Browsing by Subject "African American women"
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Item African American Women In Stem: Uncovering Stories Of Persistence And Resilience Through An Examination Of Social And Cultural Capital(2016) Ferguson, Danielle Stevens; Martin-Dunlop, Catherine; Advanced Studies, Leadership, and Policy; Doctor of EducationThe purpose of this study was to identify and describe the key factors that successful African American women said influenced their persistence and resilience in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field at two key time periods; before beginning post-secondary education and during post-secondary education. Many researchers have expressed concern about missing out on the creativity and innovation of African American women that could be used to enhance or lead to scientific discoveries (Hanson, 2004; Ong et al., 2011; Perna et al., 2008). While there has been a fair amount of research on the lack of representation of African American women in the STEM field, it is very limited in its breathe and depth. Very few of these studies include the “voice” of African American women and most of the studies rely heavily on quantitative data. Therefore in this study, I used a qualitative, case study approach to interpret the stories of eight African American women currently working in a variety of STEM fields to understand how each of the factors that they said aided in their persistence and resilience related to the concepts of social and cultural capital. Furthermore, this study investigated the role cultural brokers played in their lives and the strategies these women used to create resilience. Narratives for each woman were created to provide insight into their experiences. Before beginning post-secondary education four themes emerged from this study; 1. Two parent households were important, 2. Science experiences outside of school sparked their interest, 3. All of the women participated in extracurricular activities, and 4. Religion was important. Cultural brokers were beneficial for some but not all of the women. During post-secondary education five themes emerged; 1. The majority of the women had a desire to help others, 2. Scholarships played an important role, 3. Parents were supportive, 4. Sexism/racism became evident, and 5. Religion was still important. During this time period cultural brokers were important for all of the women. The results of this study suggest that experiences outside of school are more important than experiences inside of school.Item Comparing The Effectiveness Of An Interactive, Internet-Based Safety- Seeking Decision Aid For African American And White Women In Abusive Relationships(2016) Khaki, Leila; Kamangar, Farin; Public Health and Policy; Doctor of Public HealthIntimate partner violence (IPV) is a pattern of intimidating control by a former or current intimate partner. Studies show that African American women, although more prone to IPV than their White counterparts, are less likely to seek help from health or other service providers. We designed this study to investigate the effectiveness of an internet-based safety decision aid intervention to help abused women assess the danger they face and to increase their safety-seeking behaviors. We also compared the effectiveness of such a system for Whites and African Americans. The data used for this analysis came from 164 women in abusive relationships who participated anonymously in the internet-based intervention known as Identification and Referral to Improve Safety (IRIS) in Maryland. In this study, women in the intervention group were 8 percentage points (60% vs. 52%) more likely than those in the control group to find safety seeking helpful. The difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.08). The difference was similar for White (7%) and African American women (8%), with a p-value for interaction of 0.926. The perception of helpfulness was higher among African American Women (60%) than White Women (50%). The p-value was 0.02. Results show that the danger score was reduced by 1.16 (from 14.73 to 13.57) in the intervention group and by 0.35 (from 12.64 to 12.29) in the control group. This difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.55). There was no significant difference between Whites and African Americans in the reduction of the danger score (p = 0.32). While the results did not reach statistical significance they reflect a substantial increase in the perception of the utility of safety-seeking behaviors for both African American and White females. Further research with larger sample sizes, particularly of African American women, is warranted.Item Creating The Colored Girl Beautiful(2020-05-01) Smith, Aseloka; O'Donnell, T.J.; Fountain, Jeanne; Parkman, Tiffaney; University of Baltimore. Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences; Master of Fine Arts in Integrated DesignThe Colored Girl Beautiful podcast is narrative non-fiction storytelling podcast about Black womanhood that was created as a way to process some of the themes in the book, The Colored Girl beautiful, which was published in 1916. The book itself is the first etiquette book ever written for Black women. Some of the themes included in the text are motherhood, personal appearance and work. Each episode of the podcast covers a single theme taken from a passage in the text. Black women were interviewed for each topic and their thoughts on each issue were used to provide a modern perspective. Discussion between the show's host and producer provides context for the interview. The show as a whole is structured as a letter to the author as a way to compare concepts of beauty and perceptions of Black women in the early 1900's to what they are today. This work explores the creation of the podcast 'The Colored Girl Beautiful' and the efforts required to produce meaningful good quality podcast content.Item Examining The Relationship Between Stroke Risk Factor Profiles, Stress (Allostatic Load) And Stroke Among African American Women By Place Of Birth(2016) Adinuba, Christine; Bronner, Yvonne L.; Public Health and Policy; Doctor of Public HealthCerebrovascular accident (CVA) also known as stroke, is a serious health condition that has high mortality and disability impact. African American women have high incidence, mortality and disability from stroke compared to other major races in the US and this is in spite of several prevention interventions that have been implemented. This poses a reason for concern and mean that a different approach to stroke research and stroke prevention strategies for African American women is necessary. One important approach in research is to study the African American population by place of birth. Many epidemiological reports do not make distinctions within the Black race in the United States by place of birth or by place of origin though the African American population comprise of Blacks born in the United States and immigrant Blacks from Africa, the Caribbean and other countries. Culture and family practices have been documented in past researches to have different effects on behaviors that may predispose heterogeneous groups within races to diseases like stroke. Making this distinction within the Black race by place of birth may unveil unique differences in health risk and the lessons learned can be used to inform targeted interventions and relevant health policies. Another concern related to stroke risk among African American women is that stress has been documented as a risk factor for stroke but limited research has been done to determine how stress is related to stroke for African American women by place of birth. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between Stroke Risk Factor Profile (SRFP), stress (allostatic load) and stroke among African American women by place of birth. This is a cross-sectional study. From NHANES IV survey population, a sample of 2,525 African American women aged 20 – 80 years were used to conduct the analyses. There were 227 (8.9%) in the foreign-born comparison group and the rest 2,298 (91.1%) were US-born. Stroke Risk Factor Profile scores (SRFP scores) were statistically generated based on the number of stroke risk factor variable each study participant exhibited out of a total of 12 used in the study. A SRFP score of 0 -3 was considered low SRFP (N=1,546), while a score of 4-12 was considered high SRFP (N=979). A similar process was used to determine the allostatic load score resulting in 1,491 in the low allostatic load category and 1,034 in the high allostatic load category. The findings from this research are as follows; • US-born African American women have higher SRFP compared to foreign-born AA women (41.0% vs 38.3%) • Adjusted logistic regression showed that US-born women with High SRFP had 2.74 higher odds of stroke (OR = 2.74, 95% CI = 1.87, 4.01, p = <0.001 • There was no significant difference in allostatic load between US-born African American women and foreign-born African American women • Adjusted logistic regression showed that US-born with high allostatic load had 1.69 higher odds of stroke (OR = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.09, 2.59, p = 0.019). • There was an increase in stroke risk by age and a decrease in stroke risk by education. Based on the results from this research, high SRFP and high allostatic load are associated with higher risk for stroke for US-born African American women.Item Examining The Validity Of Self-Care For Black Women: A Mixed Methods Analysis(2018) Adkins, Paris B; Turner-Musa, Jocelyn; Psychology; Doctor of PhilosophyThis study utilizes a mixed methods sequential QUAL + QUAN study to examine the validity of a self-care measure in a sample of Black women. There is minimal empirical literature exploring the salience of self-care in Black women and how it may influence health outcomes in this population. Further, there are few assessments of self-care. Self-care assessments developed by Saakvitne et al. (1996) and Butler (2010) fail to examine psychometric properties of the measure. The purpose of this study was to determine if existing instruments of self-care demonstrate content and construct validity in a population of Black women. This required the use of mixed methods: interviews and focus groups with 12 Black women self-care experts, and a survey using the combined Saakvitne et al. (1996) and Butler (2010) 7-factor self-care assessment with a parallel sample of 223 Black women. The constant comparison method was conducted to develop a conceptual framework of self-care for Black women, and quantitative data allowed for psychometric analyses using factor analysis, item analysis, and differential item functioning to examine content and construct validity. The qualitative findings suggest self-care is a practice employed to assist a Black woman with enduring challenges and restoring her health. The quantitative findings suggest the self-care assessments are unidimensional, load sufficiently on one factor, but there are mixed findings on the fit of the one-factor model, and many of the items differ by socioeconomic status. Beyond the factor structure of self-care for Black women, there was minimal congruence between the conceptual framework, derived from qualitative data, and the items derived from the survey. Findings from this study can be used to make recommendations for how to measure self-care for Black women seeking to track their self-care.Item Leading From Behind: The Role Of Women In Sharp Street United Methodist Church, 1898-1921(2010) Jamison, Felicia Lorraine; Newman-Ham, Debra Newman; History and Geography; Master of ArtsThis thesis will demonstrate the monumental role that African-American women played in Sharp Street United Methodist Church from 1898 to 1921. It was not until 1898 that women began to form independent organizations to assist in defraying the newly acquired $70,000 debt for the new edifice. Gaining a sense of autonomy, they began to assert themselves in their community and nation by participating in the Women's Club Movement and the Progressive Movement. The study concludes with the erection of the Community House in 1921. Using minutes from the Sharp Street Trustees Reports, the Afro-American newspaper, and the church newspapers, The Appeal and The Messenger, this case study will recount the story of how ordinary church women socially and financially impacted their church, community, and nation through service.Item Underneath the Mask of the Strong Black Woman Schema: Disentangling Influences of Strength and Self-Silencing on Depressive Symptoms among U.S. Black Women(Springer US, 2018-09-10) Abrams, Jasmine A.; Hill, Ashley; Maxwell, MorganRecent investigations have elucidated the influence of the Strong Black Woman (SBW) Schema on the mental health and treatment seeking behaviors of Black women in the United States. However, the SBW schematic characteristics that produce depression have yet to be identified. The current study fills this void in the literature through a quantitative examination of how characteristics of the SBW Schema relate to depressive symptomology. Analyses were based on 194 participants, including college students (n = 98) and community members (n = 96), ranging in age from 18 to 82 years-old (M = 37.53, SD = 19.88). As hypothesized, various manifestations of self-silencing were found to significantly mediate the relationship between the perceived obligation to manifest strength (a SBW characteristic) and depressive symptomatology. The present study advances the idea that depressive symptoms are related to endorsement of the SBW Schema and highlights self-silencing as a mechanism by which this relationship occurs. These results offer evidence and clarification of the impact of the SBW Schema on Black women’s mental health and identify specific points of intervention for mental health practitioners conducting therapeutic work with Black women. We provide recommendations for future research to avoid pathologizing strength and we discuss the implications and potential benefits of integrating a Womanist theoretical perspective into counseling for Black women, a population that has historically underutilized mental health resources.