National Survey Of Black Americans Research Articles

James S. Jackson and the program for research on Black Americans: Contributions to psychology and the social sciences.

James S. Jackson (1944-2020) is remembered as a groundbreaking social psychologist whose career contributions in scholarship, research, and service were fundamental to the field of psychology. This article briefly outlines his career-long work and contributions. A strong believer in interdisciplinary work, his research spanned other related social science disciplines (e.g., sociology, political science), as well as health and social welfare professions (public health, social work, medicine). As the founding director of the Program for Research on Black Americans at the Institute for Social Research, James Jackson initiated and led a long-standing program with a dual focus on research and training and mentoring doctoral students, postdoctoral scholars, and early career scientists. Jackson's efforts in the development of several nationally representative surveys of the Black population in the United States (e.g., National Survey of Black Americans, National Survey of American Life) revolutionized research focusing on the lives of Black Americans. James Jackson's international influence and reputation included numerous prestigious positions within national science organizations and honors and awards for his scientific contributions. Among James S. Jackson's most enduring legacies is the vast network of current scientists, researchers, and academics who were trained under his direction and leadership. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Moral Foundations Predict COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: Evidence from a National Survey of Black Americans

ABSTRACT In this study we examine the role of moral values in predicting COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Black Americans. Guided by moral foundations theory, we assess the associations between six moral foundations (care, fairness, loyalty, authority, purity, liberty) and attitudes and intentions toward COVID-19 vaccination. Results of a national survey of Black Americans (N = 1,497) indicate that the care and loyalty moral foundations consistently predicted less vaccine hesitancy with overall more favorable attitudes and intentions toward COVID-19 vaccination, whereas the purity and liberty moral foundations were consistently associated with greater vaccine hesitancy. Relationships between the foundations and vaccine hesitancy were mediated by perceived vaccine effectiveness and safety. Implications of the findings for COVID-19 vaccine communication are discussed.

Did Elijah Muhammad's Message To the Black Man Uplift Adherents? The Treatment Effects of Membership In The Nation of Islam

Established in 1930, the Nation of Islam (NOI) offered uplift to the wellbeing of Black Americans. Its charismatic leader, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, articulated how membership in the NOI would improve the well-being of Black Americans. We consider the impact of NOI membership on several measures of individual well-being. Using data from the first wave of the National Survey of Black Americans, we appeal to the Rubin Causal Framework to estimate the treatment effect of being a member of the NOI on certain outcomes: e.g., overall socioeconomic status, self-employment, self-esteem, and health status. To enable causal interpretation, we estimate the treatment parameters by matching on observable covariates that are not affected by the treatment. Treatment parameter estimates suggest that, at least in the late 1970s, had the NOI been able to expand its membership, new adherents would have benefited from enhanced Black identity, a higher likelihood of not having common health problems, and a lower likelihood of hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and incarceration. Our findings suggest that the NOI could have had a substantial impact on the individual well-being of Black Americans if it were larger, and that NOI-like organizations can help mitigate race-based inequalities in well-being.

Understanding the psychological antecedents of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among Black Americans: implications for vaccine communication

ABSTRACT Background Guided by the 5C (confidence, complacency, constraints, calculation, and collective responsibility) model of vaccination behavior, we examine the psychological antecedents of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance (i.e. attitudes and intentions toward COVID-19 vaccination) among Black Americans, a group disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Method We conducted a national survey of Black Americans (N = 1,497) in February/March 2021. Results We found that, among the five psychological antecedents, three (confidence, calculation – or extensive information searching, and collective responsibility) significantly predicted attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination and had indirect effects on vaccination intentions through vaccination attitudes. Two antecedents (confidence and collective responsibility) also directly predicted vaccination intentions. Our analysis suggests that a partially mediated model produced better fit than a fully mediated model. Conclusions Developing culturally tailored interventions for Black Americans that build confidence in COVID-19 vaccines, highlight collective responsibility, and attend to Black Americans’ information sources is key to boosting Black Americans’ COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Future research is needed to understand how historical and ongoing racism affects the psychological antecedents of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among Black Americans.

Examining the Relationship between Discrimination and Prescription Drug Misuse: Findings from a National Survey of Black Americans

Background: Research shows that substance use may be a way individuals cope with psychosocial stressors. Less is known about whether discrimination contributes to prescription drug misuse. Methods: Using a national sample of Black Americans, we examined whether two psychosocial stressors (i.e., everyday and lifetime major discrimination) were associated with lifetime prescription drug misuse (i.e., opioids, tranquilizers, sedatives, or stimulants). Results: Our logistic regression models separately examining the influence of everyday and major discrimination controlling for relevant demographic, health, and other drug use variables showed that only everyday discrimination was associated with higher odds of prescription drug misuse. In the model simultaneously considering both types of discrimination, only unit increases in everyday discrimination were associated with higher odds of prescription drug misuse. Conclusions: Encounters with everyday discrimination may be an important psychosocial stressor linked to prescription drug misuse in Black adults and possibly other racial-ethnic minorities. Intervention strategies aiming to reduce prescription drug misuse should consider developing ways to curb the negative health-related consequences of discriminatory experiences. Strategies to combat discrimination-related prescription drug misuse and limitations of this study are discussed.

Does the Negro Need Separate Schools? A Retrospective Analysis of the Racial Composition of Schools and Black Adult Academic and Economic Success

W.E.B. Du Bois asserted that black students are better served by attending predominantly black schools than hostile integrated schools in a context of racial discrimination. The conventional assumption is that black students benefit educationally by attending schools with more white peers, which have access to greater resources. However, the theory of the functionality of discrimination advances the idea that black students may face greater discrimination in school settings with numerous white peers as a result of a competitive process and white appropriation of preferred resources. Using the National Survey of Black Americans, we find evidence of a nonmonotonic relationship between high school racial composition and years of schooling completed, high school graduation, likelihood of being employed, and likelihood of owning a home. We conclude, contrary to conventional belief, that it is not unambiguously the case that black students gain from attending schools with more white peers.

HIV-Related Medical Mistrust, HIV Testing, and HIV Risk in the National Survey on HIV in the Black Community

Black Americans are greatly affected by HIV disparities and exhibit high levels of medical mistrust, including HIV conspiracy beliefs, a form of mistrust around HIV's origin and treatment. A 2002–2003 national survey of Black Americans found that 48% believed that “HIV is a manmade virus." However, the extent to which such beliefs remain widespread is unknown. Moreover, HIV conspiracy beliefs have been associated with greater HIV risk, but have also been associated with a higher testing likelihood—and no research to date has attempted to explain these seemingly contradictory findings. We obtained updated data on prevalence and correlates of HIV conspiracy beliefs from the US National Survey on HIV in the Black Community, a nationally representative e-mail survey of 868 Black individuals aged 18–50 years (February–April 2016). Substantial percentages agreed that HIV is man-made (31%) and that the government is withholding a cure for HIV (40%). HIV conspiracy beliefs and HIV risk were both significantly associated with a higher HIV testing likelihood. The association between HIV conspiracy beliefs and HIV testing was significantly mediated by individual-level HIV risk (73% of total effect), but not by area-level socioeconomic position (an ecological determinant of higher HIV prevalence). Mistrust remains high among Black Americans, but the association of mistrust with prevention behaviors is complex. People who do not trust the public health system may also be at greater risk—and thus, more likely to get tested, potentially due to greater access to community-based testing venues that engage higher risk populations.

Neighborhood Racial Composition, Institutional Socialization, and Intraracial Feelings of Closeness among Black Americans

Relying on nationally representative data from the most recent wave of the National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA), the current study examines how past and present neighborhood racial composition is associated with feelings of closeness toward black Americans, black Africans, and black West Indians. In addition, this research tests whether race-based socialization messages received from caregivers or religious socialization messages explain this relationship among a sample from the adult black US population. The findings show that past neighborhood composition is associated with present feelings of closeness toward black Americans and black West Indians but are not associated with close feelings toward black Africans. Current neighborhood racial composition is not associated with feelings of closeness toward any of the groups. Racial socialization messages are associated with closeness towards them all but are found to be largely a function of having a two-parent family during childhood. Religious socialization is also associated with intraracial feelings of closeness. Results suggest that neighborhood racial composition is important to help facilitate positive feelings toward others who share the same race but a different ethnicity.

Skin Tone Stratification among Black Americans, 2001-2003

In the past few decades, a dedicated collection of scholars have examined the matter of skin tone stratification within the black American population and found that complexion has significant net effects on a variety of stratification outcomes. These analyses relied heavily on data collected between 1950 and 1980. In particular, many scholars have utilized the National Survey of Black Americans (1979–1980). This leaves the question of whether or not the effect of skin tone on stratification outcomes remains decades later. Newly available data from the National Survey of American Life (2001–2003) are used to examine this question. I find that skin tone is significantly associated with black Americans’ educational attainment, household income, occupational status, and even the skin tone and educational attainment of their spouses. Consequently, this study demonstrates that skin tone stratification among black Americans persists into the 21st century. I conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for the study of ethnoracial inequality in the United States and beyond.

Single Black Mothers’ Role Strain and Adaptation across the Life Course

This study examines how Black single mothers maintain resiliency, despite having family provider role strain (e.g., low income, joblessness, and underemployment). Guided by a strengths-based role strain and adaptation approach that addresses how ethnic-specific strengths facilitate resiliency across the life course, we extend Bowman and Sanders (Journal of Comparative Family Studies 29:39–56, 1998) work on Black unmarried fathers. We focus on the role of strong religious beliefs and extended family closeness in protecting psychological functioning, despite having family provider role difficulties. Multivariate analyses were conducted on a sub-sample of 617 single Black mothers using the National Survey of Black Americans, a national probability sample survey which includes data from 2,107 face-to-face interviews. The early postindustrial era of the late 1970s and 1980s created critical and unprecedented provider role challenges because both Black men and women faced the highest levels of joblessness and economic marginality since the Great Depression of the 1930s. As hypothesized, strong religious beliefs and extended family closeness operated as significant protective factors promoting more resilient outcomes—a sense of personal efficacy, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. These theory-driven findings can also guide future policy-relevant research on more complex provider role strain–adaptation processes among Black mothers facing chronic poverty during the 2007 Great Recession and beyond.

The Relative Returns to Graduating from a Historically Black College/University: Propensity Score Matching Estimates from the National Survey of Black Americans

This paper considers the returns to earning a baccalaureate degree from a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) relative to a non-HBCU for black Americans. With data from the National Survey of Black Americans, we use propensity score matching estimators to estimate the treatment effect of graduating from an HBCU on direct labor market outcomes, and on psychological outcomes that indirectly increase wages. We find that the treatment effect of graduating from an HBCU relative to a non-HBCU is positive with respect to labor market and psychological outcomes across three decades. As our direct labor market outcome measure reflects permanent earnings, our results suggest that as HBCUs afford graduates relatively superior long-run returns they continue to have a compelling educational justification, as the labor market outcomes of their graduates are superior to what they would have been had they graduated from a non-HBCU.

Race, Gender, and the Black Women’s Standpoint

Hill Collins (1997, 1998, 2000) argues that because of their position within the intersecting hierarchies of race, gender, and class, women as a group possess a unique angle of vision on the social world. Rooted in the everyday experiences of women, the black women's is marked by an intersectional understanding of oppression and a legacy of struggle against such oppression. In this article, I employ quantitative analyses of data from the National Survey of Black Americans (1992) and the National Black Feminist Study (2004-2005) to investigate the women's standpoint. I ask: Do women as a group tend toward the women's standpoint that Hill Collins describes? and Do women embrace this perspective more than men? Results from numerous χ 2 and logistic regression analyses suggest that, within the community, gender is not a significant predictor of the standpoint that Hill Collins describes, with men and women being equally likely to embrace many of the core ideas associated with the women's standpoint. I conclude by discussing the implications of this finding for gender and race-based standpoint theory.

Religious Involvement and Risk of Major Depression in a Prospective Nationwide Study of African American Adults

This study investigated the association between religious involvement and major depression in 607 African American adults, using longitudinal data from the National Survey of Black Americans. Logistic regression found that survey participants who reported receiving "a great deal" of guidance from religion in their day-to-day lives at Time 1 (1988-1989) were roughly half as likely (OR = 0.47, p < 0.01) to have major depression at Time 2 (1992), controlling for sociodemographic and psychological factors, and major depression at baseline. The odds of major depression were also lower for persons with high self-esteem (OR = 0.41, p < 0.01) and those who reported having satisfying relationships with friends and family members (OR = 0.51, p < 0.05) at baseline. No association was found between religious attendance or church support and major depression. The possible mechanisms through which religious involvement may protect against depression, especially among African Americans, are discussed.

Race, Ethnicity, and the Use of Services for Mental Disorders

Little is known about differences in the unmet need for mental health service use between African Americans and Caribbean blacks. To extend the National Survey of Black Americans by examining 12-month mental health service use for African Americans and Caribbean blacks from the recently completed National Survey of American Life. National household probability samples of noninstitutionalized African Americans and Caribbean blacks (blacks from Caribbean area countries now living in the United States) conducted between February 2001 and June 2003, using a slightly modified World Mental Health version of the World Health Organization's Composite International Diagnostic Interview. A total of 3570 African Americans and 1621 Caribbean blacks 18 years and older (N = 5191). Proportion of respondents with 12-month DSM-IV disorders who sought help in the specialty mental health, general medical, human service, and complementary-alternative medicine treatment sectors. The percentage receiving minimally adequate treatment was also assessed. Overall, 10.1% of respondents used some form of mental heath care services in the past year. Use of services was much higher among those who met criteria for a 12-month DSM-IV disorder (31.9%) than among those who did not (5.4%). Forty-nine percent of respondents with serious mental illness used services, whereas 39.3% had contact with mental health care specialists. The youngest and oldest age groups were least likely to obtain any services. Among African Americans, women were more likely than men to use general medical care and services from any sector. Respondents with the most years of education showed the highest use of services. The underuse of mental health services among black Americans remains a serious concern. Educational interventions that focus on both consumers and mental health care professionals are needed.

From Dark to Light: Skin Color and Wages Among African-Americans

This paper develops and tests a theory, referred to as “preference for whiteness,” which predicts that the interracial (white-black) and intraracial wage gap widens as the skin shade of the black worker darkens. Using data drawn from the Multi City Study of Urban Inequality and the National Survey of Black Americans, we report evidence largely consistent with the theory. Moreover, we decompose the estimated interracial and intraracial wage gaps, and find that favorable treatment of lighter-skinned workers is a major source of interracial and intraracial wage differences as predicted by the theory.

“TRUE TO OUR NATIVE LAND”: Distinguishing Attitudinal Support for Pan-Africanism from Black Separatism

There have been several recent attempts to operationalize and measure empirically attitudinal support for Black nationalism. However, scholars have not yet reached a consensus as to what precisely constitutes Black nationalism and its manifestations. Our work addresses three critical questions. First, is Black nationalism a uni-dimensional or a multi-dimensional construct? Second, is Black nationalism another form of xenophobia? Third, is support for Black nationalism a function of time? Some scholars note that Black nationalism takes on the character of its material context and that it cannot be easily subsumed into a trans-historical ideology (Reed 2002; Robinson 2001). We indirectly test these hypotheses by examining the relationship between two components of Black nationalism—Black separatism and Pan-Africanism. To test these hypotheses, we analyze data from the 1979–1980 National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA). Overall, we establish the determinants of support for Black separatism and Pan-Africanism while distinguishing these ideologies' similarities and differences.

A Longitudinal Study of African American Women and the Maintenance of a Healthy Self-Esteem

The present study examined the self-esteem of African American women (N = 428) over a 14-year period using the National Survey of Black Americans: A Panel Study of Black American Life 1979-1992 (NSBA; Jackson&amp; Gurin, 1996). Difference-of-means tests were used to examine self-esteem in four time periods (1979 to 1980, 1986 to 1987, 1988 to 1989, and 1992), and OLS regression was used to determine the effect of three variable categories (support networks, achievement outcomes, and racial esteem) on self-esteem in 1979 and 1992. Although historical analyses of self-esteem predicted low self-esteem for Blacks in general and Black women in particular, African American women maintain a very high self-esteem in three decades. Support networks and achievement outcomes significantly affected self-esteem in both years, and racial esteemwas significantly related to self-esteem in 1979. The findings are discussed in relation to historical and current analyses of self-esteem and within a feminist paradigm that supports the maintenance of a healthy self-esteem despite membership in a marginalized group.

The Impact of Church Activities and Socialization on African‐American Religious Commitment*

Objective. This article examines religious commitment (church involvement, private devotionalism, and religious salience) among African Americans as a function of being served by a religious congregation, perception of the historical role of the church in relation to the group, and religious and racial socialization.Methods. Drawing on traditional Christian expectations of the church, hypotheses are tested using the 1979–1980 National Survey of Black Americans. Three alternative models are tested that explicitly compare the effects of church activities with conventional socialization and demographic models of religious commitment.Results. The results show that the church's fulfillment of its normative roles of discipleship and ministry is profoundly important for understanding religiosity, even controlling for other conventional predictors.Conclusions. The analysis illustrates a central, and previously unaddressed, link between religious institutions and individual religiosity. The results have consequences for churches that might consider reprioritizing their activities in response to faith‐based initiatives because social‐service types of church activities influence religious commitment to a lesser degree than activities that emphasize spiritual growth.

Racial segregation and longevity among African Americans: an individual-level analysis.

To test the relationship between racial segregation and mortality using a multidimensional questionnaire-based measure of exposure to segregation. Data for this analysis come from the National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA), a national multistage probability sample of 2,107 African Americans (aged 18-101). The NSBA was conducted as a household survey. The NSBA was matched with the National Death Index (NDI). Prospective cohort study, where Cox regression analysis was used to examine the effect of baseline variables on time to death over a 13-year period. Respondents who were exposed to racial segregation were significantly less likely to survive the study period after controls for age, health status, and other predictors of mortality. The results support previous studies linking segregation with health outcomes.

Skin Color and the Perception of Attractiveness among African Americans: Does Gender Make a Difference?

Using data from the National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA), this study develops and tests a theory of gendered colorism among African Americans. The NSBA was collected by black interviewers and includes data on survey respondents' skin color and interviewers' subjective assessment of respondents' physical attractiveness. These data allow for a unique investigation of how skin color consciously or unconsciously influences assessment of physical attractiveness among African American adults. As predicted, results indicate that skin tone influences the attractiveness ratings assigned to black women in a compelling, monotonic manner. The association is significantly weaker for men. The gender-by-skin-tone interaction is consistent with the hypothesis that African Americans perceive fair skin tone as a particularly feminine characteristic. Findings suggest the pervasiveness of Eurocentric standards of beauty among African Americans. Implications are discussed in the context of American race relations.