Stress, Culture, and Racial Socialization: Making an Impact

Abstract

As counseling psychologists, we approach the topic of coping and socialization from a perspective that attempts to address mental health issues by examining social relevance and contextual influences. We come from a tradition that promotes and seeks remedial, preventive and educational advancement for our consumers. We approach the writing of this chapter on stress, socialization and coping skills among African American families from a resiliency perspective. Moreover, we discuss the challenges imposed on these resiliency models by the context and experiences of African Americans. We also explore the coping mechanisms that researchers have suggested lead to resiliency in general and in African American families specifically. This is followed by a discussion of our theoretical understanding of culture and the stress process, and the potential mechanisms for coping with stress, particularly racially-oriented stressors, employed by African American families that can lead to resiliency in their children. Finally, we present an applied program of acculturation and stress, via 'The IMPACT Programs,' a family-based psychoeducational intervention which explores the effect of racial socialization and identity on African American children's adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)