Attitudes Of African Americans Research Articles

Returning personalized, genetic health test results to individuals of African descent or ancestry in precision medicine research.

Today, many epidemiological studies and biobanks are offering to disclose individual genetic results to their participants, including the National Institutes of Health's All of Us Research Program. Returning hereditary disease risks and pharmacogenetic test results to study participants from racial/ethnic groups that are historically underrepresented in biomedical research poses specific challenges to those participants and the health system writ large. For example, individuals of African descent are underrepresented in research about drug-gene interactions and have a relatively higher proportion of variants of unknown significance, affecting their ability to take clinical action following return of results. In this brief report, we summarize studies published to date concerning the perspectives and/or attitudes of African Americans engaged in genetic research programs to anticipate factors in disclosure protocols that would minimize risks and maximize benefits. A thematic analysis of studies identified (n = 6) lends to themes centered on motivations to engage or disengage in the return of results and integrating research and care. Actionable strategies determined in reaction to these themes center on ensuring adequate system and health education support for participants and personalizing the process for participants engaging in return of results. Overall, we offer these themes and actionable strategies as early guidance to research programs, and provide recommendations to policy makers focused on fair and equitable return of genetic research results to underrepresented research participants.

An Analysis of the Protagonists’ Psychology in The Piano Lesson from the Perspective of Triple Personality Structure Theory

The Piano Lesson is one of the masterpieces of the famous American playwright August Wilson. This play presents an argument between a sister and brother over whether to sell the family heirloom: a piano, revealing the different attitudes of African Americans toward their history and culture. Focusing on domestic and foreign research perspectives, the author finds that most experts and scholars explore this play in terms of African American identity and ghost images, while few analyze the conflict and reconciliation between the siblings from the perspective of psychoanalysis. This paper focuses on the protagonists’ psychology and explores the inner journey of the siblings from Freud’s triple personality structure theory. The findings show that there is a relationship between their psychological changes and the rationality of the final ownership of the piano in the play, and then reveal that Wilson conveys his attitude toward the cultural heritage of ethnic minorities through the psychological changes of these two main characters, thus provoking thoughts on the heritage of minority cultures. This paper contributes to shedding more light on the nature of the argument between two main characters, Berniece and Boy Willie, and enhancing our understanding of the deep meaning of this play.

The impact of racial identity and school composition on affirmative action attitudes of African American college students

ABSTRACT Affirmative Action remains a controversial policy that incites a variety of reactions. Some believe it’s an unjust policy that discriminates against applicants, while others view it as a policy aimed at fighting against past inequalities and discrimination. Little is known about African American endorsement of the policy. Two hundred and seven Black students from a predominantly White institution (PWI) and a historically Black university (HBCU) participated in the current study to examine the impact of racial identity on affirmative action attitudes (AA). Results indicated that school type and race centrality significantly predicted AA attitudes. Students who attended a HBCU were less likely to endorse AA compared to students at the PWI and those higher in race centrality were more likely to endorse AA. This study is one of the first to investigate the impact of the educational environment on the affirmative action attitudes of African Americans.

“A Revolution in Labor”: African Americans and Hybrid Labor Activism in Illinois during the Early Jim Crow Era

“A Revolution in Labor”: African Americans and Hybrid Labor Activism in Illinois during the Early Jim Crow Era

An Endorsement of the Removal of Race From GFR Estimation Equations: A Position Statement From the National Kidney Foundation Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative

An Endorsement of the Removal of Race From GFR Estimation Equations: A Position Statement From the National Kidney Foundation Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative

African Americans and COVID-19: Beliefs, behaviors and vulnerability to infection

ABSTRACT In the United States, during the early outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, African Americans experienced disproportionately high rates of infection and mortality relative to their share of the United States population. New Orleans, Louisiana was one of the places most heavily affected by the coronavirus during its early outbreak. The study that follows explores the attitudes of African Americans in New Orleans toward the virus, social and normative conditions which affected individual behaviors, as well as access to healthcare services and COVID-19 testing. In part one of the study, qualitative responses were collected from a sample of African Americans in the New Orleans area to garner perspective about their attitudes and behaviors related to the coronavirus outbreak. Part two of the study builds on findings from Study 1 with parameter estimates from a Logit regression to examine how social, economic and physical conditions determine vulnerability to COVID-19 infection among African Americans. Implications for how healthcare organizations can address the needs of vulnerable populations during a health-related crisis are discussed.

Opening Borders: African Americans and Latinos Through the Lens of Immigration

African-American and Latino voter turnout during the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections hit record numbers. Polls show that the immigration debate influenced Latino voter turnout and preference. Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s voiced support of comprehensive immigration reform strengthened his lead among Latino voters in 2008 and, once in office, his executive policy of granting temporary protection to DREAMers solidified his lead among Latino voters in 2012. Both elections showed the power that minority groups can exert when they vote in support of the same candidate. If the demographic changes continue as currently estimated, African Americans and Latinos will contribute in large part to the making of the United States into a “majority-minority” nation and will play an increasingly important role in local and national politics. Therefore, it is important for Americans to become more inclusive of all minority groups and to expand discussions of race relations beyond the Black-White paradigm and discussions about immigration beyond the Latino-White paradigm. As the polarized reactions to the Zimmerman verdict showed, there is much work to be done as the people of the United States continue the project of forming “a more perfect Union.” Honest assessments of how individuals and groups interact are crucial to opening borders and encouraging exchanges beyond socially constructed boundaries, like race, and racialized politics. African Americans and Latinos often compete with each other for political representation and other resources. In addition, the political consideration of immigration law and policy includes a racial dimension that is often camouflaged, but denial and silence about this reality do nothing to move the country forward. Therefore, immigration provides an opportunity to examine race relations and the potential for inter-group coalitions between African Americans and Latinos. For this reason, this Article also explores, through the lens of immigration, the role that race may play in the attitudes of African Americans and Latinos toward each other. One of the goals of this Article is to spark a candid dialogue that promotes a better understanding of race and its impact on interactions between African Americans and Latinos in the United States.

African American and European American veterans' perspectives on receiving mental health treatment.

Little is known about client attitudes, especially veterans', toward the types of structured interventions that are increasingly being offered in public sector and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs mental health clinics, nor is the possible impact these attitudes may have on treatment engagement well understood. Previous work indicates that attitudes of African Americans and European Americans toward treatment may differ in important ways. Attitudes toward treatment have been a proposed explanation for lower treatment engagement and higher dropout rates among African Americans compared with European Americans. Yet to date, the relationship between race and attitudes toward treatment and treatment outcomes has been understudied and the findings inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to explore African American and European American veteran attitudes toward mental health care, especially as they relate to structured treatments. Separate focus groups were conducted with 24 African American and 37 European American military veterans. In general, both groups reported similar reasons for seeking 0treatment and similar thoughts regarding the purpose of therapy. Differences emerged primarily regarding therapist preferences. In both groups, some participants expressed favorable opinions of structured treatments and others expressed negative views; treatment preferences did not appear to be influenced by race.

Perceptions of the African American Experience (PAAX): A New Measure of Adaptive Identities Among African American Men and Women

Differential treatment based on race impacts the adoption of prosocial or maladaptive behaviors and attitudes of African Americans, which in turn influences their perceived wellbeing. In essence, the African American experience is shaped by intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional social determinants. As such the nature of the African American experience is predicated on the identity formulated and the associated lifestyle adopted by African Americans. To empirically verify this proposition, the newly developed Perceptions of African American Experience (PAAX) scale was tested. The PAAX includes 2 maladaptive and two adaptive subscales that define 4 identities among African American men and women. The maladaptive identities, Depreciated and Vulnerable coping styles, are theoretically connected to risk, unhealthy social determinants and anti-social outcomes. The adaptive identities, Transcendent and Integrated coping styles, involve resiliency characteristics resulting in both healthy and prosocial outcomes. It was hypothesized that the 4 PAAX subscales would show acceptable psychometric properties for internal consistency and validity, but that the 2 higher order dimensions, Risk and Resilience, would emerge with factor analytic approaches. An item analysis demonstrated it is feasible to maintain subscale integrity while retaining only those items from the 4 hypothesized subscales, which produces acceptable internal consistencies. A higher order confirmatory factor analytic approach was then used. The confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesis that for African Americans the 4 adaptive identities load on 2 underlying dimensions, Risk and Resilience. Implications for the future study of the PAAX scale among clinical populations as well as with other racially diverse groups are highlighted.

Investigating the Entrepreneurial Attitudes of African Americans: A Study of Young Adults

IntroductionAs noted in multiple reports from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), entrepreneurs often pursue business ownership based on either opportunity recognition or financial necessity due to the lack of economic alternatives. Consistent with this finding, research indicates that minorities are seeking out more entrepreneurial opportunities as a way to overcome the frustration and discontent associated with the lack of advancement opportunities in their current organizations (Heilman & Chen, 2003; Weiler & Bernasek, 2001). While these numbers indicate that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well, research indicates that many individuals have high levels of entrepreneurial potential that is never acted upon (Kent, 1990). In fact, the Kaufman Foundation indicates that minority entrepreneurs are a largely untapped resource in the economy of the United States. Of special concern is the degree to which African Americans may experience barriers that limit their potential in the entrepreneurial sector.Before addressing potential obstacles historically faced by African Americans in regards to business ownership, it is first important to understand the significance of entrepreneurship for minority groups. As suggested by Acs, Tarpley and Phillips (1998), a primary contribution of entrepreneurship for minorities is the opportunity it creates to enter the economic and social mainstream of American society. Similarly, past research has argued that the health and growth of African American-owned small businesses often serves as a strong barometer for the overall progress made by minorities in the U.S. (Feldman, Koberg & Dean, 1991; Thompson, 1999).The passage of the Small Business Act has positively impacted the number of minorities who have considered entrepreneurship as a viable career choice. The Act enhances the use of entrepreneurial training to grow the capacity and skills of potential small business owners (Martin, Wech, Sandefur & Pan, 2006). As a result of the governmental and educational initiatives, the number of opportunities for minorities to receive training and education for small business development has substantially increased over the past few decades.Between 1997 and 2002, minority-owned companies increased in number, annual gross receipts, and paid employees at a rate faster than non-minority firms. According to a report from the Minority Business Development Agency (2006), these businesses represented almost 18% of classifiable firms, employed 9% of all paid employees, and grossed 8% of all annual gross receipts ($668 billion) in 2002. More recent research indicates that there are approximately one million African American owned businesses in the U.S., accounting for over $100 billion in annual sales (African American Entrepreneurs, 2009). Additional evidence also indicates that minority entrepreneurship has steadily increased during the past decade, with estimations that currently 30% of small businesses in the U.S. are owned by women or minorities (Bergman, 2006).Little research has empirically examined the entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions of African Americans, particularly young adults. In fact, despite their increased involvement in business ownership, research indicates that minorities in general tend to be less optimistic overall in their expectations of business success (Carter, 2000) and are more likely to fail when starting a new venture (Boden & Nucci, 2000; Carter, Williams & Reynolds, 1997; Robb, 2002). Thompson (2004) points out that successful entrepreneurship requires a combination of temperament, talent and technique. It can be argued that temperament is first needed in order to convince African Americans of their potential in the entrepreneurial arena, and to encourage them to view business ownership as a viable career option.The purpose of this study is to examine the entrepreneurial attitudes of African American students. …

Patient knowledge and attitudes on laser hair removal: a survey in people of color

It is now widely accepted that dark-complexioned skin individuals can be safely treated with laser hair removal (LHR). However, some people are still concerned about the side effects or have been told that hair removal laser is not possible in darkly pigmented skin. To measure the knowledge and attitudes of African Americans about LHR and assess the need for additional education focusing on LHR. A cross-sectional survey with questionnaire was administered to African American subjects between the ages of 21-70 years. Questions comprised attitudes and knowledge about LHR. Demographic characteristics, attitudes, and knowledge were assessed by descriptive statistics. Results were considered statistically significant if P <0.05. The survey was completed by 221 African American subjects. There were only 122 subjects (55.2%) who knew that dark-skinned individuals can be treated with LHR. Only 44.3% of subjects believed that dark-skinned people are more prone to develop hyperpigmentation from LHR. Female subjects and subjects with higher educational background have a higher tendency to consider LHR as a treatment choice (P < 0.05). This study shows that many African Americans still have negative attitudes and lack knowledge about LHR. The results of this study provide information that can lead to better informed dermatology providers who can then better educate patients of color regarding LHR knowledge.

“Peace With My Maker”: Voices of Seriously Ill African American Elders Regarding Advance Care Planning

African Americans participate in advance care planning (ACP) less often and are more likely to opt for life sustaining treatment than non-Hispanic whites. Although prior quantitative and qualitative work has examined the perspectives and attitudes of African Americans, the voices of those who are most likely to confront situations requiring health care decision making—seriously ill African American elders—have not been well depicted. This study utilized literary representations, in the form of found data poetry, to further examine qualitative data from community dwelling, African American elders who were seriously ill. Found data poetry seeks to capture the participant’s voice intact, in an effort to better represent the individual. Reexamining the data yielded 9 found data poems that represented the voice of the participants and expressed strong feelings regarding ACP.

SOUTHERN (DIS)COMFORT: SEXUAL PREJUDICE AND CONTACT WITH GAY MEN AND LESBIANS IN THE SOUTH

Recent surveys have found antigay attitudes and behavior to be commonplace. In this article, we use contact theory to explain these prejudicial attitudes. We contribute to the literature on contact and prejudice by expanding contact to include not only whether the heterosexual knows any gay men or lesbians, but also how many, for how long, and in what ways. To these, we add a new and unique measure of contact: a person's contact with the gay community. The data are from a survey of 956 undergraduate students at a large urban university in the southeastern United States. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses find that contact with gay men and lesbians significantly reduces prejudice toward them; although, only as contact with gay friends or the gay community. Contact has stronger effects on women's prejudice than men's prejudice; however, the attitudes of African Americans toward lesbians and gay men are unaffected by gay contact. The results suggest that contact intervenes between prejudice and sex, race, religiosity, and gender attitudes.

THE IMPACT OF RACE ON DENOMINATIONAL VARIATIONS IN SOCIAL ATTITUDES: THE ISSUE AND ITS DIMENSIONS

Although the impact of religious affiliation on social attitudes is a popular research topic in the sociology of religion, few scholars have examined the role that race plays in this relationship. Moreover, studies that do explore the interplay of race and religious affiliation seldom move beyond the general categories of conservative, moderate, and liberal denominational families. Our research uses recent data from the General Social Surveys to compare the social attitudes of African Americans and their white counterparts within established designations of religious affiliation. Along with control variables, we include attitude measures for political tolerance, legalized abortion, gender equality, premarital sex, homosexual lifestyles, and extramarital sexual relations. Our analysis isolates levels of support for these attitudes within categories of race and religious affiliation to determine whether variations emerge and whether they are nested within specific issues, religious denominations, or reflect more general patterns of race differences.

Television Attitudes and TV Types of African-Americans, Latinos, and Caucasians

<h3>ABSTRACT</h3> The growing influence of ethnic minorities and convergence of television with other communication technologies raises an important issue: are ethnic viewers different in their television attitudes and degree of technology acceptance and, if so, what are the implications for broadcasters and advertisers? This nationally representative study of 871 adult African-Americans, Latinos, and Caucasians revealed significant ethnic differences in the adoption of communication technologies, television programming preferences, and an established TV-type segmentation. Further analysis identified disparities in specific television and technology attitudes. Recommendations are offered for television programmers and advertisers to consider in targeting viewer segments based on their television and technology beliefs.

Perceived Barriers to Care and Attitudes about Vision and Eye Care: Focus Groups with Older African Americans and Eye Care Providers

To identify by using focus group methods the perceived barriers to eye care and attitudes about vision and eye care among older African Americans as well as among ophthalmologists and optometrists serving their communities. Seventeen focus groups of older African Americans residing in the Birmingham or Montgomery, Alabama, areas were led by an experienced facilitator. Discussion was stimulated by a semistructured script focused on their perceived barriers to eye care and attitudes about vision and eye care. Six focus groups of ophthalmologists and optometrists who practiced in this geographic region addressed the same topics. Discussion was audiotaped and transcribed. Comments were coded using a multistep content analysis protocol. One hundred nineteen African Americans (age range, 59-97 years) and 35 eye care providers (51% ophthalmologists, 49% optometrists) participated. The barrier-to-care problem most frequently cited by both African Americans and eye care providers was transportation. The next most common problems mentioned by African Americans were trusting the doctor, communicating with the doctor, and the cost of eye care; and for eye care providers, the next most common problems were cost, trust, and insurance. With respect to older African Americans' comments on their attitudes about vision and eye care, these comments were predominantly positive (69%), highlighting the importance of eye care and behavior in their lives and attitudes that facilitated care. However, when eye care providers relayed their impressions of African Americans' attitudes about vision and eye care, their comments were largely negative (74%) centering on concerns and frustrations that older African Americans did not have attitudes or engage in behavior that facilitate eye care. These results provide some guidance for the design of interventions to increase the use of routine eye care in this population. At a societal level, there is a need for affordable and accessible transportation services for older African Americans seeking eye care. For ophthalmologists, optometrists, and their staffs, there is a need for continuing education that imparts culturally sensitive and age-appropriate communication and trust-building skills for interactions with this population. In addition to reinforcing the generally positive attitudes of older African Americans toward the importance of eye care, community-based educational programs should be focused on strategies for overcoming the common barriers to care.

Attitudes of African American premedical students toward genetic testing and screening

Purpose: Genetic research is progressing at a rapid rate. While most view genetic advances favorably, concerns regarding eugenics and discrimination based on genetic test results have been raised. These concerns have been found among all groups studied; however, they have particular relevance for members of the African American community. Studies have shown that because of a long history of negative experiences, African Americans have a general mistrust of the medical establishment. It is unclear whether these negative attitudes encompass genetic advances. Because there is little empiric data in the literature, it is not known whether African Americans have a positive view of genetic advances or whether they have the same level of mistrust as is seen in their attitudes toward other forms of biomedical research.Methods: This study was conducted as an initial effort to examine the attitudes of African Americans toward recent genetic advances and, specifically, genetic testing. A cohort of 97 college-age minority students, including 78 African Americans, participating in the Health Career Enhancement for Minorities Program (HCEM) at Case Western Reserve University were surveyed. Surveys were made available before and after the summer long course, which included five lectures on basic genetic principles and medical genetics.Results: Both African American students and other minority students initially (questionnaire prior to HCEM course) had an overall positive view of genetic testing. The vast majority supported genetic testing for preventive care (95%) and presymptomatic detection of disease (88%) and agreed that it should be easily available (83%). However, several concerns were expressed as well, including fears about discrimination (68%), privacy (68%), that abortions will become more common (51%), and eugenics (37%). It is interesting that in the postcourse questionnaire, the percentages of positive views remained similar to those of the precourse survey, but the number of respondents expressing concerns increased.Discussion: These results suggest that the minority students surveyed view many aspects of genetic testing and other advances favorably. However, these students expressed concerns about discrimination, privacy, and eugenics. These concerns were increased, not lessened, by exposure to genetics education. One possible explanation for this observation is that the students had a greater understanding of the issues regarding genetic testing after the HCEM lectures and discussion. Of note, there was a greater negative response toward genetic screening programs among the African American students compared with the non–African American minority students. This suggests that the negative attitudes of African Americans toward biomedical research do extend to some aspects of genetics and that educational programs must be designed and implemented if this community is going to receive the maximum benefits of this advancing technology.

Race, Gender, and War

This article seeks to improve our grasp of the societal foundations of US foreign policy by examining how race and gender - two fundamental dimensions of social stratification of US society - affect support for military force in the pursuit of external objectives. It is generally appreciated that, in the United States, women are less inclined to support armed intervention than are men, and feminist theory provides some foundation for explaining the gap. It is less widely recognized that a similar gap separates the attitudes of African-Americans and white Americans, but there is little in the social science literature to suggest why this should be so. The authors examine a number of possible explanations for the parallel, focusing both on attributes that are specific to women and blacks, and on one common to both groups (a high level of political alienation) but not shared by white men. They conclude that, while alienation partially accounts for the parallel attitudes toward force, properties specific to the two demographic groups nevertheless carry part of the burden for explaining their shared relative aversion to military intervention.

Beliefs and attitudes of African Americans with type 2 diabetes toward depression.

This qualitative study was conducted with African Americans with type 2 diabetes to explore beliefs and attitudes about depression. Twenty-five adults participated in 4 focus groups. The sessions were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. The Health Belief Model was used as a theoretical framework for the design and analysis of the focus group data. Five themes pertinent to depression management emerged: (1) There were misconceptions about the etiology of depression and individual vulnerability to depression. (2) Depression was perceived as severe. (3) Treatment was perceived as beneficial. (4) Stigma was a significant barrier to seeking treatment. (5) Cues to action did not appear to change beliefs. Despite awareness about the severity of depression and benefits of treatment, several barriers and erroneous beliefs may interfere with the ability of African Americans with type 2 diabetes to seek and adhere to treatment for depression.

Subcultural similarities and differences: an examination of US core values

States that the end of the last century brought dramatic changes in the composition of the workforce and heightened awareness of cultural diversity in the USA. Highlights the need to identify and understand similarities and differences as we move from the “melting pot” concept to ward off the notion of a multicultural society where subcultures exist and function using specific values. Compares attitudes of African Americans and Euro Americans with respect to ten cultural value statements. Discovers significant differences between the two groups.