The Influence of Cultural Mistrust, Religious Commitment, and Racial Identity on Help-seeking Attitudes in the African American Community

The Influence of Cultural Mistrust, Religious Commitment, and Racial Identity on Help-seeking Attitudes in the African American Community
Author: Matthew Woodfork
Publisher:
Total Pages: 107
Release: 2012
Genre:
ISBN:

It is widely documented that African Americans consistently underutilize mental health services (Hu, Snowden, Jerrell, & Nguyen, 1991; Snowden & Cheung, 1990; Takeuchi, Sue, & Yeh, 1995; Woodward, Taylor, Bullard, Neighbors, Chatters, & Jackson, 2008). The purpose of the current study was to investigate the influence of different cultural factors that may influence the help seeking attitudes of members of the African American community. Specifically, religious commitment, racial identity, and cultural mistrust were examined to determine the extent to which these factors predicted African American study participants attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help. The Religious Commitment Inventory 10 (RCI 10; Worthington, Wade, Hight, Ripley, McCollough, Berry, Schmitt, Berry, Bursley, & O' Connor, 2003), Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS; Vandiver, Cross, Fhagen Smith, & Worrell, 2002; Worrell, Cross, & Vandiver, 2001), Cultural Mistrust Inventory (CMI; Terrell & Terrell, 1981), and Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help (ATSPPH 10; Fischer & Farina, 1995) were used to measure study variables. A personal data form also helped obtain demographic information about the study participants. Participants comprised of a community based sample of 138 African Americans. The results of multiple regression analysis indicated that scores lower on Internalized Multiculturalist Inclusive Subscale and higher on Cultural Mistrust Inventory and Pre Encounter Miseducation Subscale significantly predicted higher scores on Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale. Scores on Internalized Multiculturalist Inclusive explained the highest percentage of professional psychological help seeking attitudes followed by Cultural Mistrust and Pre Encounter Miseducation, respectively. These findings indicated that individuals who have a less multiculturally integrated sense of self, are more mistrusting of Whites, and hold more negative stereotypes about the Black community are less likely to perceive professional psychological services as beneficial. Implications of the study findings and directions for future research are discussed.

An Exploration of Racial Identity, Perceived Racism, and Religious Orientation as Predictors of Cultural Mistrust in African Americans

An Exploration of Racial Identity, Perceived Racism, and Religious Orientation as Predictors of Cultural Mistrust in African Americans
Author: Andrea Chantal Holman
Publisher:
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2011
Genre:
ISBN:

Centuries of overt and covert segregation, oppression and discrimination against persons of African ancestry in America by their white counterparts have conditioned this marginalized group to be mistrustful of their relations with white Americans. This response, known as cultural mistrust, significantly contributes to negative help-seeking attitudes and underutilization of mental health services because the majority of practitioners are white (Grier and Cobbs, 1968; Whaley, 2001). This report will use multiple regression statistical analysis to explore racial identity, perceived racism, and religious orientation as predictors of cultural mistrust to propose ways practitioners can increase African-American utilization of mental health services. Gender differences in cultural mistrust will also be explored.

The Impact of Cultural Mistrust, Racial Identity, and Attitudes for Seeking Professional Psychological Help on Prospective Black Clients' Preference for Their Counselor's Race

The Impact of Cultural Mistrust, Racial Identity, and Attitudes for Seeking Professional Psychological Help on Prospective Black Clients' Preference for Their Counselor's Race
Author: Darryl Lee Townes
Publisher:
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2003
Genre: Blacks
ISBN:

The results of a multiple regression analysis indicated that participants with higher scores on the Cultural Mistrust Inventory, lower scores on the Preencounter Assimilation subscale, and higher scores on the Internalization Afrocentricity subscale showed a greater preference for a Black counselor. Black participants might have preferred a Black counselor due to their strong feelings of mistrust of Whites, attitudes that reject assimilation into the dominant, White culture and attitudes that emphasized positive connections to Black people and African culture. A finding that may have significantly influenced Black participants' preference for a Black counselor was the significant relationship found between scores on the Cultural Mistrust Inventory and the Immersion - Emersion Anti-White subscale. Strong feelings of mistrust of Whites were significantly related to strong feelings of hatred and disdain for White people.

The Therapy Hour in Black and White

The Therapy Hour in Black and White
Author: Andrea Chantal Holman
Publisher:
Total Pages: 172
Release: 2013
Genre:
ISBN:

This study explored interpersonal trust, racial identity, perceived racism, and religious orientation as predictors of preference for a Black counselor and cultural mistrust. The unique variance of interpersonal trust and cultural mistrust in predicting preference for a Black counselor was also explored. The relationship between cultural mistrust and interpersonal trust was tested to determine whether or not they are independent constructs. This study also examined the relationship between racial identity and religious orientation. Gender differences in religious orientation, cultural mistrust and preference for a Black counselor were examined. Previous studies provide support that cultural mistrust contributes to negative help-seeking attitudes and underutilization of mental health services. Researchers have identified racial identity and perceived racism as correlates to and/or predictors of cultural mistrust and preference for a Black counselor (Whaley, 2001). This study involved participants recruited in part from the Educational Psychology (EDP) Subject Pool at The University of Texas at Austin (UT). Participants were also recruited from five student organizations at UT. Participants completed the survey using an online survey tool or a paper copy of the survey. One stratum was used for selection of participants: students who racially identify as African-American or Black. Results of the study revealed interpersonal trust as a significant predictor of preference for a Black counselor. However, exploratory analyses indicated that cultural mistrust served as the sole predictor of Black counselor preference when seeking a counselor for dealing with racial concerns. Interpersonal trust, immersion-emersion anti-white racial identity attitudes (IEAW) and extrinsic religious orientation were significant predictors of cultural mistrust. Results also indicated a positive relationship between Internalization Multiculturalist (IMCI) racial identity attitudes and intrinsic religious orientation. A negative correlation was found to exist between intrinsic religious orientation and IEAW. High cultural mistrust levels were also positively associated with high IEAW attitudes. Additionally, a small, yet statistically significant negative relationship was found to exist between cultural mistrust and interpersonal trust. Cultural mistrust did not account for a significant amount of variance above that of interpersonal trust in predicting preference for a Black counselor. Finally, no mean sex differences were found among levels of Black counselor preference, cultural mistrust, and intrinsic or extrinsic religious orientation. Exploratory analyses also revealed a positive relationship between cultural mistrust and seven out of ten scenarios for Black counselor preference. Individuals with a preference for a Black counselor reported higher levels of cultural mistrust related to issues concerning: excessive worry/anxiety, drinking too much alcohol/using drugs, relationship problems, feelings of harassment/feeling threatened, sexual issues, racial issues, and difficulty controlling anger. Results of the study bear implications for understanding cultural mistrust and interpersonal trust as it relates to counselor preference. Implications for counselors are also discussed regarding the intersection of racial and religious identities. Limitations and future directions for research are also discussed.

Religion and Suicide in the African-American Community

Religion and Suicide in the African-American Community
Author: Kevin E. Early
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 158
Release: 1992-10-26
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0313064776

Suicide among African Americans occurs at about half the rate with which it occurs among white Americans. Why is the black rate of suicide so much lower, particularly when one considers the effects of racism and other socio-economic factors on African Americans? One answer that has been offered is that churches within the African-American community have a greater influence than among white Americans and that they provide amelioration of social forces that would otherwise lead to suicide. To date no other book has provided an in-depth ethnographic study of the buffering effect of the black church against suicide. Findings from Early's study indicate that there is a consensus within the black community in terms of its attitudes and beliefs toward suicide. Early concludes that suicide is alien to underlying African-American belief systems and a complete denial of what it means to be black. This important study will be invaluable to sociologists and others studying contemporary race relations and social problems.

Racial Identity, Attitudes Toward Professional Counseling Services, and Religious Commitment as Predictors of Intention to Utilize Counseling Services and Self-disclosure Among Black Adults

Racial Identity, Attitudes Toward Professional Counseling Services, and Religious Commitment as Predictors of Intention to Utilize Counseling Services and Self-disclosure Among Black Adults
Author: La'Boris Cole
Publisher:
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2020
Genre: African Americans
ISBN:

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between racial identity, attitudes toward utilizing counseling services, and religious commitment (the independent variables) as predictors of intention to utilize counseling services and self-disclosure (the dependent variables) among Black adults ages 25 to 50. Data were collected from 100 participants with women comprising 75% of the sample. Results showed that pre-encounter and religious commitment were negatively associated with intention to utilize counseling services and self-disclosure. Second, internalization and attitudes were predictors of intention to utilize counseling services and self-disclosure in counseling. These results make an important contribution to research with an emphasis on psychological help-seeking behavior within the Black community. When designing interventions for the Black population, the demographic variables, previous experience, overall satisfaction with professional providers, attitudes toward seeking professional counseling help, and an individual's level of religious commitment should be carefully evaluated. Further, a collaboration between religious organizations within the Black community and professional counseling centers can assist with referrals potentially increasing utilization rates.

New World A-Coming

New World A-Coming
Author: Judith Weisenfeld
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2018-11-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 1479865850

"When Joseph Nathaniel Beckles registered for the draft in the 1942, he rejected the racial categories presented to him and persuaded the registrar to cross out the check mark she had placed next to Negro and substitute "Ethiopian Hebrew." "God did not make us Negroes," declared religious leaders in black communities of the early twentieth-century urban North. They insisted that so-called Negroes are, in reality, Ethiopian Hebrews, Asiatic Muslims, or raceless children of God. Rejecting conventional American racial classification, many black southern migrants and immigrants from the Caribbean embraced these alternative visions of black history, racial identity, and collective future, thereby reshaping the black religious and racial landscape. Focusing on the Moorish Science Temple, the Nation of Islam, Father Divine's Peace Mission Movement, and a number of congregations of Ethiopian Hebrews, Judith Weisenfeld argues that the appeal of these groups lay not only in the new religious opportunities membership provided, but also in the novel ways they formulated a religio-racial identity. Arguing that members of these groups understood their religious and racial identities as divinely-ordained and inseparable, the book examines how this sense of self shaped their conceptions of their bodies, families, religious and social communities, space and place, and political sensibilities. Weisenfeld draws on extensive archival research and incorporates a rich array of sources to highlight the experiences of average members."--Publisher's description.