Religiosity, racism, and dispositional optimism among African Americans

Religiosity, Optimism, and Pessimism Among African Americans

“…However, studies conducted with White, Asian, and Asian American samples have suggested that these demographic variables are not significantly correlated with optimistic or pessimistic expectancy outcomes (Chang, 1998;Cheng & Hamid, 1997;Shulz et al, 1996). Mattis, Fontenot, and Hatcher-Kay (2003) found no link between gender, combined household income, and dispositional optimism among African Americans. However, at present we know virtually nothing about the link between demographic factors and pessimism among African American adults.…”

“…Our findings underscore the points raised by theologians (see Cone, 1997;Long, 1997) and by social scientists (see Beck, 1971;Tiger, 1999) with regard to the link between optimism, pessimism, and individuals' relationship with God. It is important that these findings suggest that although believing in a loving, just, and supportive divine figure may help to promote a sense of optimism among African Americans (Mattis et al, 2003), such beliefs may not be sufficient to ameliorate pessimism. Equally important, we find that the perception that one is engaged in a burdensome or punitive relationship with God is significantly and negatively associated with optimism in bivariate analyses and is a positive predictor of pessimism in multivariate analyses.…”

“…In an earlier study involving African Americans, Mattis et al (2003) found that believing that one has a positive (i.e., a loving and forgiving) relationship with God was a significant predictor of dispositional optimism. Further, there was some evidence of a positive association between individuals' subjective experience of themselves as spiritual and optimism.…”

“…Although the extant research has been concerned largely with the relationship between religiosity and well-being, recent research has begun to focus on religion's role in shaping cognitive outcomes. This more recent line of work outlines religion's role in shaping African American individuals' interpretations and appraisals of events (Nelson, 1997) and the meanings that they construct in times of adversity (Mattis, 2003). However, very few empirical data are available that help us to understand the extent to which religion shapes African Americans' expectations about future outcomes.…”

A culturally-sensitive cognitive model of worry in African American youth.

“…Utilizing a sample of 149 African American adults, Mattis, Fontenot, and Hatcher-Kay (2003) found a significant relationship between self-reported friendship support and dispositional optimism. While the aforementioned study did not examine this relationship within the context of worry, other work has demonstrated an association between dispositional optimism and lower levels of internalizing symptomatology and psychological distress (Chang, 1998;Chang, Maydeu-Olivares, & D'Zurilla, 1997;Vickers & Vogeltanz, 2000).…”