African American Family Life Ecological and Cultural Diversity

by McLoyd, Vonnie C.; Hill, Nancy E.; Dodge, Kenneth A.

• ISBN13: 9781572309951
• ISBN10: 1572309954
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-09-26
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

This volume brings together leading experts from different disciplines to offer new perspectives on contemporary African American families. A wealth of knowledge is presented on the heterogeneity of Black family life today; the challenges and opportunities facing parents, children, and communities; and the impact on health and development of key cultural and social processes. Comprehensive and authoritative, the book critically evaluates current policies and service delivery models and offers cogent recommendations for supporting families' strengths.

Author Biography

Vonnie C. McLoyd, PhD, is Professor of Psychology and Research Scientist at the Center for Developmental Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). Her scholarly work focuses on the effects of economic disadvantage and employment-related transitions on family life and child development, and the mediators and moderators of these effects. Dr. McLoyd is also interested in how race, ethnicity, and culture shape child socialization and development. She is director of a training program at UNC in research on Black child development, funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Nancy E. Hill, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychology at Duke University and Faculty Affiliate of the Center for Developmental Science at UNC. Her research focuses on how family socialization varies across ethnicity and socioeconomic status, and demographic variations in the relationship between family dynamics and children's development, especially among African American and Latino families. She is one of the founders of the Study Group on Race, Culture, and Ethnicity, an interdisciplinary group of scientists brought together to develop theory and methodology for defining and understanding cultural contexts.

Kenneth A. Dodge, PhD, is the William McDougall Professor of Public Policy Studies and Professor of Psychology at Duke University. He directs the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy, which is devoted to finding solutions to problems facing children through research, policy engagement, service, and education. Dr. Dodge is interested in how problem behaviors such as chronic violence, school failure, drug use, and child abuse develop across the lifespan; how they can be prevented; and how communities can implement policies to prevent these outcomes and promote children's optimal development.

Table of Contents

Emergent Issues, Themes, and Conceptualizations
Introduction: Ecological and Cultural Diversity in African American Family Life	p. 3
Sociocultural Contexts of African American Families	p. 21
Trends in African American Child Well-Being, 1985-2001	p. 45
Racial Wealth Inequality and the Black Family	p. 78
New Families, New Functions: Postmodern African American Families in Context	p. 86
African American Families in Community Contexts
Marital Relationships of African Americans: A Contextual Approach	p. 111
Work and African American Family Life	p. 135
Homeplace and Housing in the Lives of Low-Income Urban African American Families	p. 166
Religion in African American Life	p. 189
A Model of Extended Family Support: Care of the Elderly in African American Families	p. 211
Socialization Processes in African American Families
Family Practices and School Performance of African American Children	p. 227
The Cultural Context of Physically Disciplining Children	p. 245
African American Families as a Context for Racial Socialization	p. 264
Beyond the Birth Family: African American Children Reared by Alternative Caregivers	p. 285
Style Matters: Toward a Culturally Relevant Framework for Interventions with African American Families	p. 311
Index	p. 335
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