Search

Purpose: To explore undergraduate students' experiences leading and facilitating an out-of-school-time (OST) physical activity program for middle school girls. Method: Five female undergraduate students (N = 4 Black or African American) participated in semistructured individual interviews and submitted weekly reflections during their time leading the OST Girls Empowering Movement (program). The data were analyzed inductively by conducting systematic searches across interview transcripts and artifacts. Results: Four themes were generated, including: find something that they would like, sometimes it is hard to calm chaos, those girls cling to me, and this experience was really good for me. Conclusion: The findings indicate that the undergraduate students who facilitated the Girls Empowering Movement program experienced significant growth and learned the complexities involved in facilitating and leading an OST program. These findings have practical implications when considering physical activity leadership practices and experiences leading OST physical activity programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article delves into the experiences of children under 14 in confinement for violent and nonviolent crimes, examining facility size, self-classification, and locked or unlocked status. It compares the placement of juvenile offenders based on data from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, with a focus on racial disparities, particularly among minority youth. The research aims to understand how confinement conditions impact the mental health and rehabilitation of young offenders, emphasizing the need for equitable treatment across race and crime type in the juvenile justice system. The collection of academic articles further explores various aspects of juvenile justice, including racial disparities in detention decisions and trauma-informed interventions for justice-involved youth, highlighting the importance of addressing biases and providing support for all youth in the system. [Extracted from the article]

In recent years, researchers and policymakers have called attention to the importance of child and adolescent trauma for understanding adult health status. The primary aim of this study is to describe the adverse childhood events reported in a sample of runaway and homeless youths and examine their impact on these youths' current health status. We utilize survey data collected from a community sample of runaway and homeless youths gathered in metro Atlanta. Using the Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale (ACEs scale), we examined the relationship between ACEs and several health status measures using OLS and logistic regression. We found that runaway and homeless youths endorsed experiencing many ACEs, especially sexual minority youths, youths who had prior involvement with child-serving social service systems, and youths who were homeless for more than a year. Black/African American youths were slightly less likely to report many adverse childhood experiences. Runaway and homeless youths who reported more ACEs had increased odds of experiencing significant current mental health and/or substance abuse problems. Our study suggests ACEs are an important factor shaping these youths' health and underscores the potential value of trauma-informed care for youths experiencing homelessness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Witnessing community violence can predict negative mental health outcomes for youth such as posttraumatic stress symptoms and delinquent behavior. Such outcomes differ by gender. Variables that predict witnessing community violence in youth are less understood. This study aims to explore potential pathways between initial witnessing and continued witnessing for early adolescents. The relationship between witnessing as a predictor and witnessing as an outcome is hypothesized to be mediated by both posttraumatic stress and delinquency and moderated by gender. A sample of 153 African American, sixth-grade students (M = 11.65, 59% female) in high-crime, high-poverty areas completed self-report surveys at baseline, 12 months, and 24 months. Moderated serial mediation was used to assess longitudinal associations. For the full model, delinquency at Time 3 was associated with a positive change in witnessing at Time 3. Gender moderated several paths. For girls, witnessing at Time 1 was predictive of high posttraumatic stress (aggregate) at Time 2 and high delinquency at Time 3. For girls, witnessing at Time 1 also was predictive of higher hyperarousa l and higher intrusion subscale symptoms than other symptoms at Time 2. Analyses also indicated that hyperarousal at Time 2 significantly predicted witnessing at Time 3 for girls only. Finally, delinquency at Time 3 was associated with a positive change in witnessing at Time 3. For boys, no analyses indicated witnessing at Time 1 as a significant predictor. Results contribute to our understanding of the trajectory of witnessing community violence and the roles both posttraumatic stress subscales and delinquency play in that trajectory, especially among girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the acceptability and feasibility of a therapeutic assessment protocol for the Screening and Support of Youth (SASY). SASY provides brief but comprehensive community-based screening and support for diverse youth in the community. Methods: SASY screening evaluates symptoms, functioning and clinical risk. The Kiddie Computerized Adaptive Test was used to evaluate seven different diagnoses and symptom severity. The Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale-Self was used to measure functional impairment. Measures were scored according to nationally developed norms. An algorithm was developed to aggregate symptom and function ratings into an overall score for clinical risk. The results are discussed with participants in a motivational interview designed to promote insight, followed by the opportunity for the participant to engage in an online intervention. Protocol changes necessitated by social distancing during the pandemic led to innovative methods including the use of a QR code for recruitment, integration of both online and offline participation, and expansion from in-person recruitment within the schools to virtual engagement with youth throughout the community. The final sample included disproportionately more Black or African American and Hispanic youth as compared to school and community statistics, suggesting that optimization of online and offline methods in research may facilitate the recruitment of diverse populations. Qualitative interviews indicated that the screening and feedback raised youth awareness of their wellbeing and/or distress, its impact on their functioning, and engagement with options for improved wellbeing. Conclusions: The emergence of innovative methods optimizing the advantages of both online and offline methods, developed as a necessity during the pandemic, proved advantageous to the feasibility and acceptability of community-based recruitment of at-risk, minoritized youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescents of color are particularly poised to experience the mental health crisis partly due to the absence of a clear-cut solution that prepares them to cope with ethnic/racial discrimination. One resilience-promoting factor in minoritized adolescents' lives is cultural socialization (i.e., the beliefs, practices, and worldviews that youth receive about their ethnic/racial group's heritage, history, and values), but the role of cultural socialization in relation to adolescents' resilience in the face of ethnic/racial discrimination is sporadic with extant studies documenting mixed results. Prior studies are likely limited by their focus on cultural socialization from parents relative to school adults and the larger school context. Following ethnic/racial discrimination, school-based cultural socialization may reduce youth's anticipation of discrimination, trust in others from different ethnic/racial groups, and rejection sensitivity. To test our theories, the present study used two daily diaries: Study 1 followed 134 African American adolescents over a 14-day period (N diaries = 1,494), and Study 2 followed 159 Asian American and Latinx adolescents over a 30-day period (N diaries = 3,458). In both studies, on days when ethnic/racial discrimination occurred, adolescents reported greater negative affect. This daily effect of ethnic–racial discrimination on negative affect was exacerbated on days when adolescents received less school-based cultural socialization but weaker on days when adolescents received more school-based cultural socialization. The present studies underscore how school adults foster youth's resilience in the context of ethnic/racial adversity. Educational Impact and Implications Statement: Adolescents of color are reporting worse mental health than their White American peers, which may be attributable to ethnic/racial discrimination. Across two studies, we found that ethnic/racial discrimination was associated with greater negative affect and emotions among African American, Latinx, and Asian American youth. However, as our data suggested, school-based lessons acknowledging ethnically/racially underrepresented youth's cultural heritage, traditions, and holidays were sources of resilience among adolescents of color and are optimal opportunities to address the negative psychological impacts of ethnic/racial discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study identified risk, promotive, and protective factors for handgun carriage among 265 primarily African American adolescents (M age = 14.3) living in low-income urban areas. Community-based violent victimization and witnessing violence and in-person and cyber forms of peer victimization increased the probability of handgun carriage. Community collective efficacy, including caregiver-reported social connectedness and informal social control, and community developmental strengths/supports, including youth-reported community recognition for prosocial involvement and community developmental assets, moderated relations between both violent victimization and witnessing violence and handgun carriage. School developmental strengths/supports, including school developmental assets and family prosocial involvement in school, moderated relations between in-person and cyber victimization and handgun carriage. Family developmental strengths/supports, including family developmental assets and family recognition and opportunities for prosocial involvement, were associated with lower odds of handgun carriage. Study findings revealed distinct protective factors related to community violence exposure or peer victimization that can inform youth violence prevention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dominant narrative of youth activism and the Black freedom struggle in Virginia focuses on Barbara Johns and Prince Edward County. This article widens the dominant historiographical lens to include Black male youth and school desegregation and expands into other Virginia locales, moving the chronology beyond the immediate aftermath of the Brown decisions. Drawing upon archival materials, oral history interviews, newspapers, and reports, it focuses on Charles Alexander of Charlottesville, Virginia, and Owen Cardwell of Lynchburg, Virginia, to interrogate how race, class, and gender shaped their experiences as students and activists. On one hand, Alexander and Cardwell, due to their family's independent socioeconomic status, could contest segregation, anti-Blackness, and white supremacy within and beyond the desegregated school. On the other hand, as Black male youth activists, they became subject to the emerging school-to-prison nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the concept of recognition in political and social thought, focusing on the ambivalence of recognition and its implications for ideological recognition. The author critiques Axel Honneth's theory of ideological recognition, proposing an alternative epistemic structural account that considers epistemic trust and structural power. The epistemic structural account aims to identify unjustified recognition by examining the violation of the basic norm of trust and the operations of structural power. The article also explores the theoretical and practical implications of the epistemic structural account for critical theory, social pathology, power dynamics, and the recognition of racial identities. [Extracted from the article]

This article examines the historical connections between African Americans and China from 1920 to 1940. It discusses how African Americans found inspiration in Japan's victory over Russia, seeing it as a challenge to Euro-American dominance. Chinese people, facing their own struggles with Western powers, identified with the plight of enslaved African Americans. Chinese officials also looked to African Americans in the rural American South as examples for spreading literacy and public health in China. The article raises questions about the impact of the Cold War on Chinese perceptions of African Americans and highlights the transfer of information and ideas between Black American and Chinese media sources. Chinese scholars and officials in the early 20th century showed interest in the experiences of African Americans, particularly in education and politics. Chinese Christians saw commonalities with African Americans and followed their development of institutions. Chinese publications discussed the growth of Black-led churches, the increase in Black professionals, and the political struggles faced by African Americans. These discussions provided insights into education, leadership, and the fight for equality that resonated with Chinese readers. Chinese interest in African American education and politics was evident in articles published in a significant journal on education reform in East Asia. These articles served as a blueprint for addressing education challenges in Republican China, particularly in rural areas. The transfer of news media, ideas, and travel between China and the United States allowed African American experiences to become a point of interest for Chinese students, scholars, and politicians. The successes of Black Americans in obtaining an education against great odds provided hope [Extracted from the article]

With high rates of violence exposure among justice‐involved youth, it is critical to identify factors that might impact the likelihood of youth engaging in violence themselves. One such factor is sensitivity to context, which describes how sensitive youth are to experiences in their environment. Using an ethnically diverse sample of justice‐involved male adolescents (47% Latino, 38% Black/African American, 15% White) aged 13‐17 at the time of their first arrest, the results of this study indicate that exposure to violence was related to increased violent behavior six months later, and this effect was strongest among youth who were low in sensitivity to context. These findings may help practitioners identify which youth are at greatest risk for violence in a policy‐relevant population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on African American youth's emotional development provides an incomplete understanding of the cultural influences that shape emotion‐related skills such as emotion expression, regulation, and understanding. In this article, I propose the multiple cultural frameworks of triple quandary theory to characterize the nature of mainstream cultural experiences and minority cultural experiences in current research on emotional development in African American youth. I also discuss Afrocultural ethos as an aspect of African American cultural experiences that shapes African American emotional development, using affect and orality as examples that can be explored and embedded within emotional development research. Finally, I describe important factors for researchers to consider in the study of Afrocultural ethos in affective developmental science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We share digital collages composed by youth in Lit Diaspora, a community‐based after‐school literacy initiative involving Black African immigrant youth and adult collaborators, as one contemporary example of rendering visible the contours of the educational lives of African immigrant youth, among the fastest growing immigrant communities in the U.S. We do so amid anti‐Black, anti‐immigrant discourse and policy in schools, workplaces, and society in the U.S. and globally. Thus, in framing our inquiry, we examine how educators and researchers, attending to the varied diaspora digital literacies and educational experiences of African immigrant youth: talk back to deficit narratives of their lived schooling experiences; navigate literacy learning across contexts of families and elders; demonstrate social and civic literacies that extend youth's identities; and affirm cultural and embodied knowledge, language, and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, individuals who identify as Black are severely underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. This underrepresentation begins as early as middle school due to the stereotype of successful STEM students being white and male thus affecting Black students sense of belonging in STEM. The goal for this exploratory qualitative study was to understand the experiences of Black students in their science classes. Our choice of focus groups empowered these students, who have historically been missing from educational policy decisions, by providing them an opportunity to be part of the change they want to see in their schools. The results indicate that participants could see potential relevance in science and math classes but the structure of their current science classes (e.g., neglect and lack of care from teachers) affects their ability to actually experience this relevance. Despite this, many of our participants understood their value and believed that they "deserve more," which shows that we can improve the experiences for Black students in STEM and increase their representation in these disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stereotype threat is a well-known construct in psychology wherein individuals who belong to a negatively stereotyped demographic group underperform on cognitive or academic tasks due to the detrimental effects of a stereotype. Many psychologists have suggested that stereotype threat may be one of the reasons that some demographic groups are underrepresented in advanced academic programs and STEM fields. However, others have raised concerns about the quality of the stereotype threat research, suggesting that its apparent effects are inflated and that the phenomenon may be an illusion of questionable research practices and publication bias. The purpose of this proposed meta-analysis is to evaluate the existence of stereotype threat by (1) identifying the average effect size of stereotype threat studies in different types of studies, (2), investigating whether publication bias and p-hacking are present in the empirical research on stereotype threat, (3) testing for the influence of theoretical and methodological moderators, (4) assessing the overall quality of the research on stereotype threat, (5) and identifying the average effect in the methodologically strongest studies. This meta-analysis will be limited to studies that report data from African Americans because this population is a theoretically important group in stereotype threat research, and the size of score gaps between the African American and non-stereotyped populations in the United States should make the stereotype threat effect easiest to detect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine the association between recent experiences of discrimination and depressive symptom presentation and severity among a U.S. sample of older Black and African American adults. A cross-sectional survey of 124 Black and African American adults aged 50 and older in the United States was conducted assessing interpersonal discrimination and depressive symptoms. The Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire assessed four forms of interpersonal discrimination. A measure of heightened vigilance to bias assessed anticipatory coping with discrimination experiences. Past-month affective and somatic symptoms of depression were assessed using the Depressive and Somatic Symptoms Scale. All forms of interpersonal racial discrimination were positively associated with greater affective symptom severity. Being avoided, devalued, and threatened or actively physically harmed were associated with greater somatic symptom severity. Vigilant coping was positively associated with affective symptom severity but not somatic symptom severity. Racial discrimination is linked to depression severity among older Black and African American and varies by symptom. This study helps inform work on processes linking discrimination with poorer psychological outcomes and will allow for more effective interventions and prevention efforts that are tailored to older minority populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicide deaths among Black youth in the US have increased rapidly over the past decade. Direct or vicarious racial trauma experienced through exposure to police brutality may underlie these concerning trends. We obtained nationally aggregated monthly counts of suicides for non-Hispanic Black and White youth (age ≤ 24 years) and adults (age > 24 years) from the National Mortality Vital Statistics restricted-use data files provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 2013 to 2019. Monthly counts of Black youth suicides constituted our main outcome. We defined our exposure as the monthly counts of police killings of unarmed Black persons over 84 months (2013 to 2019), retrieved from the Mapping Police Violence database. We used ARIMA (AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average) time-series analyses to examine whether Black youth suicides increased within 0 to 3 months following police killings of unarmed Black persons, controlling for autocorrelation and corresponding series of White youth suicides. Suicides among Black youth increase by ∼1 count three months following an increase in police killings of unarmed Black persons (exposure lag 0 coefficient = 0.16, p > 0.05; exposure lag 1 coefficient = −0.70, p > 0.05; exposure lag 2 coefficient = −0.54, p > 0.05; exposure lag 3 coefficient = 0.95, p < 0.05). The observed increase in suicides concentrates among Black male youth (exposure lag 3 coefficient = 0.88, p < 0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States Supreme Court ruled School Corporal Punishment (SCP) constitutional, legalizing the practice in 19 states. Annually, approximately 163,333 students are subject to this practice, and 57,000 incidents involve African American students. Moreover, the lack of Federal advocacy and public knowledge of this social problem is more likely linked to SCP mainly practiced in southern states. Through the lens of Critical Race Theory, a content analysis of SCP documents from 1996 to 2018 was collected from school districts in seven prevalent SCP states using the following terms: SCP, Black students, and Black population. This policy report examines states' SCP policies, identifies factors that influenced policies, and discusses the future of SCP. Findings suggest that SCP negatively impacted the academic achievement and future endeavors of African American students. One recommendation for a successful alternative of SCP strategies is the information involvement of relevant stakeholders and Government officials as several policies excluded members in the implementation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, culturally responsive computing is a framework that aims to support broadening the participation of racially and linguistically diverse children in computing and technology education through bottom-up interventions that are community-oriented, technology rich, and culturally dynamic. Despite the important role that youth sports play in many local neighborhoods and communities across demographic groups there is only a small amount of research on developing culturally responsive computing education that incorporates these activities. We report findings from a culturally responsive computing collaboration between computing education researchers and coaches, mentors, and academic staff who ran a youth boxing program that predominantly served African American children. The purpose of the collaboration was to learn about and represent the adults' expertise and knowledge in the co-development of culturally responsive computing activities. Using an emergent mixed methods research design, we collected qualitative data (i.e., interviews and group discussions) and quantitative data (i.e., pre- and post-surveys) throughout the collaboration. We analyzed these data to study how coaches, mentors, and staff members brought their knowledge and expertise to bear on the co-development of culturally responsive computing activities for the youth boxing program. Our findings show how the coaches, mentors, and academic staff used their expertise and knowledge in ways that leveraged boxing culture to go beyond boxing itself in the co-development of the activities. In addition, even when connections between computing and boxing did not appear authentically motivated this did not negate the adults' engagement with the culturally responsive computing project. These findings have implications for anti-deficit theorizing about authenticity and inauthenticity in the co-development of culturally responsive computing in youth sports contexts. The construction of authenticity in culturally responsive computing might be less understood as a direct translation from community into education and more so as a negotiation between locally defined demarcations of what is considered authentic and inauthentic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the intersection of pediatric asthma and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), focusing on clinical characteristics and risk factors. Topics discussed include the prevalence of asthma and SDB, their bidirectional relationship, and the clinical features associated with their overlap in school-aged children from urban, low-income neighborhoods.

To test whether adolescents' perceived ADHD symptoms may improve while monitoring them throughout the day. In a sample of 90 adolescents (Mage = 14.7; 66% boys, 34% girls; 76.7% White, 13.3% Black or African American, 8.9% more than one race, 1.1% "other") treated for ADHD by their pediatricians, this study examined: (1) whether self-rated ADHD symptoms decreased across 17 days of 4 times daily ecological momentary assessment (EMA) of symptoms and (2) whether completing versus missing an EMA survey was associated with lower self-rated ADHD symptoms in the subsequent hours. Multilevel regression analyses showed that, on average, adolescents' perceived ADHD symptoms (inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and total across domains) decreased across 17 days of EMA. Within person, symptoms were lower following completed versus missed EMA surveys. Significant moderating effects showed that the effect of completing the prior EMA survey weakened across the day and over the course of the 17 days. This study is the first to document acute improvements in self-rated ADHD symptoms using EMA in adolescents' naturalistic environments. Symptom monitoring throughout the day may help adolescents improve their day-to-day ADHD, at least acutely, and holds promise as one component of mobile-health ADHD interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Racial disparities are evident in both educational outcomes and incarceration rates when comparing African American and white youth. It is essential to understand the school-to-prison pipeline and the ways in which school discipline practices and other factors disproportionately affect African American students, limit educational attainment, and increase risk for future incarceration in order to improve students' educational and life outcomes. This study explores how marijuana, anxiety and locus of control interact with school disciplinary practices in pushing students out of schools and into the criminal justice system. Analyses utilizing data from the Woodlawn Study, a longitudinal study of African Americans followed from first grade through adolescence, young adulthood, and midlife (n = 1,242), reveal that suspension or expulsion, frequent marijuana use, and locus of control (males only) all predict criminal justice system involvement above and beyond not graduating from high school, but do not interact significantly. This study offers avenues for intervention to reduce disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colonisation and apartheid in South Africa have left deep-rooted trauma in people, especially the black youth. Writer Sindiwe Magona explores the aftermath of apartheid in her novel Mother to Mother (1998), tracing familial and generational tragedies. This article, while exploring the consequences of apartheid, focuses on the role of the absent father and the abusive government in the context of the text. Set around the event of the murder of anti-apartheid activist Amy Biehl in 1993 in Gugulethu, this article investigates the politically volatile environment which impacted black youth psychologically and gives particular attention to the effects of abandonment by a father in the formative years of a child. Therefore, this article explores the nuances of apartheid which impacted the young people to perpetrate further violence, incited by the unjust and racially biased government and the abandonment of fathers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of communication and mass media has broadened the scope of interconnectedness and globalization among the world's nations and cultures. These interconnections have ushered a network of intercultural and linguistic contact among users of different lifestyles, as featured in the media. As media is often cited in the literature as a powerful tool that shapes and influences public opinion and behavior, the cultures of advanced and developed nations tend to be the model that influences underdeveloped and developing nations to converge into a mass culture. However, this is not without its consequences. This study explores the consequences of media influence on the youth in the local setting of Shillong, the state capital of Meghalaya, India. In particular, as a preliminary investigation, it attempts to survey the impact of popular culture on the Khasi youths in Shillong and to evaluate the influence of media broadcasts on the socio-psychological aspect of language choice appropriated by the Khasi youths. A total of 100 Khasi youth participants aged 16-30 years, both male and female, were included in the study. Our findings demonstrate that Khasi youths in Shillong tend to associate themselves with trending forms and ideologies indoctrinated through media stereotypes. This has resulted in a departure from traditional conservatism as they integrate into an identity of 'sub-cultural' construction. Furthermore, English among the many alternative languages in media broadcast was found to be positively favoured by the Khasis youths in Shillong due to its relative scope, extensive communicative value, and utility compared to other languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improved eating behaviors and daily participation in physical activity such as swimming might abate the likelihood of African American youth becoming obese. Yet many African American youth neither consume the recommended daily servings of nutritious foods nor know how to swim. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a culturally tailored multicomponent summer intervention to reduce obesity and unintentional drownings among underserved African American youth. Children (n = 145) participated in a three-hour, community-based intervention for four weeks. Measures of children’s attitudes perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms toward swimming, nutrition, and physical fitness were taken at baseline and 4 weeks later (n = 47). The only post-intervention significant finding indicated an improvement in children’s skillfulness in floating on their back without help. The limited changes in this multicomponent program suggested that such interventions need to be longer in duration, intensity, and be required to reduce attrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on outstanding papers from six different countries deserving readership and attention. Topics include study employing a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews for determining learn-to-swim participants taking away from lessons about water safety and drowning prevention; and sets of beliefs about teaching swimming as well as the way of working with disadvantaged children and youth.

The study aims to examine (1) the association between bullying victimization and suicidal thoughts and (2) neighborhood conditions as a moderated mediated model of the association between bullying victimization, emotional distress, and suicidal thoughts. The sample consists of 414 African American youths (ages 12–17) in Chicago's Southside neighborhoods. Variables included suicidal thoughts, bullying victimization, emotional distress, neighborhood conditions, age, sex, and government assistance. Analyses included descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and multivariate regression analyses. The study found that bullying victimization was not directly associated with suicidal thoughts. However, bullying victimization was positively associated with emotional distress, which was related to suicidal thoughts. Moreover, emotional distress as a mediator of the association between bullying victimization and suicidal thoughts was observed when neighborhood conditions were a moderator. The findings suggest that bullying victimization and suicidal thoughts are major concerns for African American adolescents, and prevention and intervention need to be cost-effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates an innovative framework for spoken dialect density prediction on children's and adults' African American English. A speaker's dialect density is defined as the frequency with which dialect-specific language characteristics occur in their speech. Rather than treating the presence or absence of a target dialect in a user's speech as a binary decision, instead, a classifier is trained to predict the level of dialect density to provide a higher degree of specificity in downstream tasks. For this, self-supervised learning representations from HuBERT, handcrafted grammar-based features extracted from ASR transcripts, prosodic features, and other feature sets are experimented with as the input to an XGBoost classifier. Then, the classifier is trained to assign dialect density labels to short recorded utterances. High dialect density level classification accuracy is achieved for child and adult speech and demonstrated robust performance across age and regional varieties of dialect. Additionally, this work is used as a basis for analyzing which acoustic and grammatical cues affect machine perception of dialect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourette syndrome (TS) affects about 0.5% of the population worldwide, but only sparse and conflicting data exist on TS prevalence among minority samples. Here we used VISITTS (a survey preceded by a short video showing tic phenomenology) and community outreach to provide estimates of tic disorder prevalence in African Americans. Community health workers (CHWs) left flyers at households in a predominantly minority neighborhood and approached people at a community health fair. Of 606 such contacts, 222 individuals agreed to discuss the study. Of these, 70% enrolled, of whom 82% identified as Black and 64% female. The VISITTS was well received. Lifetime prevalence of TS or another chronic tic disorder (TS/CTD) was 3.2%, and 31% endorsed any lifetime simple tic. The number of enrolled Black participants is remarkable compared to earlier TS studies, allowing one of the first prevalence estimates in this population (TS 2.3%, TS/CTD 3.9%). Tic disorders were endorsed only by Black respondents, though the small White sample precluded statistical comparison. Women had higher rates than men of TS (M:F = 0:1) and of any lifetime simple tic (M:F = 0.85), differing significantly from the expected 4:1 ratio (p =.009 and p <.001, respectively). For TS/CTD the ratio was 1.2:1 (p >.15). We conclude that VISITTS is a feasible tic screening tool in a minority population, that CHW community outreach increases enrollment of Black participants, that TS/CTD is no less common in this population, and that tics were as common in female as in male respondents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Exposure to parental depression in adolescence predicted proinflammatory phenotype at age 31. • This effect was mediated by unsupportive parenting in adolescence. • These findings highlight how experiences in childhood may become biologically embedded. Although the biological embedding model of adversity proposes that stressful experiences in childhood create a durable proinflammatory phenotype in immune cells, research to date has relied on study designs that limit our ability to make conclusions about whether the phenotype is long-lasting. The present study leverages an ongoing 20-year investigation of African American youth to test research questions about the extent to which stressors measured in childhood forecast a proinflammatory phenotype in adulthood, as indicated by exaggerated cytokine responses to bacterial stimuli, monocyte insensitivity to inhibitory signals from hydrocortisone, and low-grade inflammation. Parents reported on their depressive symptoms and unsupportive parenting tendencies across youths' adolescence. At age 31, youth participants (now adults) completed a fasting blood draw. Samples were incubated with lipopolysaccharide and doses of hydrocortisone to evaluate proinflammatory processes. Additionally, blood samples were tested for indicators of low-grade inflammation, including IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and TNF-α, and soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor. Analyses revealed that parental depression across youths' adolescence prospectively predicted indicators of proinflammatory phenotypes at age 31. Follow-up analyses suggested that unsupportive parenting mediated these associations. These findings suggest that exposure to parental depression in adolescence leaves an imprint on inflammatory activity that can be observed 20 years later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Career and Technical Education (CTE)--focused dual credits programs are proven to promote both career and academic benefits to students. This quantitative study matched and analyzed transcript data from 245 high school students enrolled in CTE dual credit programs in an urban public school district in a southern state of the U.S. The school district serves a large proportion of Black or African Americans and low-income students. The authors conducted regression analyses to compare student learning outcomes in the pre- and post-COVID cohorts while controlling for demographic characteristics, academic background, and school-level characteristics. Findings showed that students in post-COVID cohorts had significantly lower CTE GPAs but significantly higher probabilities of obtaining a CTE certificate, as compared with those in the pre-COVID cohort. In addition, a higher high school GPA predicted a higher GPA in CTE dual credits programs and a higher probability of earning a CTE certificate. The school-level average free-reduced lunch rate was a negative predictor of CTE GPA. Students enrolled in medical programs had a lower probability of earning a CTE certificate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is part of a larger NSF funded research project that situates the lived experiences and narratives of African Americans and Black heritage in the K-12 science curriculum. This work contributes to research on the science capital, and on positive and empowering identity construction for the African Diaspora. This study takes the position that K-12 science curricula, content, and standards do not support nor do they adequately facilitate an integrated inclusion of Black heritage, narratives, and lived experiences from a position of strength. This study uses the research literature and archives that reflect the social, cultural, and historical narratives and underpinnings of early African Americans, Africans, and Black heritage that can be used to learn science. In this research, well established frameworks vetted by scientists and science educators were used to extract from Black narratives and literature data. It is important to note that these well-respected frameworks do not specifically point to the inclusion of Black people nor do they highlight the cultural resources of African Americans or Black heritage. The Next Generation Science Standards were used to explore and explain the data. The results show that sociocultural and historical data that reflect the science experiences and the political and economic underpinnings of the African American experience and Black heritage can be used to understand the three dimensions of STEM in the Next Generation Science Standards—namely the Disciplinary Core Ideas, Nature of Science, and Crosscutting Concepts. Emergent concepts implicate adaptations of early African Americans. Implications for understandings about science that benefit all and that promote insights into the science of environmental sustainability and culture are indicated. Sample modifications and inclusions in the science standards are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected older adults, particularly those with pre-existing chronic health conditions. To address the health disparity and challenges faced by under-resourced African American older adults in South Los Angeles during this period, we implemented a hybrid (virtual/in-person), pre-post, community-based participatory intervention research project utilizing a faith-based lay health advisor model (COVID-19 Health Ambassador Program (CHAP)). We recruited COVID-19 Health Ambassadors (CHAs) and African American older adults (participants) from faith-based organizations who partook in CHA-led meetings and follow-ups that educated and supported the participants. This paper seeks to evaluate this intervention's implementation using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) as a reporting tool with an emphasis on fidelity, challenges, and adaptations based on data collected via stakeholder interviews and surveys. Results: CHAP was delivered to 152 participants by 19 CHAs from 17 faith-based organizations. CHAs assisted with chronic disease management, resolved medication-related challenges, encouraged COVID-19 vaccination, reduced psychological stress and addressed healthcare avoidance behaviors such as COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among the participants. Challenges encountered include ensuring participant engagement and retention in the virtual format and addressing technological barriers for CHAs and participants. Adaptations made to better suit the needs of participants included providing communication tools and additional training to CHAs to improve their proficiency in using virtual platforms in addition to adapting scientific/educational materials to suit our participants' diverse cultural and linguistic needs. Conclusion: The community-centered hybrid approach in addition to our partnership with faith-based organizations and their respective COVID-19 health ambassadors proved to be essential in assisting underserved African American older adults manage chronic health conditions and address community-wide health disparities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adaptability, cultural sensitivity, and teamwork are key to implementing health interventions especially in underserved populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic led to increased mental health concerns among parents. Emerging studies have shown links between COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and psychological distress, including among parents. The primary aim of this study was to extend these emerging findings by examining the role of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in mental health functioning in a national sample of U.S. parents, accounting for the effects of COVID-19 vaccination status and underlying medical conditions increasing COVID-19 risk. A nationally representative sample of U.S. parents (N = 796) completed a cross-sectional survey between February-April 2021, including measures of depressive, anxiety, and COVID-19 acute stress symptoms; COVID-19 vaccination status; underlying medical conditions increasing COVID-19 risk; and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The sample consisted of 51.8% fathers, Mage=38.87 years, 60.3% Non-Hispanic white, 18.1% Hispanic/Latinx, 13.2% Non-Hispanic Black/African American, 5.7% Asian, and 2.8% Other Race. Hierarchical regression models adjusted for demographic covariates revealed that greater COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy and presence of an underlying medical condition were consistently associated with higher levels of depressive, anxiety, and COVID-19 acute stress symptoms among parents. Having had at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose was associated with greater levels of COVID-19 acute stress, but was not associated with depressive or anxiety symptoms. Results add new evidence from the U.S. in support of the link between COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and psychological distress, point to the potential utility of behavioral health care workers in helping reduce vaccine hesitancy, and provide tentative data suggesting that COVID-19 vaccination for parents alone may not have provided mental health relief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Suicide rates among African American adolescents have increased exponentially in recent years. The socioecological stressors that can increase suicide risk for African American adolescents, in conjunction with unique suicide risk manifestations within this group, require culturally sensitive preventive interventions. This study examines the efficacy of the Adapted-Coping With Stress course (A-CWS), a culturally tailored preventive intervention, to reduce suicidal ideation in African American adolescents, utilizing a randomized controlled design. Method: Participants included 410 ninth-grade students in a large Midwestern city; most students identified as Black/African American. Participants were randomly assigned to either the A-CWS intervention or standard care control condition. All participants were assessed at baseline, immediately postintervention, and 6 and 12 months postintervention. Results: Treatment effects were examined using latent growth models comparing suicidal ideation trajectories in control and intervention conditions. Analyses were conducted using both intention-to-treat and treatment-as-received samples (i.e., intervention condition participants who attended at least 80% of sessions). In both intention-to-treat and treatment-as-received analyses, there was a significant treatment effect: Individuals in the A-CWS intervention condition with higher baseline ideation evidenced a superior reduction in suicidal ideation over the course of the study, relative to their counterparts in the standard care control condition. Conclusion: Findings indicate that the A-CWS preventive intervention is efficacious in reducing suicidal ideation among African American adolescents with higher levels of baseline suicidal ideation and that effects sustain over time, with the strongest effect evidenced 12 months postintervention. What is the public health significance of this article?: This study indicates that the Adapted-Coping With Stress course, a culturally tailored suicide prevention program for African American adolescents, is associated with reductions in suicidal ideation among African American adolescents with higher levels of pretreatment ideation. Effects were most pronounced 12 months after participating in the intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Maternal psychological control has been linked consistently to poorer adjustment for adolescents, however, studies of variability in the association between psychological control and adjustment are rare. Sleep serves crucial bioregulatory functions that promote well‐being and protect youths against poor adjustment associated with negative family environments. We hypothesised that the link between maternal psychological control and adolescent maladjustment would be strongest for youths with poorer actigraphy‐based sleep. The current study included 245 adolescents (Mage = 15.79 years, 52.2% girls, 33.1% Black/African American and 66.9% White/European American; 43% at or below the poverty line). Adolescents reported on their mothers' psychological control toward them, as well as their internalising and externalising symptoms (aggressive and rule breaking behaviours). Several sleep variables were derived: minutes, onset time, and variability in each parameter over 1 week. For youths with shorter, less consistent sleep (both mean levels and variability in minutes and onset), maternal psychological control was associated with adjustment difficulties, especially externalising symptoms. This association was not significant for youth obtaining longer, more consistent sleep. The results were most evident for variability in sleep minutes and onset as moderators of effects. The findings suggest that longer and more consistent sleep is an important protective factor in the context of more controlling parenting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the concept of nonkilling public health, which aims to eliminate violence and its consequences in society. It acknowledges the global issue of violence and its negative effects on individuals, communities, and economies. The article emphasizes the importance of primary prevention strategies that address various factors at different levels, such as individual, relationship, community, and societal factors. By adopting a social-ecological model, the public health approach seeks to understand and address the complex factors that contribute to violence and promote nonkilling societies. The text discusses several strategies for preventing violence and promoting nonkilling, including after-school programs, safe havens for children, violence prevention coalitions, and more. The effectiveness of these strategies varies, and further research is needed to evaluate their impact. Nonetheless, the public health approach shows promise in reducing violence and moving towards a nonkilling society. [Extracted from the article]

"Breaks in the Air: The Birth of Rap Radio in New York City" by John Klaess is a significant contribution to the history of New York hip-hop culture. The book explores the early days of rap radio in New York, when stations like WBLS played a crucial role in shaping the sound and culture of hip-hop. Klaess uses interviews and cassette recordings to provide insights into the inseparable relationship between rap, radio, and diverse listening communities. The book also examines the impact of deregulation on the commercial radio industry and the role of radio in advancing Black social progress. Overall, "Breaks in the Air" offers a valuable perspective on the history of rap radio in New York City. [Extracted from the article]

African American and US Latinx families have faced over two centuries of systemic racism and discrimination, elevating risk for trauma, adversity, and disparities for their youth. These circumstances have compromised the health and well-being of many of these youth. However, many other African American and US Latinx youth are able to succeed despite these challenges. In recent years, scholars have begun to identify ways in which minoritized youth adapt and respond to adversity to become competent, well-functioning individuals. Drawing on two conceptual models of cultural resilience, one grounded in the study of African American youth and one grounded in the study of US Latinx youth, we summarize supportive research associated with each model. Using these conceptual models to guide our critical review of extant studies, we present an integrative review of work to guide the design of strength-based, cultural asset-centered research studies and preventive interventions targeting African American and US Latinx youth.

A premise of positive youth development is that social competencies can develop in adversity and co-exist with problem behaviors. This research tested whether African American youth ages 9–17 who had experienced significant family stressors would form groups that displayed combinations of adversity, problem behavior, and strengths. Parents of a nationally representative sample of African Americans children were interviewed on child difficulties and strengths as part of the CDC's 2019 National Health Interview Survey. About 15% of the national sample of African American youth had experienced violence or parental incarceration, depression, or drug abuse. Latent class analysis (LCA) using indicators of adversity and strengths identified four distinct classes. Class 1 included youth who experienced multiple adversities, exhibited few strengths, and were high in behavior problems. Members of both classes 2 and 3 were more likely to experience parental incarceration but exhibited altruism. Class 3 also experienced parental mental health problems. Members of class 4 had the highest exposure to violence but were comparatively high in altruism and affability. Regression analysis revealed that the groups differed from one another on emotional health but not on physical health controlling for age and gender. These findings support a focus by mental health prevention programs on building on the strengths of children growing up in adversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored how mentoring begins and the benefits provided for African American sexual and/or gender minority (SGM) youth. Participants were mentors and mentees living in three Mid-Atlantic cities. Mentees (ages 15–21, n = 14) identified as African American; cisgender male, transgender female, or non-binary assigned male; and had sexual interest in men. Mentor participants (ages 18+, n = 13) mentored such youth. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with mentoring relationship partners (both partners did not necessarily participate). All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and imported into Atlas.ti. Using a basic interpretive qualitative analysis, a codebook was developed through inductive and deductive techniques. Analysis focused on mentees' and mentors' descriptions and interpretations about how they formed a mentoring relationship and any observed benefits that arose. Themes showed mentoring relationships were formed through introductions via social circles or social media. Mentoring was described as providing a trusted confidant and support with identity formation, relationships, transitioning to adulthood, and health. Results indicate a potential for natural mentoring relationships to provide trusted adult support to SGM adolescents in ways that are experienced as authentic and beneficial to the mental health of African American SGM male youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Social Security Act is undoubtedly one of the nation’s most important accomplishments in addressing Americans’ economic insecurity, poverty and human suffering. However, since its enactment in 1935, it has fallen short in delivering on the promise of equitable economic protection for African Americans and similarly situated persons of color. This Article examines two exclusionary and discriminatory statutory provisions which have disproportionately injured African Americans and other persons of color. Although arising from different time periods more than 35 years apart, directed to decidedly different issues, and affecting vastly different communities of color, they are bound by a common thread of the American experience: racism and white supremacy, abetted by political disenfranchisement. These provisions are exemptions, one in the original Social Security Act of 1935 Old Age Insurance program, excluding agricultural and domestic workers who were disproportionately African American, and one in the 1972 Amendments to the Act, excluding residents of U.S. Territories from the Supplemental Security Income program (who are overwhelmingly non-white—Latino/a, Black, AANHPI, or mixed race). These exclusions are grounded in historical racism, stemming from the “badges and incidents” of slavery and solicitude to protecting a postbellum plantation and sharecropping economy; or from American colonialism and imperialism at the turn of the twentieth century in the territories. Although equal protection principles supply a useful lens with which to examine these provisions’ racially disparate scope and nature, the equal protection doctrines as applied by courts have proven largely inadequate as a remedial tool to alter policy or redress injury as reflected in the Court’s 2022 Vaello Madero decision. The Article concludes with suggestions for advancing racial justice in Social Security programs in addressing the legacy of exclusion and informing responses to other threats of programmatic disparate treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are distinct individual trajectories of depressive symptoms across adolescence which are most often differentiated into low, moderate/stable, and high/increasing groups. Research has found genetic predisposition for depression associated with trajectories characterized by greater depressive symptoms. However, the majority of this research has been conducted in White youth. Moreover, a separate literature indicates that trajectories with elevated depressive symptoms can result in substance use. It is critical to identify depressive symptom trajectories, genetic predictors, and substance use outcomes in diverse samples in early adolescence to understand distinct processes and convey equitable benefits from research. Using data from the Adolescent Cognitive Brain Development Study (ABCD), we examined parent-reported depressive symptom trajectories within Black/African American (AA, n = 1783), White/European American (EA, n = 6179), and Hispanic/Latinx (LX, n = 2410) youth across four annual assessments in early adolescence (age 9–10 to 12–13). We examined racially/ethnically aligned polygenic scores (Dep-PGS) as predictors of trajectories as well as substance use intent and perceived substance use harm as outcomes at age 12–13. Differential trajectories were found in AA, EA, and LX youth but low and high trajectories were represented within each group. In EA youth, greater Dep-PGS were broadly associated with membership in trajectories with greater depressive symptoms. Genetic effects were not significant in AA and LX youth. In AA youth, membership in the low trajectory was associated with greater substance use intent. In EA youth, membership in trajectories with higher depressive symptoms was associated with greater substance use intent and less perceived harm. There were no associations between trajectories and substance use intent and perceived harm in LX youth. These findings indicate that there are distinct depressive symptom trajectories in AA, EA, and LX youth, accompanied by unique associations with genetic predisposition for depressive symptoms and substance use outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black male youth are at greatest risk of disparate contact and detention in the U.S. juvenile justice system. This study aims to identify recidivism risk/need patterns among African American male youth in the Ohio juvenile justice system, utilizing cluster analysis of risk assessment data from the Ohio Youth Assessment System-Disposition (OYAS-DIS). We found four distinct risk patterns and accompanying recidivism rates in the Black male youth population. Two of the clusters exhibited moderate levels of risk. However, they had significantly different recidivism outcomes, suggesting certain combinations of risk factors have more or less impact the propensity for crime in the Black male sample. Implications for policy and practice are discussed, as well as future directions for research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ingeniería Solidaria is the property of Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Little is known regarding the polygenic underpinnings of anomalous resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in youth bipolar disorder (BD). The current study examined the association of polygenic risk for BD (BD-PRS) with whole-brain rsFC at the large-scale network level in youth with and without BD. 99 youth of European ancestry (56 BD, 43 healthy controls [HC]), ages 13–20 years, completed resting-state fMRI scans. BD-PRS was calculated using summary statistics from the latest adult BD genome-wide association study. Data-driven independent component analyses of the resting-state fMRI data were implemented to examine the association of BD-PRS with rsFC in the overall sample, and separately in BD and HC. In the overall sample, higher BD-PRS was associated with lower rsFC of the salience network and higher rsFC of the frontoparietal network with frontal and parietal regions. Within the BD group, higher BD-PRS was associated with higher rsFC of the default mode network with orbitofrontal cortex, and altered rsFC of the visual network with frontal and occipital regions. Within the HC group, higher BD-PRS was associated with altered rsFC of the frontoparietal network with frontal, temporal and occipital regions. In conclusion, the current study found that BD-PRS generated based on adult genetic data was associated with altered rsFC patterns of brain networks in youth. Our findings support the usefulness of BD-PRS to investigate genetically influenced neuroimaging markers of vulnerability to BD, which can be observed in youth with BD early in their course of illness as well as in healthy youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]