drug use in African American women over time. Results indicate that behavioral and cognitive components of religiosity predict different indicators of well-being. Specifically, behavioral religiosity was found to be predictive of healthy behaviors while cognitive religiosity was found to be predictive of self-esteem. Results also indicate that examining ethnic identity as a moderator may offer a richer context in understanding the differential effects of religiosity in well-being for African American women. Limitations and recommendations for future research were also discussed.

Adolescence among Black high school youth is a challenging period of social, emotional and psychological development; particularly as it relates to factors of ethnic identity, academic skill, self-worth and achievement outcomes. Of interest to researchers are measurable sex differences in achievement among this demographic group. Current literature suggests that psychological traits such as ethnic identity, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction, are reliable predictors of achievement among this demographic. Consequently, the current study evaluated whether these particular psychological factors predicted sex differences in achievement. One hundred and forty high school students from Tucson and Phoenix school districts volunteered for the study. Responses were obtained from a demographic questionnaire, the Multi-Ethnic Identity Measure, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children, Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Perceived Caring Measure. These widely used measures are found to have adequate reliability and validity with Black adolescents. Multiple regression, correlation, MANOVA, and ANOVA analyzed criterion measures of Fall 2010 standardized achievement scores and grade point averages provided by participating school districts. Consistent with current research literature, findings support current data suggesting relationships between trait variables, achievement scores, and GPA. Further, the findings in this study provide support of current literature regarding the variability of psychological traits and sex among the participants in this study as predictors of achievement. Limitations, implications, and future directions for continued study of this topic are also discussed.

This article describes how an anti-racist curriculum constructed on Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Latino Critical Pedagogy (LatCrit) helped Mexican and Chicano middle school students enrolled in an alternative education program to alter their attitudes toward the use of English, and to change their forms of self-identification resulting in the development of a Chicano consciousness. In the beginning of this fourteen-month study, 9.6% of the students identified with the Chicano label. However, at the end of the study, 77% of the class selected the Chicano label for self-identification. Moreover, this investigation bridges the theoretical concepts of Critical Pedagogy to everyday practice in a middle school classroom. In short, the tenets of this theoretical framework were applied in the design and the implementation of the curriculum.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

The current study examined the relationship between the three components of racial-ethnic identity (REI)- Connectedness, Embedded Achievement, and Awareness of Racism- and academic engagement in middle school African American (n=62) and Latino (n=30) youth. We hypothesized the three components of REI would be able to predict academic engagement in the youth, as well as an interaction between ethnicity and the REI components. A hierarchical regression revealed Connectedness and Embedded Achievement were both accurate predictors of student’s academic engagement. In addition, an interaction between Embedded Achievement and ethnicity was also present in the current study. The results indicate that African American youth who have higher levels of Embedded Achievement are more likely to have a higher academic engagement levels while the academic engagement of Latino youth remained fairly constant regardless of level of Embedded Achievement.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a critical content analysis of the African American characters found in Newbery Medal award winning books recognized between the years of 1991 and 2011. The John Newbery Medal is a highly regarded award in the United States for children's literature and esteemed worldwide. Children's and adolescents' books receive this coveted award for the quality of their writing. Though these books are recognized for their quality writing, there is no guideline in the award criteria that evaluated the race and identity of the characters. Hence, there are two overarching research questions that guided this study. The first question asked: To what extent are the African American characters in each award winning book represented? Foci in answering this question were the frequency of African American characters and the development of their ethnic identities. The second question asked: How are the African American characters' intergroup attitudes and interactions represented? Foci in answering this question examined the frequency of intergroup interactions and the characters' attitudes within the context of each book. The theoretical framework that undergirded this study is critical literacy, which encourages adults and youth to examine issues of diversity and social justice through their reading. Eighteen books met the criteria for the study, which provided 98 African American characters for investigation through content analysis. The qualitative methodology used frequency counts, anecdotal notes and questionnaires to analyze the characters. Findings revealed two key themes: the characterization of ethnic identity as a reflection of society and African American characters as models of agency. Further themes became evident in this study as well: the evolution of cultural authenticity, strong African American female characters, importance of the African American family and the acknowledgement of African American involvement in history. These findings are significant because they provided evidence of the potential of these Newbery award winning books to be the catalyst for critical classroom conversations on identity and agency. Findings also provided increasingly strong examples of ethnic role models within these notable titles.

Doctor of Philosophy / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Jared R. Anderson / The current study proposes a theoretical model of Interracial Couple Relationship Success and empirically tests a portion of the model in which ethnic identity is linked to relationship satisfaction for Black-White interracial couples. Data were collected from 185 heterosexual Black-White marital couples in the United States. An actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) was used to test the direct and indirect effects of ethnic identity to relationship satisfaction via self-esteem and problem-solving skills. The results indicated ethnic identity of both Black and White partners was related to Black but not White partners’ self-esteem. Findings also revealed significant indirect pathways from Black partners’ self-esteem to their own relationship satisfaction via effective problem-solving skills. The indirect pathway from Black partners’ self-esteem to partner relationship satisfaction was also mediated by partner perceptions of problem-solving in the relationship. The results of this study informs the continued development of the of Interracial Couple Relationship Success model and offers data regarding the role of identity and individual well-being in the context of interracial relationships.

Avec le plus grand et le plus diversifié nombre d’immigrants et d’étrangers en Europe, la France représente un segment de marché viable et inexploité. Le marketing ethnique, élaboré par plusieurs acteurs du marché, a pour objectif de développer de nouveaux segments de marché, ou de couvrir l’ensemble du marché en tenant compte de la croissance multi-ethnnique en réalité. L’objectif de notre travail est de mesurer l’identité ethnique de la population ethnique en France, leurs facteurs de socialisation, leur comportement de consommation ethnique en général, et leur consommation d’aliments ethniques en particulier, ainsi que de déterminer les influences de ces facteurs. Cette recherche s’inscrit dans une démarche hypothético-déductive et est structurée en deux parties théorique et empirique pour servir l’objectif visé. La première partie est consacrée à l’analyse du contexte général, à la revue de la littérature et à l’élaboration d’un modèle conceptuel de l’identité ethnique, des facteurs de socialisation et de leurs impacts sur les comportements de consommation ethnique et sur la consommation d’aliments ethniques. Seront analysées la théorie de l’identité sociale [Henry Taifel & John C. Tuner 1970], la théorie du développement de l'identité qui se compose de la théorie de l'ego identité [Erik Erikson 1986] et des recherches empiriques sur l'identité personnelle [Marcia, 1980] et le développement de l'identité ethnique [ Phinney et Ong, 2007] ; la théorie de la culture, sous-culture, contre-culture, acculturation, ainsi qu'une connaissance approfondie de l'ethnicité, l'identité ethnique et le marketing ethnique. La partie empirique sera consacrée à la collecte, le traitement et l’analyse de données, qui serviront à vérifier non seulement les variables du modèle conceptuel, mais aussi les hypothèses des relations entre elles. Les résultats de notre étude sur la population ethnique en France ont confirmé nos hypothèses de manière générale. Ils sont utiles en termes de contribution théorique et managériale car ils aident à mettre en évidence quelques stratégies pour le marketing ethnique associé à l'identité ethnique, les comportements de consommation ethnique et la consommation d'aliments ethniques. / As a country with biggest number of immigrants in Europe, France has been so far known with its multiple ethnic populations, in which the ethnic minority represents a viable and untapped market segment. As a result, ethnic marketing has been developed correspondingly by several market agents who would like either to pursue new market segment or strive to cover the whole market while taking into account of growing multi-ethnic reality in France. The objective of this research is to measure ethnic identity of ethnic population in France, their socialization factors, their ethnic consumption behavior in general and their ethnic food consumption in particular, as well as to determine the influences of these factors. Applying a hypothetico-deductive approach, both theoretical and empirical investigations are conducted to serve the mentioned objective. The first part is a literature review, helpful in developing a conceptual model of ethnic identity, socialization factors and their impacts on ethnic consumption behavior and ethnic food consumption. It includes the social identity theory [Henry Taifel & John C. Tuner, 1970]; identity development theory which consists of theory on ego identity [Erik Erikson, 1986] and empirical researches on personal identity [Marcia, 1980] and ethnic identity development [Phinney & Ong, 2007]; theory on culture, sub-culture, counter-culture, acculturation; as well as in depth knowledge on ethnicity, ethnic identity, and ethnic marketing. Whereas empirical part involves data collection, processing and analysis, which servethe purpose of verifying not only variables of the conceptual model, but also the hypotheses on the relationships between them. The results of the survey on ethnic population in France have confirmed these hypotheses. They are useful in terms of theoretical contribution, as well as from the point of management since they help highlighting some strategies for ethnic marketing in associated with ethnic identity, ethnic consumption behavior and ethnic food consumption.

Thesis advisor: David Takeo Takeuchi / Racism is a persistent and pervasive social problem embedded throughout U.S. society. Previous research has established that racism, particularly racial discrimination, is a strong risk factor of various health statuses among racial/ethnic minorities, but the contexts that modify the health burden of racial discrimination are less understood. This dissertation aims to investigate how race-related micro- and meso- level contexts modifies the link between racial discrimination and health. In addition, I pay attention to the moderating role of nativity status to address the potential differences in individuals’ perception on American racial/ethnic categorizations and experiences of racial discrimination. On the micro level, I focus on racial/ethnic identity given that it is particularly important cultural group membership status for many racial/ethnic minorities whose identities are rooted in collectivistic cultures. I test the identity-relevant stressor hypothesis which argues that stressful events can be particularly detrimental based on its pertinence to the valued identities of individuals. On the meso level, I pay attention to racial residential segregation, which has been identified as the hallmark of U.S. urban areas and the fundamental cause of racial/ethnic health disparities. This three-paper dissertation utilizes multiple existing population-based data sources. The first and second papers use data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III). The third paper uses data from the 2000 U.S. Census and the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS). Several analytical strategies, including binary logistic regression, heterogeneous choice models, and nested logistic regression, are employed. Taken together, the present dissertation underscores great complexity in the link between race and health. Through the course of three studies, I show that the dynamics between race-related stressors and health status are not uniform, and should be understood in the realm of individuals’ social identity and their neighborhood environment. Specifically, the findings of this study contribute to expanding stress theory in the context of identity-relevance and living environments. Moreover, the study results evince that efforts to ameliorate racial health disparities should be accompanied by the consideration of the centrality of the race/ethnicity of individuals and their residential environments. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

M.A., Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatwersrand, 2011 / Posttraumatic growth has been an ongoing area of interest in the field of positive psychology. In recent years posttraumatic growth has been linked with the presence of posttraumatic stress symptomatology. The existence of posttraumatic growth has been validated in a number of cultures. There are certain domains that have been implicated in the construction of the phenomenon which taps into different aspects of people’s lives like relating to others, personal strength, new possibilities and appreciation of life. Particular interest has risen with regard to whether this phenomenon develops as a function of ethnic and cultural influences. This study aimed to investigate whether there are differences in posttraumatic growth and posttraumatic stress symptoms as a function of ethnocultural identity. This was investigated by the use of self-report measures of MEIM (Phinney, 1992), Traumatic Stress Schedule (Norris, 1990), Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996) and the Impact of Events Scale Revised (Weiss & Marmar, 1997). The sample consisted of 80 students from the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, at the University of Witwatersrand. Results of the multivariate analysis showed that ethnocultural identity interacts with ethnicity to moderate posttraumatic stress symptoms. Specifically, findings suggested that Black South African and Indian students who identified with their ethnocultural heritage, reported fewer PTSD symptoms. Whereas the converse was true for White South Africans and Black Africans from other countries. The more they adopted ethnoculturally informed beliefs, the more likely they were to report symptoms of PTSD. There were no significant findings regarding ethnocultural identity in relation to posttraumatic growth. Implications for further research and clinical intervention are discussed.