Family Science
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2239
Formerly known as the Department of Family Studies.
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Item Racial Socialization, Observed Maternal Conflict Behaviors, and Externalizing Problems in Black Mother- Adolescent Dyads(2021) Shan, Salwa; Smith-Bynum, Mia; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)African Americans living in the United States face unique stressors as a result of being part of a marginalized group that has been consistently at the bottom of the social structure system. We see the impact of systemic racism when we look at the racial disparities associated with various economic, political, and civil rights in our society. The emphasis on rules and strict parenting in African American families is related to the need that many African American parents feel to protect and inform their children of the many forms of racial discrimination they will face in American society. In order to raise children who are less likely to be engaged in risk behaviors and better prepared for the environment they are living in, African American parents enforce stricter rules and discipline for their children and utilize racial socialization as a unique parenting strategy. Adolescents who struggle for behavioral autonomy in areas where parents try to emphasize their control, often engage in deviant behavior and are more at risk of struggling to be compliant with rules and adjusting as they grow and develop. Some research has indicated that parent-child conflict has increased when there has been a focus on rules due to adolescents’ desire for autonomy. The role of maternal conflict as a contextual factor when delivering racial socialization messages has not been studied and may have significant impacts on the transmission and reception of such messages. This study aims to address the gap in research and connect the contextual factors of parent-child relationship quality in influencing the transmission and reception of racial socialization messages as seen by the impact on externalizing behaviors in adolescents.Item EXAMINING RACISM AS A RISK FACTOR FOR UTERINE FIBROIDS AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN(2020) Porter, Shyneice; Mittal, Mona; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Uterine fibroids are a common gynecological condition among women. African American women, however, are particularly susceptible to developing fibroids; in fact, approximately 80-90% of African American women are diagnosed with the condition by age 50. Left untreated, these benign tumors can reduce fertility and increase the risk of pregnancy complications. Despite the high prevalence of uterine fibroids among African American women and the detrimental effects they may have on reproductive health, little is known about the risk factors associated with fibroid development among this demographic. To address this gap in the literature, the proposed study used data collected from 699 African American women in the southern region of the United States. This study was guided by an adapted racism and health framework as well as an expanded ABC-X model that includes elements of the mundane extreme environmental stress theory. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationship between perceived and internalized racism, the interaction between the two racism variables, and uterine fibroid diagnosis among African American women. The study also investigated depressive symptomology and body mass index as mediators of the proposed relationships. Results revealed a direct effect between perceived racism and the likelihood of a uterine fibroid diagnosis (β = .172, SE = .05, p < .001, OR = 1.19 [95% CI = 1.08, 1.31]). There was not a direct effect, however, between internalized racism and fibroid diagnosis, or the racism interaction variable and fibroid diagnosis. Perceived racism (β = .214, SE = .03, p < .001), internalized racism (β = .108, SE = .04, p < .01), and the racism interaction term (β = .067, SE = .03, p < .05) were positively and significantly associated with depressive symptomology. There was no evidence of full or partial mediation through the proposed mediators. The present study is among the first to examine two forms of racism as critical psychosocial risk factors for an adverse reproductive health outcome that differentially impacts African American women. The findings have important implications for clinical practice and policy that may aid in the effort to address racial disparities related to uterine fibroid development.Item African American Couples' Provider Role Attitudes as a Function of Income, Relative Income, Education, and Age(2018) Walton, Tariiq Omari; Epstein, Norman B.; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study investigated characteristics that are associated with the provider role attitudes of African Americans being seen for couple therapy at a university-based family therapy clinic in a major metropolitan region, the Center for Healthy Families at the University of Maryland, College Park. It was predicted that income, relative income, education, age, and gender would be associated with the degree of traditional provider role attitudes of members of African American couples being treated at the CHF between 2000 and 2015. Contrary to the predictions, no relationship between education, age, and relative income and the provider role attitudes of the study’s participants was found. However, the results did show a significant relationship between gender and income and provider role attitudes. The implications for future research and clinical applications are discussed.