The Necessity of an Emic Paradigm in Psychology

This article provides an overview of developments in the field of Black/Africana/Pan African psychology over the past 50 years. It has evolved toward production of psychological knowledge grounded in an emic cultural paradigm consistent with the understandings emerging from classical African civilization and across the Diaspora. The historical context for the development of a Black/Africana cultural paradigm is discussed, including an analysis of the failure of Eurowestern psychology to effectively address the mental health needs of people of African ancestry, particularly as exemplified in the experience of Non-immigrant Africans in the Americas (NIAAs). Readers are introduced to the rise of African-centered cultural frames of reference, values, and psychological models, practices, and strategies. The development of Optimal Psychology or Optimal Conceptual Theory (OCT) is highlighted. OCT is a comprehensive theory successfully implemented, utilized, and researched for more than 40 years. The production of psychological knowledge built upon a cultural paradigm rooted in the wisdom tradition of African deep thought traceable to the birthplace of all humankind is essential to a comprehensive understanding of humanity and will be described.

The Relationship between Religious Identity and Preferred Coping Strategies: An Examination of the Relative Importance of Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Coping in Muslim and Christian Faiths

Religious affiliation has consistently been shown to help individuals cope with adversity and stressful events. The present paper argues that this proposition is valid for both Christians and Muslims, but that these religious identities foster different types of coping. In accordance with historical, cultural, and psychological accounts, it is proposed that the Christian core self is relatively individualistic, whereas the Muslim core self is oriented more toward the collective. As a consequence, it is hypothesized that when confronted with a stressful life event, Muslims are more likely to adopt interpersonal (collective) coping strategies (such as seeking social support or turning to family members), while Christians are more likely to engage intrapersonal (individualistic) coping mechanisms, such as cognitive restructuring or reframing the event. Evidence from the literature on coping strategies is reviewed and systematized. Evidence lend support to the analysis by indicating that Muslims indeed tend to use an interpersonally oriented (collective) coping style when dealing with adversity, whereas Christians are more likely to employ intrapersonally oriented (individualistic) strategies when facing comparable scenarios. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Coping With Hurricane Katrina: Psychological Distress and Resilience Among African American Evacuees

Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters in the U.S. history. The economic, physical, and psychological damage to survivors of Katrina may ultimately be incalculable. While this natural disaster affected all racial groups, it was low-income African Americans who disproportionately experienced the greatest suffering. This study examines factors related to psychological resilience in the Hurricane Katrina evacuee sample (N = 363) drawn from the Kaiser Washington Post Harvard Poll #2005 WPH020. The structural equation model (SEM) used explains 34% of the total variance on Katrina victims' resilience measured by their perceived sense of recovery. Findings suggest that those evacuees who reported psychological distress as a reaction to the disaster were less likely to report that they would fully recover from the disaster. All three Hurricane Katrina experience-related variables— being insured, home destruction, and human loss—have significant effects on psychological distress, with human loss having the strongest effect. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Differences in cultural beliefs and values among African American and European American men with prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

Although cultural values are increasingly being recognized as important determinants of psychological and behavioral outcomes following cancer diagnosis and treatment, empirical data are not available on cultural values among men. This study evaluated differences in cultural values related to religiosity, temporal orientation, and collectivism among African American and European American men.

METHODS

Participants were 119 African American and European American men who were newly diagnosed with early-stage and locally advanced prostate cancer. Cultural values were evaluated by self-report using standardized instruments during a structured telephone interview.

RESULTS

After controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, African American men reported significantly greater levels of religiosity (Beta = 24.44, P < .001) compared with European American men. African American men (Beta = 6.30, P < .01) also reported significantly greater levels of future temporal orientation. In addition, men with more aggressive disease (eg, higher Gleason scores) (Beta = 5.11, P < .01) and those who were pending treatment (Beta = -6.42, P < .01) reported significantly greater levels of future temporal orientation.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings demonstrate that while ethnicity is associated with some cultural values, clinical experiences with prostate cancer may also be important. This underscores the importance of evaluating the effects of both ethnicity and clinical factors in research on the influence of cultural values on cancer prevention and control.

The Scale of Ethnic Experience: Development and Psychometric Properties

The Scale of Ethnic Experience (SEE) is a new self-report instrument designed to measure multiple ethnicity-related cognitive constructs across ethnic groups. We present the development and psychometric properties here. We generated and refined an item pool using expert consultants and culturally diverse focus groups. We derived a final 32-item version of the SEE based on separate factor analyses of data from college students in 4 ethnic groups: African Americans, Caucasian Americans, Filipino Americans, and Mexican Americans. Four factors were consistent across the ethnic groups: Ethnic Identity, Perceived Discrimination, Mainstream Comfort, and Social Affiliation. We found evidence of test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and criterion and construct validity for all groups. Finally, we cross-validated the factor structure of the SEE in a culturally diverse sample. Results support the reliability and validity of the SEE as a multidimensional measure of ethnicity-related cognitive constructs that can be used across American ethnic groups.

The protective role of ethnic and racial identity and aspects of an Africentric orientation against drug use among African American young adults

In this study, the authors examined (a) the protective potential of multiple components of ethnic and racial identity and (b) the aspects of an Africentric orientation for moderating psychobehavioral risk and protective factors for drug use among a sample of 333 urban low-income African American young adults. Ethnic and racial identity and Africentric variables moderated the relationship between psychobehavioral variables and drug stage in 32.5% of the cases. Ethnic and racial identity and Africentric values for African American young adults seemed to be important as moderators of the association between psychobehavioral factors and young adult drug use. The authors suggested implications for future research and interventions.