Psychology

In the current study gender was tested as a moderator of the relationship between religiosity and mental health among 218 black American college students. It was hypothesised that black women would be higher in religious engagement than black men, and that gender would moderate the relationship between religiosity and mental health. Contrary to hypotheses, no significant gender differences in religious

Afrocentric scholars argue that culturally relevant instruction matters for Black students’ achievement and personal development, but there is a paucity of empirical studies evaluating the influence of formal instruction in culturally relevant courses in postsecondary settings. The current study fills this gap by examining how participation in culturally empowering courses (CECs) impacts cultural identity development and academic outcomes among Black college students. Results revealed significant relationships between racial and ethnic identity and enrollment in CECs. Participation in CECs was also linked to more self-determined motivation behaviors. Recommendations for college and university personnel are also discussed.

African-centered scholars have highlighted the deleterious impact of the environment experienced by many Black students attending predominately White institutions (PWIs). While these researchers have detailed how this institutional context negatively affects Black students’ academic and social outcomes, much less information is available on how the academic identity of Black students in this setting is affected. Another unexamined area is the role that the emancipatory course content and pedagogical strategies utilized in the Africana/Black Studies discipline influences academic identity among Black learners who partake in this culturally-grounded learning experience. In this article, we detail the potential links between the emancipatory pedagogical content and teaching practices of Africana/Black Studies discipline and the academic identity outcomes in Black collegians. Additionally, we describe how this enhanced academic identity is connected to improved student-faculty interactions and subsequent academic and social engagement for this population. We conclude by providing strategies for invested stakeholders who desire to increase the recruitment, retention, satisfaction, and engagement of Black students.

Over the past three decades, the majority of Black undergraduates matriculated into predominately White institutions (PWIs), with recent data indicating only 11% of Black undergraduates are enrolled in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs; Gasman, 2013). Despite the increased enrollment of Black students in postsecondary institutions, the six-year graduation rate for Black undergraduates entering college in 2005 stands at 39.9% compared to 58.7% for all collegians (Snyder & Dillow, 2015). This demographic shift of Black students from HBCUs to PWIs has increased the focus on the needs of Black students in the tertiary pipeline, particularly those students attending PWIs.

African-centered researchers have encouraged attention to institutional factors that may contribute to the diminished academic outcomes of Black students at PWIs (Adams, 2005; Cokley, 2006). These scholars have highlighted the deleterious impact of the environment experienced by many Black students attending PWIs (Asante, 1991; Cross & Slater, 2004; Guffrida & Douthit, 2010). While these researchers have detailed how this institutional context can negatively affect Black students’ academic, intellectual, political, social, psychological and emotional outcomes (Guffrida & Douthit, 2010; Shujaa, 1994; Woodson, 1933/2000), much less information is available on how the academic identity of Black students in the predominately White institutional setting is affected. Another unexamined area is the potential role of the emancipatory course content and pedagogical strategies utilized in the Africana/Black Studies (ABS) discipline on the academic identity and development of Black learners who participate in this culturally-grounded learning experience. This manuscript seeks to address these shortcomings in the psychological and educational literatures.

In the current study gender was tested as a moderator of the relationship between religiosity and mental health among 218 black American college students. It was hypothesised that black women would be higher in religious engagement than black men, and that gender would moderate the relationship between religiosity and mental health. Contrary to hypotheses, no significant gender differences in religious

There is little research on the effects of very early caregiving on young caregivers’ adult mental health, and little comparison between child/adolescent caregivers and emerging adult caregivers.  The purpose of the present study is to assess the possible relations between early caregiver experiences, optimism, and mental health in former young caregivers who have reached adulthood.  Former young caregivers were those individuals who provided assistance with basic activities of daily living (ADLs) and/or instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) for a parent or adult relative while under age 18 years old.  Individuals were defined as “emerging adult caregivers” if they currently provide or have provided assistance with ADLs and/or IADLs for a parent or adult relative while between 18 and 29 years old.  Twenty-eight former young caregivers and 21 emerging adult caregivers completed measures of their early caregiving experiences, current level of optimism, and current mental health.  Individuals with higher amounts of optimism and less negative caregiver experiences reported less depressive symptoms and more well-being.  Analyses revealed that optimism played a partial mediator role between negative caregiver experiences and depressive symptoms.

The extent to which caregivers (N = 30) for spouses with probable Alzheimer's disease show lability in optimism was explored. The relationship between caregivers' level of state optimism and level of affect was examined as well. The caregivers completed a measure of optimism and affect every day for 30 consecutive days. They showed variability in optimism over time, and their state optimism could be differentiated from their affect. In addition, we found individual differences in lead-lag relationships between optimism and affect over time. The results section clearly shows that most individuals did not show lead-lag relationships. These findings are integrated into the literature on caregiving.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore the level of variability in anxiety and affect, and the relationship between these variables among caregivers for spouses with probable Alzheimer's disease. Thirty spouse caregivers (17 husbands, 13 wives) completed a measure of anxiety and affect for 30 consecutive days. The results indicated that this caregiving sample showed inter-individual differences in the level of variability in anxiety and affect. Some individuals displayed a moderate amount of stability while others showed much variability over the 30 days. In addition, the results indicated inter-individual differences in the correlations between state anxiety and positive affect for this caregiving sample. The caregivers with low levels of variability in anxiety showed significantly more positive affect and less negative affect than caregivers with high levels of variability in anxiety. It may not be necessary to completely eliminate anxiety in caregivers. Instead, techniques for keeping anxiety at a relatively stable level within individuals may be beneficial for the caregivers.

... Special thanks to Tjingaita Connie Uapingena, Heidi Schreiber-Pan, Misty Requarth, and Patricia Ruppert for their help with subject recruitment. We greatly appreciate the time and effort given by each individual who participated in this study. ...