Prior research demonstrates negative consequences of racism, however, little is known about community, parenting, and intrapersonal mechanisms that protect youth. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study illuminated linkages between positive and negative contextual influences on rural African American adolescent outcomes. Quantitative results provide support for Structural Ecosystems Theory, in that the influence of discrimination and collective socialization on adolescent outcomes was mediated by racial socialization and positive parenting. Parenting and community influences contributed to adolescent racial identity and self image, which protected against common negative responses to racism; including academic underachievement, succumbing to peer pressure, and aggressive tendencies. Qualitative results indicate that current measures of discrimination may underestimate adolescents' experiences. Adolescents reported racist experiences in the domains of school, peers, and with the police (males only). Moreover, qualitative findings echoed and expanded quantitative results with respect to the importance of the protective nature of parents and communities.

Using ethnographic and survey data on low-income families residing in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio, we examine the relationship between women's patterns of union formation and their experience of physical and sexual abuse. Both sets of data suggest that women who have been physically or sexually abused are substantially less likely to be married or to be in stable, long-term cohabiting relationships. The data also suggest that the timing and different forms of abuse may have distinctive associations with union formation. Women who have experienced abuse beginning in childhood, particularly sexual abuse, are less likely to be in sustained marriages or stable cohabiting relationships and instead are more likely to experience transitory unions: multiple short-term, mostly cohabiting unions with brief intervals between them. Women who have not been abused in childhood but experience adult physical abuse, however, are less likely to be in either a marriage or a cohabiting union, long-term or transitory; and some have withdrawn from having relationships with men. The relevance of these findings for the decline of marriage among low-income women and men is discussed.

We examined 393 African American married couples assigned to (a) a culturally sensitive version of a widely disseminated relationship enhancement program (CS-PREP); (b) a similar version of the same program that also included a focus on prayer (PFP condition); or (c) an information-only control condition in which couples received a self-help version of the same program. Husbands averaged 40.5 years of age and wives averaged 38.9 years. We found a significant interaction between intervention and time of assessment, reflecting group differences in linear trends for the three conditions, with the two intervention conditions performing better than the control condition, and PFP producing superior outcomes to CS-PREP only for wives at post and marginally better results at 12-month follow-up. Results support continued exploration of the adjunctive use of prayer in the context of relationship enhancement programs where appropriate to make them more culturally sensitive.

Discomfort with the integration of spiritual activities into marital interventions may be a response by practitioners to the weakness of available conceptual frameworks. We offer a framework that allows for integration of prayer into marital interventions (educational or therapeutic), and argue that when culturally appropriate, prayer can serve multiple functions in interventions that are consistent with traditional goals of skill-based approaches. Several specific ways in which prayer can be either an alternative or an addition to existing intervention strategies are outlined. The potential negative effects of prayer for couples and the dangers of integrating prayer into programs are also discussed. We conclude that effective skill-based family intervention and prevention with some traditionally underserved groups may require increased attention to integration of spiritual practices that are common in those groups.

African American couples (n=331) with children, 89 percent of whom were married, were assigned to either (a) a culturally sensitive, couple- and parenting-enhancement program (ProSAAF) or (b) an information-only control condition in which couples received self-help materials. Husbands averaged 41 years of age and wives averaged 39 years. We found significant effects of program participation in the short-term on couple communication, which was targeted by the intervention, as well as over the long-term, on self-reported arguing in front of children. Long-term parenting outcomes were fully mediated by changes in communication for wives but not for husbands. For husbands, positive change depended on amount of wife reported change. We conclude that wives’ changes in communication from baseline to post-test may be more pivotal for the couples’ long-term experience of decreased arguing in front of children than are husbands’ changes, with wives’ changes leading to changes in both partners’ reports of arguments in front of children.

This study provided greater insight into how a therapeutic singing program may benefit participants and positively impact their lives.

The purpose of this study is to obtain feedback from 20 men on developing effective programming to reduce the impact of diabetes (t2dm) among Black men. Three focus groups were convened in Des Moines, Iowa. Men were recruited, all either diagnosed with t2dm (n = 10), pre-diabetic (n = 1), or experienced t2dm through family and friends (n = 9). The results highlighted themes related to t2dm knowledge, masculinity, and behavioral health; gender-centered diabetes management education; and family support and functioning. Men provided recommendations for program format and content, desirable facilitator characteristics, and whether to include spouses/partners, relatives, and friends. These results provide guidance and ideas to nurses wishing to enhance t2dm education and patient outcomes for Black men.

Black men benefit from healthy, satisfying marriages in domains of physical, psychological, and financial wellbeing. Yet marriage among Black men has declined and remains elusive for many. One gap in the research concerns the positive meaning that Black men find in their marriages. Prior research has failed to collect indepth accounts of Black men's experiences of marriage. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the meaning of marriage among 52 Black men, using interview data. Findings highlight four themes in the meaning of marriage-secure emotional support, lifelong commitment, enhanced life success, and secure attachment. Two themes emerged from the data related to important influences on the construction of meaning relative to marriage-faith, and the dynamics of give and take. Responses among the men concerning the change in marriage over time related to transitions in American marriages and a deepened respect for marriage. Implications are discussed. Two themes emerged from the data related to important influences on the construction of meaning relative to marriage-religion and spirituality, and the dynamics of give and take.Responses among the men concerning the change in marriage over time related to transitions in American marriages and a deepened respect for marriage. Implications are discussed.