Racial Appraisal: an integrated Cultural and Structural Response to African American Experiences with Violent Trauma

Abstract

Racial appraisal is discussed as an integrative approach in response to experiencing violent victimization for African Americans. The research asserts that the process of coping with trauma for direct and indirect victims of violence is both structural and cultural. The paper references sociology and social work research that illustrates the use of racial appraisal to understand the ways in which race-based structural inequality limits and facilitates the interactions and cognitions of victims of violence,thereby impacting the allocation of social, psychological, and cultural resources from which African American survivors can draw upon to manage trauma related symptoms. Implications for research and practice are discussed.