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Dissertation
Beyond poor: toward an understanding of impoverished African American women's mental health
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Allegheny University of the Health Sciences
Jul 1997
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00009576
Abstract
The current study applied McCubbin and Patterson's (1983) Double ABCX model of family adaptation to 183 impoverished African American women who were at risk for having their newborn placed outside the home (Marcenko & Spence, 1983). The study provides a shift from viewing African American women as being pathological by identifying the resources they utilize to offset the effects of stressors. Quantitative analyses were performed cross-sectionally to assess the effects of stressors and resources on psychological adaptation. The results indicate that impoverished African American women were within a normal range of psychological adaptation. In addition, most of the women reported having positive feelings of self-worth and self-acceptance. Multiple regression analyses revealed that 34% of the variance in psychological adaptation was accounted for by the resource of self-esteem and the stressor of abuse. Another unique aspect of this investigation was the completion of a qualitative analysis. The purpose of this analysis was to identify and describe the resources and stressors which emerged from the ethnographic interviews of a subset of the sample (n=10) who had completed reunification with their children. The findings of the qualitative interviews provide valuable insight into the complexity and range of stressors and resources in a group of impoverished African American women who demonstrate resiliency. Together, the findings highlight the salient factors and mechanisms which contribute to resiliency in impoverished African American women. The application of the findings expands the current understanding of psychological adaptation in impoverished African American women and offers a framework to guide future research and measurement decisions. In addition, implications of results for clinicians, researchers, and program development are discussed.
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Details
- Title
- Beyond poor
- Creators
- Meg I. Striepe
- Contributors
- Julie Landel Graham (Advisor) - Drexel University, Allegheny University of the Health Sciences (1996-1998)
- Awarding Institution
- Allegheny University of the Health Sciences
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Allegheny University of the Health Sciences; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- ix, 140 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Allegheny University of the Health Sciences (1996-1998); Clinical and Health Psychology [Historical]; School of Health Professions (1996-1998)
- Other Identifier
- 991021888767904721