Racism Stress Management: Racial Socialization Beliefs and the Experience of Depression and Anger in African American Youth

• NCJ Number: 178365
• Journal: Youth and Society Volume: 29 Issue: 2 Dated: December 1997 Pages: 197-222
• Author(s): Howard C. Stevenson; Jocelyn Reed; Preston Bodison; Angela Bishop
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 26 pages
• Grant Number(s): 95-1535-01
• Sponsoring Agency: William T. Grant Foundation
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study investigated the relationship between adolescent attitudes of racial socialization and psychological adjustment as defined by anger expression and specific aspects of depression.

Abstract

A total of 287 (172 females and 115 males) low-income inner-city African-American adolescents (average age 14.6 years) who were students in an urban community-center-based, jobs- support program participated in the study. The SORS-A was used to measure various aspects of racial socialization in African- American families. The State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory was used to measure the experience and expression of anger, and the Multi-Score Depression Index measured several indexes of variables associated with overall depression. Zero-order correlational and 2 x 2 ANOVAs were used with racial socialization factors (low vs. high) and gender as independent variables and psychological adjustment variables as dependent. The study found that beliefs about cultural pride reinforcement were strongly related to positive anger expression outcomes in African-American boys and apparently negative anger expression outcomes in African-American girls. Global racial socialization apparently had more direct influence on specific features of depression with young women who endorse global racial socialization at great levels, showing less low self-esteem, sad mood, and instrumental helplessness. Young men who strongly believed in African-American cultural heritage were likely to show decreased levels of outward verbal and physical anger and aggression. Some other findings suggest that the more strongly one's beliefs in racism awareness teaching, the more likely one is to suppress anger as a way of coping with stress, a phenomenon that correlates with elevated chances of hypertension. The emotional adjustment of young African-American women is enhanced by beliefs in the multidimensionality of racial socialization. 2 tables, 3 figures, and 54 references