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Postwar migrants from the Caribbean and Indian subcontinent (Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan) to the UK are now experiencing the onset of age‐related diseases such as dementia. Our evidence base, both quantitative and qualitative, documenting the experiences of family caregivers of people with dementia is largely drawn from studies undertaken with white European, North American, and Australasian populations. Consequently, there is a need for research in the field of dementia caregiving to reflect the increasing diversity in ethnic identities of the older adult population of the UK. Using semistructured interviews, we investigated the experiences of 18 caregivers of people with dementia in Black Caribbean, Black African, and South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi) communities in England. Participants were recruited from the Join Dementia Research platform and were predominantly female intergenerational carers. We identified the following three themes: motivation to care (spending time with the care recipient and reciprocity), positive and negative consequences of caregiving (rewards and consequences), and the cultural context of caregiving (cultural norms and values supporting caregiving and negative attitudes towards dementia). Our findings develop existing literature by identifying (a) the importance of spending time with the person they care for, (b) the absence of faith as a caregiving driver, and (c) the challenge of watching the declining health of a parent. We highlight how the different motivations to care are intertwined and dynamic. This is illustrated by the linking of obligation and reciprocity in our dataset and positive and negative experiences of caregiving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on social isolation and mental health among Black populations is underdeveloped. Using a nationally representative sample, our study examined the association between social isolation, depressive symptoms and psychological distress among African Americans (AAs) and Black Caribbeans (BCs). For both AAs and BCs, we found interpersonal and subjective isolation were associated with greater depressive symptoms. Greater distress was associated with greater subjective isolation and lower structural isolation for AAs; however, greater interpersonal isolation was associated with greater distress for BCs. Findings from this study may inform evidence-based interventions to mitigate isolation and improve mental health among AAs and BCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This manuscript focuses on the communication factors that affect the willingness of African Americans and Black Caribbean patients to participate in clinical trials and research studies. Low rates of research participation by members of communities of color have long been linked to health disparities. While there are many factors that contribute to low rates of accrual of African American and Black patients to clinical trials, a lack of attention to communication factors that enhance or inhibit the recruitment process is central to the problem. In this study, we describe results from the analysis of six focus groups (N = 31) consisting of African American (k = 3) and Black Caribbean (k = 3) participants. Our analyses focus on verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors and how they affect participants' willingness to participate in clinical trials. Specifically, when clinical research coordinators (CRCs) had a professional appearance, made the effort to explain a study in detail, made eye contact, took the time to listen and answer questions patiently, and gave the sense that the CRC was being truthful and transparent, patients felt respected and valued. Additionally, participants emphasized the importance of the process of developing and maintaining a trusting relationship between study participants and CRCs. The results of this study will be used to develop a clinical trial communication training program designed to enhance the communication skills of clinical research coordinators who discuss research participation with African American and Caribbean Black patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are disproportionately impacted by socioeconomic deprivation and are at increased risk of developing other long‐term conditions (LTCs). These illnesses require transformative action to tackle the adverse effects on their health. Data on lived experiences of LTCs among people living with HIV of Black African and Black Caribbean ethnicities are sparse, and how people with LTCs are impacted by social determinants of health (SDoH). Methods: Through a phenomenological study design this qualitative study, conducted in 2022, comprised four focus group discussions (FGDs) with 20 people of Black ethnicities living with HIV were purposively invited from a community organisation (CO) in London, including four semistructured interviews with CO staff. Following transcription, qualitative data were analysed thematically and measures to validate the findings were implemented. Results: The findings are presented in terms of the following four levels of SDoH: (1) individual determinants (such as the impact of SDoH on lifestyle modification and self‐management); (2) interpersonal determinants (such as positive experiences of accessing healthcare for LTCs); (3) clinical determinants (such as care pathway barriers) and (4) systemic determinants (such as systemic barriers related to race/ethnicity). Conclusions: It is necessary to provide ongoing and interactive education to community members who live with HIV, focusing on risks and management of LTCs. Additionally, individuals would benefit from support to navigate increasingly complex and fragmented health services. Health Service staff require cultural competence when caring for patients of Black African and Black Caribbean ethnicities with complex health and psychosocial needs. Patient or Public Contribution: The research team collaborated with an HIV CO in South London from the very start of the project to agree the study design and learn about the realities of their daily lived experiences. Community collaborators helped to develop the semistructured interview and FGD topic guides, and were directly involved in the data gathering, analysis and validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Culture Trap focuses on a fascinating and analytically important case: the schooling of Black Caribbean youth in London and New York City and the role of different ethnic expectations in the two contexts. It demonstrates the great value of cross-national comparisons and raises a series of questions for further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through exploration of Black Caribbean youths' feelings of unbelonging and exclusion in Ontario schools, this paper argues that how Whiteness is systemically engrained in the education system negatively affects the learning experiences of Black youth due to predetermined measures of belonging. The present article draws on data from 32 qualitative interviews and four focus groups with 23 Black Caribbean youth. Findings reveal challenges youth commonly face when navigating relationships with peers and educators that hinder their academic success. These challenges are exacerbated for youth who are also involved in the state's child protection system. Participants described feeling disadvantaged in the education system due to perceptions that they are academically unprepared and thus unable to excel. Through a Critical Race Theory and Anti-Black Racism analytical framework, the findings illustrate how systemic barriers coupled with the normalization of low expectations impact the educational success and opportunities of Black Caribbean youth in Ontario schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the perception of African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) religious leaders on HIV vulnerability and their role in HIV prevention among ACB communities in Windsor, Ontario. We conducted one semi-structured focus group discussion with nine Black religious leaders, most of whose congregants are members of the ACB community. Most religious leaders in the focus group had a negative perception of the transmission of HIV, but they acknowledged their own important role in HIV prevention strategies. This role is collaborative in nature, from the stage of designing HIV prevention strategies to implementing prevention messages. The religious leaders noted, however, that some challenges, such as church doctrine and congregational culture, are likely to impede their HIV prevention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomedical advances in healthcare and antiretroviral treatment or therapy (ART) have transformed HIV/AIDS from a death sentence to a manageable chronic disease. Studies demonstrate that people living with HIV who adhere to antiretroviral therapy can achieve viral suppression or undetectability, which is fundamental for optimizing health outcomes, decreasing HIV-related mortality and morbidity, and preventing HIV transmission. African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) communities in Canada remain structurally disadvantaged and bear a disproportionate burden of HIV despite biomedical advancements in HIV treatment and prevention. This institutional ethnography orients to the concept of 'structural violence' to illuminate how inequities shape the daily experiences of ACB people living with HIV across the HIV care cascade. We conducted textual analysis and in-depth interviews with ACB people living with HIV (n = 20) and health professionals including healthcare providers, social workers, frontline workers, and health policy actors (n = 15). Study findings produce a cumulative understanding that biomedical HIV discourses and practices ignore structural violence embedded in Canada's social fabric, including legislation, policies and institutional practices that produce inequities and shape the social world of Black communities. Findings show that inequities in structural and social determinants of health such as food insecurity, financial and housing instability, homelessness, precarious immigration status, stigma, racial discrimination, anti-Black racism, criminalization of HIV non-disclosure, health systems barriers and privacy concerns intersect to constrain engagement and retention in HIV healthcare and ART adherence, contributing to the uncertainty of achieving and maintaining undetectability and violating their right to health. Biomedical discourses and practices, and inequities reduce Black people to a stigmatized, pathologized, and impoverished detectable viral underclass. Black people perceived as nonadherent to ART and maintain detectable viral loads are considered "bad" patients while privileged individuals who achieve undetectability are considered "good" patients. An effective response to ending HIV/AIDS requires implementing policies and institutional practices that address inequities in structural and social determinants of health among ACB people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Racial socialization is a dynamic process for youth of color, especially for Black adolescents. What is less known is how the provision of racial socialization practices and messages may differ for varying ethnic groups of Black adolescents and what sociodemographic factors contribute to this difference. As such, this cross-sectional study investigated how African American and Black Caribbean adolescents are racially socialized by parents and support systems, including socialization frequency, sociodemographic contributors, and content. A sample of 1170 adolescents (Black Caribbean: n = 360; African American: n = 810) from the National Survey of American Life-Adolescents were assessed. Latent class analysis depicted two classes of socialization provision in both African American and Black Caribbean samples, as adolescents with greater provision received it most from family members across ethnic groups while friends were a distinguishing socializing agent across classes and ethnicities. Further, Black Caribbean adolescents socialized at a high frequency were not often socialized by other adults or friends, just parents and other family members. Some key demographic differences differentiated this provision, with region and income being the most prominent for African American and Black Caribbean families respectively. Finally, messages were fairly consistent across ethnic groups, save the advice to "keep it real" being significantly more provided to African American adolescents. Implications of these findings are relevant for interventions seeking to bolster socialization efforts across support systems and ethnic groups within the Black diaspora, with specific attention towards adolescents receiving "low" levels of socialization across their support system. Highlights: racial socialization messaging for African Americans is largely dependent on their social support networks; the patterning of racial socialization among Black Caribbean youth differed from that of African American youth driven by families; key sociodemographic characteristics differentiated patterns of racial socialization for African American and Black Caribbean youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenges that Caribbean families encounter are multidimensional: social, economic, and environmental (Lacey et al., 2017). As a culture that values the influence of families (Barrow, 1996), it is unknown how they cope with difficulties. The present study was guided by the research question: What are the experiences and resources of family resilience among English-speaking Caribbean families? This mixed methods research study explored family resilience among Caribbean families. The qualitative component was an arts-informed phenomenological design of interviews and artmaking of 19 families. During the same phase, 179 persons completed a survey on their family's experiences through the Family Resilience Assessment Scale (Sixbey, 2005). The results converged between the theme on financial challenges as strength for family resilience and statistical results on socioeconomic resources significant relationship with family resilience; reliance on internal family connectedness theme converged with no significant difference in family type; and the barriers to family resilience theme converged with no significant relationship between family resilience by family size and education. English-speaking Caribbean families have complex resources that support family resilience. To support family resilience, a multisystemic approach should be considered, which includes storytelling, faith and spirituality, administration of the Family Resilience Assessment Scale, and the extended family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black youth face marginalization at multiple levels, which can have deleterious developmental consequences. An important focus is the misrepresentation of Black emotional expression at the intersection of structural racism and clinical psychology. As efforts to incorporate anti‐racism in psychological care continue, there is a need to increase specificity to improve clinical efforts. The white hegemony for both boys and girls leads to the dehumanization of Black teens, which often leads to misdiagnosis and incomplete treatment plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Black women in the United Kingdom are more likely than White women to be diagnosed with advanced breast cancer and have lower survival rates. We consulted women of Black Caribbean and Black African descent in the United Kingdom on how the Promoting Early Presentation (PEP) booklet and intervention could be adapted for Black women to promote early presentation with breast cancer symptoms. Methods: Focus groups with 22 women of Black African and Black Caribbean descent, of whom five had been treated for breast cancer. The participants were recruited from a large UK breast cancer charity and community settings. Data were analysed using Framework Analysis. Results: Four themes summarised the participants' views on how the booklet and intervention could be adapted: Justify the focus on Black women, Black people do not talk about cancer, Make interventions inclusive and engaging, and Engage Black communities to deliver interventions. Conclusion: Breast cancer behaviour change interventions need to be more inclusive, illustrate how breast cancer symptoms manifest on black skin, and emphasise that breast cancer is curable to increase awareness and reduce cancer fear. Researchers should involve Black communities in the design and delivery of interventions to address appropriately cultural barriers to early presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives This study investigates church-based informal social support among older African Americans and Black Caribbeans. In particular, we examine the correlates of receiving emotional support as well as negative interactions (e.g. criticisms) from church members. Methods The analysis is based on the older African American (n = 829) and Black Caribbean (n = 271) subsample of the National Survey of American Life. The analysis utilizes multiple group structural equation modeling (SEM) to test a model of church support networks. Results There were no significant differences between older African Americans and older Black Caribbeans in the frequency of service attendance, contact with church members (seeing, writing, talking), emotional support from church members, or negative interactions with church members. However, a comparison of SEM analysis indicates that the number and pattern of relationships are different. For instance, among African Americans church attendance was associated with emotional support, but among Black Caribbeans attendance did not have a direct or indirect effect on emotional support. Our findings also indicate that among older African Americans, women attend religious services more frequently and both receive emotional support and engage in negative interactions with church members more frequently than men. Among Black Caribbeans, however, men attend religious services less frequently than women but also have more negative interactions with church members. Discussion For both African American and Black Caribbean older adults, church members are an important element of their social support networks. Our analysis also underscores the importance of contact with church members for receiving emotional support for both populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Discrimination is a major contributor to health disparities between Black and White older adults. Although the health effects of discrimination are well established, less is known about factors that may intervene in the discrimination–health connection, such as coping strategies. The study aim was to determine whether John Henryism (JH; high-effort coping) moderates the association between racial discrimination and hypertension in nationally representative samples of older African Americans and Caribbean Blacks. Methods The analytic sample was drawn from the National Survey of American Life—Reinterview, which was conducted 2001–2003, and included African Americans (N = 546) and Caribbean Blacks (N = 141) aged 55 and older. Study variables included racial discrimination, JH, and hypertension. Logistic regressions, which controlled key sociodemographic differences, were used to test the study aim. Results Among both Black ethnic groups, discrimination and JH were not associated with hypertension. For African Americans low and moderate in JH, discrimination was unrelated to hypertension; discrimination was positively associated with hypertension for African Americans high in JH. For Caribbean Blacks, discrimination was positively associated with hypertension among respondents low in JH. Among Caribbean Blacks moderate and high in JH, discrimination was not associated with hypertension. Discussion The findings indicate that JH, in the face of discrimination, is associated with hypertension of older African Americans but may be an effective coping strategy for older Caribbean Blacks due to cultural and sociodemographic differences between the 2 ethnic groups. Future research should investigate the differing mechanisms by which JH influences health in heterogeneous older Black populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a qualitative exploration of individuals identifying as 'mixed white and Black Caribbean' (MWBC) in Britain. The focus of this research aimed to answer the question, 'how do mixed white and Black Caribbean millennials in Britain experience their identity?' Six participants, aged 22–31 years, were interviewed about their family, relationships and personal values. The results were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis and highlighted three main themes: 'Public Perception', 'Caribbean Heritage' and 'Conversations'. Each theme was analysed from an integrative psychotherapeutic viewpoint, before concluding with suggestions for counsellors and psychotherapists working with this client group in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives : This study examined the frequency and impact of traumatic events on the mental health of older African American and Black Caribbean adults. Methods : The current study used data from the National Survey of American Life of 1,135 African American and 426 Black Caribbean adults aged 50 and older. Analysis examined the impact of traumatic events on both positive (i.e., happiness and life satisfaction) and negative (i.e., depressive symptoms, psychological distress, and 12-month anti-depressant use) domains of mental health. Results : Findings indicate that approximately 80% of older African Americans and Black Caribbeans reported experiencing a traumatic event at some point in their lifetime. Among African Americans assaultive violence was associated with more depressive symptoms, lower levels of life satisfaction, and lower levels of happiness. This was not the case among Black Caribbeans. Conclusions : These findings provide preliminary insight in mental health outcomes for older African American and Black Caribbean adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study examined differences in major and everyday discrimination between African Americans, Black Caribbeans, and non-Latino White older adults. Methods: Data are taken from the National Survey of American Life. Measures of major (e.g., unfairly fired and harassed by police) and everyday (e.g., treated with less courtesy, insulted, and followed in stores) discrimination were examined. Results: Both African Americans and Black Caribbeans reported more major and everyday discrimination than non-Latino Whites. However, there were no significant differences between African Americans and Whites with regards to being fired, neighbors making life difficult and receiving poor service. There were no significant differences between African Americans and Black Caribbeans in major or everyday discrimination. Discussion: The discussion notes the importance of examining racial as well as within group ethnic differences within the Black American population in the types of discrimination. It also notes the importance of examining indicators of both major and everyday discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study assessed whether multiple stress exposures and stress accumulation explained differences in physical health among Afro-Caribbean and African American women in older adulthood. Whether specific stressors uniquely influenced the health of African American and Afro-Caribbean women was also examined. Methods: Data were drawn from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL) (N =867; 50 years and older). Physical health was assessed by multiple chronic conditions, functional limitations, and self-rated health. Weighted binary logistic regression and ordered logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results: Compared to Afro-Caribbean women, African American women had worse physical health and greater stress exposure. Nonetheless, stress exposure did not explain ethnic differences in physical health. The association between specific measures of stress and physical health was dependent on the stressor and physical health measure. Discussion: Findings emphasize the importance of ethnic variation in health and stress exposure among older US Black women. Study implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to the article "Reducing Health Disparities Among African American and Black Caribbean Patients by Improving the Communication Practices of Clinical Research Coordinators" that was published in a 2023 issue is presented.

Objectives: Although the relationship between perceived discrimination and mental health among Black youth is well-documented, the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. Drawing from the stress process model, this study examines two psychosocial mediators – self-esteem and self-efficacy – in the association between perceived discrimination and mental health among African American and Caribbean Black adolescents. This research addresses three primary research questions: First, how is perceived discrimination associated with mental health? Second, to what extent do self-esteem and self-efficacy mediate the relationship between perceived discrimination and mental health? Finally, do these relationships and processes differ between African American and Caribbean Black adolescents? Design: Data for these analyses come from the National Survey of American Life – Adolescent Supplement. We use generalized structural equation modeling to examine relationships among perceived discrimination, psychosocial resources, and mental health. Results: For both African American and Caribbean Black adolescents, more frequent perceptions of discriminatory events were associated with greater depressive symptoms and a higher likelihood of having an anxiety disorder diagnosis. However, the association between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms was significantly stronger for Caribbean Black adolescents. Generally, self-esteem and self-efficacy were found to be significant mediators in the association between perceived discrimination and mental health, although mechanisms varied between African American and Caribbean Black youth. Conclusion: African American and Caribbean Black adolescents are highly susceptible to experiences of discrimination that negatively affect their mental health. Heterogeneity among Black youth populations must be considered when developing interventions to reduce exposure to and the effects of discrimination among these adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African, Caribbean and Black immigrants face persistent legislative barriers to accessing healthcare services in Canada. This Institutional Ethnography examines how structural violence and exclusionary legislative frameworks restrict the right to HIV healthcare access for many Black immigrants. We conducted semi-structured interviews with Black immigrants living with HIV (n = 20) and healthcare workers in Toronto, Canada (n = 15), and analyzed relevant policy texts. Findings revealed that exclusionary immigration and healthcare legislation shaping and regulating immigrants' right to health restricted access to public resources, including health insurance and HIV healthcare and related services, subjecting Black immigrants with precarious status to structural violence. Healthcare providers and administrative staff worked as healthcare gatekeepers. These barriers undermine public health efforts of advancing health equity and ending HIV "while leaving no one behind." We urge continued policy reforms in Canada's immigration and healthcare systems regarding HIV care access for Canada's precarious status immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the mental health challenges of residents of Barbados during the COVID-19 pandemic and the relationships between residents' demographics, COVID-19 perceptions and mental health outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: The study surveyed 450 predominantly Black Caribbean respondents to examine their mental ill-health on the various dimensions of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)-28 measure and the relationships with demographics and COVID-19 perceptions. Findings: Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the four-factor model solution of GHQ-28 over the single factor solution. Barbadians were generally mild in their mental ill-health on the somatic symptoms, social dysfunction and severe depression dimensions but were at least moderately strained on the anxiety and insomnia dimensions. Younger and unemployed Barbadian respondents reported more adverse mental health outcomes, and perceived severity of COVID-19 infection significantly predicted three of the four dimensions of mental distress (excluding severe depression). Research limitations/implications: The study used a cross-sectional self-report survey research design which does not permit causal inferences. Further research is advised to ascertain the longitudinal effects of COVID-19 perceptions over time on mental health outcomes. Practical implications: The study's findings suggest the need for nation-wide, multi-stakeholder interventions or approaches in responding mental health challenges of the population during this crisis. Originality/value: The study was the first to examine the mental health outcomes, using GHQ-28, in a small Caribbean country – which represents an underserved space in mental health research. It is the first to empirically examine the relationship between COVID-19 perceptions of Afro-Caribbean people in this region and their resultant mental health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the aftermath of adult homicide on Trinidadian mothers. This is an understudied population, and the ability of these mothers to cope with the aftermath of such a tragedy needs to be fully acknowledged in order to understand their mental health status after the traumatic death of an adult child. This study utilized a narrative analysis approach to interview 20 mothers and used NVIVO 12 software to analyze the data. The findings highlight that factors such as multiple deaths, the scale of loss, and attempts to seek justice complicated the grief process. Although none of the mothers interviewed were diagnosed with a grief disorder, it was evident that their grief was indeed traumatic. It took more than a year for some mothers to find ways and opportunities for resilience, while others continue to struggle in the aftermath. Homicidally bereaved mothers are a distinct population that should be studied as they have the experiential knowledge and are willing to share the feelings and trauma-related needs after their loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research suggests that African Americans may be more likely to experience depression, especially severe depression, than other racial or ethnic groups in the United States. Overall there is scant research comparing the relationship between ethnicity and depression among the U.S. Black population. The purpose of this study is to identify the most significant biopsychosocial factors social workers can address in the prevention and treatment of depression in African American and first generations Caribbean Black clients. Data was from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Bivariate associations showed that respondents who reported higher self-esteem, lower hopelessness, higher sense of mastery, and lower discrimination showed lower likelihood of having Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The logistic regression model suggested that respondents who have ever had a chronic disease were more likely to report depression than those who have not ever had a chronic disease. Caribbean Blacks were more likely to report depression compared to African Americans. Additionally, respondents who reported higher discrimination scores were more likely to report depression. This study suggests that social workers should embrace the interconnectedness and holistic approach of the biopsychosocial model in their case conceptualizations, prevention strategies, and treatment modalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Despite Black African (BA) and Black Caribbean (BC) men having a disproportionately high risk (1 in 4) of developing prostate cancer (CaP), there is limited understanding of their decision‐making for treatment choice. This study explored decision‐making for treatment choice among BA/BC men treated for CaP. Methods: Using constructivist grounded theory, face‐to‐face, Skype and telephone interviews were conducted with 25 Black men (8 BA, 17 BC) recruited in England between October 2016 and March 2018. Data were analysed using constant comparison until saturation was achieved. Results: Data analysis yielded three broad categories: 'coming to terms with the prostate cancer diagnosis', 'getting empowerment through information‐seeking' and 'choosing a treatment option'. Priority for survival substantially motivated BA/BC men to take up radical treatment for their CaP. However, decision‐making for a particular treatment option was a more complex process which was shaped by an intersection between biological, behavioural, medical, personal and cultural factors. Conclusions: Healthcare providers need to consider the complexity of decision‐making process for CaP treatment among BA/BC men and tailor cancer care services to reflect cultural sensitivity and person‐centredness. This could potentially minimise treatment decision regrets and improve men's psychological wellbeing along the CaP survivorship pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the National Survey of American Life, we investigated the social and demographic correlates of fictive kin network involvement among African Americans, Black Caribbeans, and non-Latino Whites. Specifically, we examined the factors shaping whether respondents have fictive kin, the number of fictive present kin in their networks, and the frequency with which they received support from fictive kin. Overall, 87% of respondents had a fictive kin relationship, the average network size was 7.5, and 61% of participants routinely received fictive kin support. Affective closeness and contact with family, friends, and church members were positively associated with fictive kin relations. Age, region, income, and marital and parental status were related to fictive kin network involvement, though these associations varied by race/ethnicity. Collectively, findings indicate that fictive kin ties extend beyond marginalized communities, and they operate as a means to strengthen family bonds, rather than substitute for family deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HIV-related stigma impedes adoption and implementation of effective HIV prevention and treatment strategies. It may also exacerbate racial/ethnic HIV disparities. Given high levels of religious observance within African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) communities and the social capital that faith-based organizations hold, these entities may be promising venues for stigma-remediation and effective partners in community-based, HIV-focused programing. However, more research is needed to understand HIV-related stigma in these institutions. This study examines HIV-related stigma among six ACB churches in Ontario, Canada. Surveys were distributed to ACB attendees (N = 316) and linear regressions determined relationships between HIV-related stigma and stigma subdomains with demographics, greater disagreement with same-sex relationships, HIV knowledge, and religiosity. Greater disagreement with same-sex relationships was the only variable associated with the HIV-related stigma scale and all of its subscales. Age, gender, HIV knowledge, religiosity, contact with persons living with HIV, and length of time in Canada were associated with varying aspects of HIV-related stigma. Findings can inform the development of HIV-related stigma interventions and the characteristics of individuals these efforts should target to achieve maximum impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction is presented to the article "African Americans, Caribbean Blacks and Depression: Which Biopsychosocial Factors Should Social Workers Focus On? Results from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL)" published in a previous issue of the periodical.

The article discusses how Black Caribbean cinema is transforming the socio-political-cultural-economic organization by visualizing an emancipatory future-present for Black lives with reference to theories of filmmakers Sylvia Wynter and Rinaldo Walcott. Topics include how cinema visualizes Black lives, drives paradigmatic shifts, and potentially contributes to a global and popular Imaginary; and how the films visualize and document modes of resistance to the oppressive legacy of white hegemony.

This article suggests that racism was a strategic military liability in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century wars between Britain and France in the Caribbean, wars which, ironically, coincided with the rise of abolitionism in both nations. The French Revolution, meanwhile, had provoked slave uprisings on many of the Caribbean islands. The article focuses on the actions of General Sir John Moore, Captain Thomas Southey, and Governor Victor Hugues, whose supposed abolitionism was contradicted by their belief that blacks could not govern themselves or be proper soldiers without white leadership. Their actions are contrasted with those of Sir John Jeremie, whose non-racist abolitionism cost him his career. Thus, both the British and French underestimated the black rebels' capabilities and routinely executed black prisoners of war rather than ransoming or imprisoning them. These tendencies made Caribbean campaigns longer and bloodier than they might otherwise have been. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on pubertal development among Black boys is limited. Addressing this gap, we examined associations between three pubertal domains (e.g., voice change, hair growth, and perceived relative timing), depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and self-efficacy, among a nationally representative sample of 395 African American and 164 Caribbean Black boys (Mage  = 15 years). Moderation by ethnic-racial identity (e.g., racial centrality, racial regard) was also explored. Results indicated that for both ethnic subgroups early voice change increased self-esteem; whereas early voice change increased depressive symptoms among boys who felt society views Blacks more negatively. Buffering effects of ethnic-racial identity also varied significantly between the two groups. Findings suggest that the meaning Black boys ascribe to their ethnic-racial group may explain puberty-linked outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The chapter explores the intersection of multimodal and digital literacies and racial identities of Black Caribbean immigrant youth in the United States (U.S.). Drawing on ethnographic research on the ways in which adolescent students embody their identities online, the chapter details some of the tensions that arise when these adolescents attempt to navigate a new home country that racializes their cultural and national identities and literacy practices. Context: The chapter offers a meta-analysis of case studies five Black Caribbean immigrant adolescents' multimodal and digital literacy practices in response to the racialized category "Black." Looking across four ethnographic case studies, and through the thematic metaanalysis of data, the chapter presents data snapshots of pivotal events that reflect issues of race. These events highlight the dialogic ways that these youth make use of literacy practices to understand what it means to be Black and immigrant, and to challenge these dominant, racialized representations that negate their cultural identities. Purpose: The purpose of the chapter is to explore the tensions that arise when these adolescents attempt to navigate a new home country that racializes their cultural and national identities and literacy practices. In the case of Black Caribbean immigrant youth, part of this newcomer experience involves negotiating what "race" and "blackness" mean in terms of their academic, social, and personal lives. Thus, the chapter illustrates how young people use their modally and digitally mediated practices to negotiate racialized positionings across physical and virtual spaces, affinity groups, and the school and social contexts of their adopted U.S. homes. Findings: As Black Caribbean immigrants, these young persons engage in emotional identity work in their talk about and/or experiences of race. The adolescents' emotional response to racialized categories was defined by contesting feelings of pride, shame, and resilience. Two salient themes that characterized these tensions are the conflicting sense of 1) national pride versus the racial prejudice, and 2) deficit versus worthy. Their feelings of self-worth were intrinsically connected to racialized identity labels "Black" and "immigrant." However, the modal tools and spaces they used and created serve as sites of resilience and identity (re)framing. Conclusions: Adolescents developed their own personal and/or public voice that allowed them to reevaluate their self-worth, importance of social status, opportunities for advocacy, and their redefinitions of identity labels. Modal spaces and tools offered these adolescents alternative frames of reference within which they could evaluate and reposition Self. The intentional responses of these Black immigrant youth offered positive ways to see and present themselves while challenging deficit narratives of persons of color. Recommendation: Explore immigrant adolescents' use of modal and digital tools and literacies as spaces for socially reconstructing notions of race and identity. Consider modal and virtual digital spaces and tools (e.g., social networks, blogs, photographs/images, talk/stories) as a way to create opportunities for youth to air and share their experiences and ideas, as well as have their stories and positionalities become a part of the broader educational and societal narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Context: Immigrants are described as somewhat fixed in their geographical locations and activities in the world, having made a permanent move from their nation of origin to a new homeland. In contrast, transnational people are defined as those who live their lives across two or more nations and hold strong, multiple attachments to their nation-states. Frameworks of race are often centered in studies of the language and literacy practices of immigrant youth while transnational theories are typically prioritized in studies of transnational youths' language and literacy practices. Research Questions/Participants: This article explores extant research on the language and literacy practices and experiences of Black immigrant and Black transnational youth of Caribbean origin for whom the U.S. is a home. The purpose is to uncover similarities, differences, and nuances that may exist between the language and literacy practices and experiences of these populations. Research Design: The extant research was analyzed through theoretical concepts such as micro-cultures, ethnoracial assignment and ethnoracial identity, raciolinguistics, and language and literacy as social practices. Findings: Literacies prominent for both Black immigrant and Black transnational youth include reading, writing, the performing arts, and digital literacies. Analysis found that Black immigrant and Black transnational youth, through their language and literacy practices, undertake significant work in deconstructing Blackness as a monolithic racial category. The youths' motivations for language and literacy use and transformation are conceptualized as efforts to make visible multiple ethnoracial identities and microcultural practices within an overarching racial category of Blackness. Analysis further found that Black immigrant and Black transnational youths' experiences with racial, cultural, and linguistic discrimination lead many to subsume their original linguistic and literacy practices beneath the language and literacy practices of dominant ethnoracial groups in their new nations. In the case of Black transnationals, analysis found that they hold thick bonds to their countries of origin and new nations. Further, some transnationals have opportunities to spend extended time and employ their culturally influenced languages and literacies to a fuller degree in nations that hold appreciative perspectives on these repertoires. Such circumstances appear to promote Black transnationals' abilities to continue developing and valuing their unique ethnoracial identities and ethnoculturally diverse language and literacy practices. Analysis further found that the multiple language and literacy practices of many Black immigrant youth are motivated by their longings to belong to diverse communities and connect to multicultural groups. However, these desires of youths' were not oriented solely toward their new nation-states. Rather many Black immigrant youth actively seek out connection and consolidation of their homelands of origin and their new nations through language, literacy, and cultural practices. Analysis confirmed that this is a primary motivation for language and literacy development and use in transnational youth. Conclusion: This article challenges the binary categories of immigrant and transnational using the cases of Black youth of Caribbean origin and their language and literacy practices. Its findings call for a more dynamic reconceptualization of the relationships among racial, immigrant, and transnational youth identities, literacies, and languages. Given the similarity of goals in the identity, language, and literacy practices of Black immigrant and Black transnational youth, this analysis argues that literacy research knowledge about Black immigrant youth can be enhanced by applying transnational as well as racial frameworks. Likewise, the article proposes that given the similarities of language and literacy goals, practices, and experiences, including racial and ethnic discrimination, shared by Black immigrant and Black transnational youth, future literacy research can undertake more explicit investigations of transnational youth's experiences through racial frameworks. The article suggests that knowledge of this kind can support scholars and educators in theorizing and designing educational spaces and curricula that enable all youth, notwithstanding their self- or other-assigned racial or sociopolitical categorization as native-born, immigrant, or transnational, to actualize while critically analyzing, the full range and diversity of their identities, languages, and literacies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Black population is more likely to experience obesity and to be debilitated by associated illnesses. Much evidence exists linking obesity to many chronic diseases, but the relationship with self-reported health is not clear. The study aims were to examine the relationship between obesity and self-reported health across four race- and gender-specific groups of Black Americans and to assess whether health disparities are race or gender driven. Data were drawn from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL) to estimate separate multivariate logistic regression models for 5,191 persons. Using logistic regression analysis, odds of reporting reduced health in obese individuals were compared with those for healthier weight individuals, adjusting for known controls. Among African American men, African American women, and Caribbean Black women, there was a statistically significant association between obesity and self-rated health (p < .001). The proportion of persons reporting excellent health decreased with increasing level of obesity in all groups, but more pronounced among both racial groups of women. The results of this study provide evidence that obesity has a negative impact on self-rated health among Black Americans, excluding Caribbean Black men, even in the absence of a chronic disease such as diabetes. Health professionals should focus on preventive healthy weight strategies and interventions that are culturally specific and relevant in order to address the obesity health disparity in African American and Caribbean Black women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To better understand within-group variability in positive parenting practices among low-income Black families, the present study, grounded in a multidimensional comparative framework, examined (a) patterns of positive parenting practices among U.S.-born African American parents and Black Caribbean immigrant parents and (b) the extent to which these patterns related to parents' daily family social support, parents' social sensitivities, and children's social-emotional outcomes.Method: A person-oriented approach was employed with data from 524 African American and Black Caribbean immigrant parents (mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts/uncles) of preschool-aged children in Head Start.Results: Multistage hierarchical cluster analysis revealed that although the best solution for both ethnic groups was a 5-profile solution, the particular profiles that emerged across the 2 groups were distinct. Further, different parenting practices were salient among the 'high positive parenting' profiles and 'low positive parenting' for African Americans and Caribbean immigrants. In addition, demographic factors (education, gender, and marital status) differentially related to patterns of positive parenting across the 2 ethnic groups, and these patterns of parenting were associated with children's social emotional development and parenting resources in meaningful ways.Conclusions: Findings underscore the importance of conducting within-group studies that examine variability across ethnocultural groups identified as belonging to the same racial group. Indeed, there was variation in the manifestations of positive parenting within and across the ethnic groups included in this study (i.e., African Americans and Caribbean immigrants) that can inform future research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article presents a new theory on the origin of the calenda (also known as calinda, colinda, corlinda, and caringa) by analyzing the term from an Iberian perspective. It claims that the term should not be understood as a type of dance or song, but as a festive period in the Iberian calendar. It explains the calenda with reference to an Afro-Iberian substratum in Black performance culture in the Americas and highlights the role of brotherhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We know that people from black African and black Caribbean communities are more likely to develop high blood pressure, but what is less known is how the condition is understood and managed in these populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In conjunction with this special issue ofAtlantic Studies, the Early Caribbean Digital Archive (ECDA) – developed at Northeastern University and available at ecdaproject.org – has created a collaborative archival project, “Obeah and the Caribbean.” This project consists, in part, of a digital exhibit of original obeah texts including a number of the primary sources that are discussed throughout the articles in this volume ofAtlantic Studies. The ECDA is designed to serve not only as a repository but also as a digital commons and laboratory space for researchers and students interested in the early Caribbean: users of the site can curate, annotate, and discuss early Caribbean materials that are included in the archive. We invite readers of this issue to further engage and experiment with primary sources and to collaborate with other scholars by way of this exhibit and the digital workspace of the ECDA + CoLab. In the brief essay below, we discuss some of the core intellectual issues that inform the ECDA and our project on obeah. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Using the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS), this paper investigates the impact of race and ethnicity, class and naturalization on the voter registration and subsequent assimilation of second-generation Caribbean immigrants into the USA. Drawing from both classical and contemporary models of assimilation, I conduct a comparative analysis of Afro-Caribbeans and Cuban immigrants using voter registration as the primary measure of integration. Although the assimilation literature typically characterizes Cubans as upwardly mobile, this study shows that this is not a distinguishing feature for this group because Afro-Caribbeans are gaining higher levels of upward mobility compared to Cubans with respect to political incorporation. Findings suggest that race and ethnicity, class and citizenship status are all significant factors as both Cuban and Afro-Caribbean immigrants assimilate into the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the interactions between anglophone blacks, black Caribbeans, and indigenous southern Mesoamericans during the second half of the 18th century. The author discusses the history of race relations between Europeans, Africans, and Indians within the British and Spanish empires, examines the relationship between Mayas and Spanish colonists, and analyzes the role of religious differences within their encounters.

Background: This study was aimed to investigate the main and buffering effects of positive religious coping on the association between the number of chronic medical conditions and major depressive disorder (MDD) among African Americans, Caribbean Blacks and Non-Hispanic Whites. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the National Survey of American Life, 2001 and 2003. This study enrolled 3,570 African Americans, 1,438 Caribbean Blacks and 891 Non-Hispanic Whites. Number of chronic conditions and positive religious coping were independent variables, 12-month MDD was the outcome and socio-economic characteristics were controls. We fitted the following three ethnic-specific logistic regressions for data analysis. In Model I, we included the number of chronic conditions and controls. In Model II, we added the main effect of religious coping. In Model III, we included an interaction between religious coping and number of chronic conditions. Results: Based on Model I, number of chronic conditions was associated with higher odds of 12-month MDD among all race/ethnic groups. Model II showed a significant and negative association between religious coping and MDD among Caribbean Blacks (odds ratio [OR] =0.55, 95% confidence Interval [CI] =0.39-0.77), but not African Americans or Hispanic Whites. Model III suggested that, only among Caribbean Blacks, the effect of chronic medical conditions on MDD is smaller in the presence of high positive religious coping (OR for interaction = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.55-0.96). Conclusions: Although the association between multiple chronic conditions and MDD may exist regardless of race and ethnicity, race/ethnicity may shape how positive religious coping buffers this association. This finding sheds more light onto race and ethnic differences in protective effects of religiosity on mental health of populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using insights from her field of West African art and ethnography, Laura Smalligan (in an earlier journal article concerning the Jamaican slave dance, Jonkonnu) opens up and renews challenging perspectives regarding the indispensable African content of New World slavery. Smalligan argues that the Connu slave pageant stemmed from a particular time, place and outlook (of slaves from the Bight of Biafra, modern Nigeria). Discussion here pivots on two comparisons: of dance, often accompanied by trance states (from West Africa to Anglophone plantation societies in the Caribbean and mainland North America); and, of the way contemporary scholars now – often smitten in this generation by the postmodern ‘literary turn’ – view, prematurely, slave ethnicity as heuristically vague and unmanageable, as opposed to local slave society people, black and white, then who in their ordinary talk and activities depicted certain slaves ethnically (and linguistically). These broad comparisons should deepen and advance understandings to that dimension of the African diaspora to the Americas known (fashionably) as ‘ethnogenesis’, that is, the process of becoming African-American. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]