African American Children Vol. 14 : Socialization and Development in Families

by Hill, Shirley

• ISBN13: 9780761904335
• ISBN10: 0761904336
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-08-01
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc

Summary

Shifting the focus from intervention with problem populations, this book targets the everyday socialization of African American children. African American Children is a comprehensive exploration of historical and contemporary patterns of parenting in black families. Historically, it focuses on how slavery, race, the racial caste system, and the African American culture influenced the ways African Americans parented their children. This series of social forces seriously circumscribed the ability of African Americans to conform to the ideologies about the nature of children and the roles of parents that began to evolve in the early 20th century. In the context of growing diversity, Shirley A. Hill examines the work that African American parents do in raising their children and explores general child socialization patterns as well as parenting issues and challenges. Providing an analysis of the views, philosophies, and parenting strategies of parents from a variety of social class backgrounds, African American Children combines qualitative and quantitative data collected to examine a broad overview of current theoretical debates about African American families as they relate to child socialization. Topics include discipline strategies, sexual socialization, teen sexuality, self-esteem, redefining physical attractiveness, gender roles, and the role of the extended family and community. This book is an ideal supplemental text for advanced students in child development, family studies, sociology of the family, as well as students in ethnic studies, multicultural counseling, or gender studies.

Table of Contents

Preface: Children: Our Raison d'etre	ix
Evolution of the Study	xi
Objective of the Book	xii
A Social Constructionist View of Childhood	xvi
Overview of the Book	xviii
Acknowledgments	xxiii
Childhood in Transition	1	(22)
Childhood in Colonial America	2	(2)
Childhood in Modern America	4	(4)
The Postindustrial Family Transition	8	(4)
Black Children: A Diversity of Experiences	12	(4)
Poverty and Parenthood: Single Mothers, Absent Fathers	16	(7)
Caste, Class, and Culture	23	(28)
Caste Analysis	26	(6)
Class Analyses: The Social Deficit Model	32	(3)
Class Analyses: Contemporary Perspectives	35	(1)
Cultural Analyses	36	(2)
Culture as Pathology	38	(2)
Culture as Strength	40	(2)
Child Socialization in Cultural Context	42	(3)
The Underclass Controversy: A Reemergence of Culture as Pathology	45	(4)
Conclusions	49	(2)
Parenting Work	51	(30)
The Social Capital Perspective	53	(1)
Current Value Priorities	54	(5)
Education: Obstacles and Opportunities	59	(4)
Future Hopes of Parents	63	(2)
The Parenting Role	65	(2)
Discipline Strategies	67	(3)
Spanking and Child Abuse	70	(1)
Sexual Socialization	71	(1)
Reasons for Teen Sexuality	72	(2)
Sex Education and Birth Control	74	(3)
Intergenerational Changes	77	(2)
Conclusions	79	(2)
Racial Socialization	81	(22)
Parental Perceptions of Racial Barriers	83	(2)
Education and Racial Integration	85	(2)
Self-Esteem	87	(4)
Challenging Definitions of Blackness	91	(1)
Racial Socialization Messages	92	(4)
Redefining Physical Attractiveness	96	(2)
Self-Esteem Revisited	98	(3)
Conclusions	101	(2)
Gender Socialization	103	(26)
Theorizing About Gender	107	(1)
The Social Construction of Gender Among Blacks	108	(2)
Current Priorities and Future Hopes	110	(2)
Parenting Roles and Discipline	112	(3)
The Role of Gender in Child Rearing	115	(4)
The Organization of Gender in the Family	119	(2)
The Gender Dilemma of African Americans	121	(6)
Conclusions	127	(2)
Beyond the Nuclear Family	129	(20)
The Community	130	(3)
Extended Families	133	(5)
Do Children Benefit From Extended Family Participation?	138	(2)
The Demise of the Grandmother's Role	140	(2)
Religious Resources	142	(2)
Public Policy	144	(3)
Conclusions	147	(2)
Continuity and Change	149	(14)
Black Parenthood in Historical Perspective	152	(2)
Black Parenthood in Contemporary Perspective	154	(7)
Future Directions	161	(2)
Appendix A: Research Methodology	163	(4)
Appendix B: Interview Guide	167	(1)
Appendix C: Parenting Survey	168	(5)
References	173	(12)
Index	185	(7)
About the Author	192