Caribbean Psychology Indigenous Contributions to a Global Discipline

by Roopnarine, Jaipaul L.; Chadee, Derek

• ISBN13: 9781433820649
• ISBN10: 1433820641
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-10-19
• Publisher: American Psychological Association

Summary

The Caribbean is a vast region where members of diverse ethnic groups speak many different languages and have ancestral ties to various continents. This cultural diversity results in an array of unique psychological needs. However, these groups all share a common history of colonialism, slavery, and indentured servitude that continues to impact them to this day. Thus, researchers, practitioners, and organizations must collaborate to create a unified Caribbean psychology that meets both the shared and disparate needs of those who live in the region and in the diaspora.

This book brings together scholars from diverse fields, many of whom come from Caribbean backgrounds. Divided into five sections, the book begins with an overview of psychology in the Caribbean, arguing that psychology is biased towards the Euro-American perspective. Thus, it examines the conceptual bases for an indigenous approach to Caribbean psychology as part of a more globalized discipline.

Each subsequent section focuses on a particular field of study: Developmental psychology, health and community psychology, social psychology, and clinical psychology. Chapters within these sections cover a range of topics that will benefit not only researchers and practitioners who focus on Caribbean-specific issues, but also those who seek a more international approach to psychology.

Author Biography

Jaipaul L. Roopnarine, PhD, received his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin. He is Jack Reilly Professor of Child and Family Studies at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. He has taught at several universities in the United States and internationally and has conducted observational and survey studies around the world on father involvement and childhood development in India, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brazil, the United States, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Thailand.

Dr. Roopnarine was a consultant to the Roving Caregiver Program implemented in several Caribbean countries and assisted in revising the Guyanese national early childhood curriculum. He was Fulbright scholar to The University of the West Indies, was awarded a Distinguished Visiting Nehru Chair at M. S. Baroda University, Gujarat, India, is the editor of the journal Fathering, and has published extensively in the areas of family relationships, childhood development, and early childhood education across cultures.

His recent volumes include International Perspectives on Children's Play (with Patte, Johnson, and Kuschner) and Fathers Across Cultures: The Importance, Roles, and Diverse Practices of Dads.

Derek Chadee, PhD, received his doctorate from the Department of Behavioural Sciences, The University of the West Indies (UWI). He is a professor of social psychology in the Department of Behavioural Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus. He is also director of the ANSA McAL Psychological Research Centre at UWI.

Dr. Chadee has edited several volumes, including Theories in Social Psychology and Social Psychological Dynamics (with Aleksandra Kostic). He has written several articles on the social psychology of fear of crime trying to bridge criminological issues with social psychological theories. His current research interests are fear of crime, HIV/AIDS stigmatization, and antecedents of emotions.

Dr. Chadee was a Fulbright scholar at Hunter College, City University of New York, and the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Table of Contents

Contributors

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Caribbean Psychology — More Than a Regional Discipline
Jaipaul L. Roopnarine and Derek Chadee

I. Conceptual Issues

1. Toward a Caribbean Psychology: Context, Imperatives, and Future Directions
   Ava D. Thompson
2. Global, Indigenous, and Regional Perspectives on International Psychology
   John Berry

II. Developmental Psychology

1. Family Socialization Practices and Childhood Development in Caribbean Cultural Communities
   Jaipaul L. Roopnarine and Bora Jin
2. Remote Acculturation and the Birth of an Americanized Caribbean Youth Identity on the Islands
   Gail M. Ferguson
3. Caribbean Research on Human Development in Adolescence and Adulthood: Progress and Recommended Directions
   Ishtar O. Govia, Vanessa Paisley-Clare, and Tiffany Palmer

III. Health and Community Psychology

1. Current State of Health and Health Outcomes in Caribbean Societies
   Lutchmie Narine
2. Contextualizing the Health Behavior of Caribbean Men
   Andrew D. Case and Derrick M. Gordon
3. Interpersonal Violence in the Caribbean: Etiology, Prevalence, and Impact
   Gillian E. Mason and Nicola Satchell

IV. Social Psychology

1. Copycat Crime Behavior: Implications for Research in the Caribbean
   Ray Surette, Mary Chadee, and Derek Chadee
2. Fear of Crime: The Influence of Community and Ethnicity
   Mary Chadee and Derek Chadee
3. HIV/AIDS Stigmatization in the Caribbean: Implications for Health Care
   Jannel Philip, Rosana Yearwood, and Derek Chadee

V. Clinical Psychology

1. Mental Health in the Caribbean
   Jacqueline Sharpe and Samuel Shafe
2. Metamorphosing Euro American Psychological Assessment Instruments to Measures Developed by and for English-Speaking Caribbean People
   Michael Canute Lambert, Whitney C. Sewell, and Alison H. Levitch
3. Innovations in Clinical Psychology With Caribbean Peoples
   Rita Dudley-Grant

Index

About the Editors