Time for the Talk: Conversations on Masculinity and Manhood with Male Youth

Abstract At a time when American male youth are maturing earlier than in previous decades and Black male youth are developing physically more rapidly than White or Latino boys, (9.14 years compared to 10.14 for Whites and 10.4 years for Latinos)( Herman-Giddens et al., 2012) parents and guardians often overlook the importance of communicating with male children about puberty and social development. These first signs of sexual maturation (e.g., genital growth, pubic hair, testicular growth) usher in a host of psychosocial concerns that influence future experiences of these children. Failure to interact with males during this crucial period about meanings and consequences of biological changes can result in missed opportunities to establish proper norms and standards of masculinity and behavioral expectations for manhood. Male youth need adult guidance and relevant information to assist with decision-making to enhance longevity and well-being in interpersonal, academic and career realms. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss communication strategies and introduce topics that require attention before and during puberty based on the experiences of adult Black males in American culture. Particular attention will be given to environments in which Black male youth are situated that compound problems of masculine development (e.g., father absent families). Key Words: masculinity, sexual maturation, manhood, communication, African Americans, males, conversation, developmen

The Effect of Health Value and Ethnicity on the Relationship Between Hardiness and Health Behaviors

Associations among hardiness, health value, and health protective behaviors were examined as a function of ethnicity among 80 African American and 100 European American college students. The role of health value as moderator versus mediator in the hardiness-health behavior link was explored. Racial differences in correlations among hardiness, control, and commitment were found, with stronger relations for African American than European Americans. Moderate positive relations between hardiness, control, commitment, and health value for African American, as contrasted with weak relations between commitment and health value for European Americans, were also shown. A partial mediational effect for health value with personal distress and moderator effects for health value with personal distress and health habits were found for African American only. Race predicted hardiness variables, tobacco and alcohol use, personal distress, and health habits beyond what was accounted for by occupation and income. The ramifications of these data with regard to future studies on hardiness, health value, and health behaviors for African American are discussed

Psychosocial Development and Black Male Masculinity: Implications for Counseling Economically Disadvantaged African American Male Adolescents

Few articles exist on issues related to counseling African American male adolescents. This article examines developmental and sex role factors and their importance for counseling interventions and the counselor‐client relationship. Implications are drawn for counselors desiring to improve their abilities to assist this population. 1995 American Counseling Associatio

Lifting the veil: African American images and the European American gaze: Commentary on Black Sexual Politics by Patricia Hill Collins

Patricia Hill Collins presents and discusses gender and gender role norms, behaviors, and ideologies among African Americans in an interdisciplinary diagnostic endeavor that calls attention to health, economic, behavioral, and psychosocial patterns related to social injustice and inequality. Collins presents several popular culture, mass media, and social science literature topics that call for a progressive Black sexual politics necessary for African American empowerment. A most crucial and apparent point of Collins\u27s discussion is that improvement in the lives of African Americans requires inspection and analysis of gender and sexuality related intragroup variation and diversity. I situate this discussion primarily within a post-civil rights ideological revolution related to the European American gaze, multiculturalism, and European American emotional ambivalence toward the Black body. It is proposed that Collins\u27s analysis of the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexuality among African Americans occurs within an American context that reciprocally impacts African American intragroup dynamics. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Body image attitudes and the psychosocial development of college women

The relationship between body image attitudes and psychosocial development was examined in a sample of 144 college females, using multiple measures of body image. Canonical analysis and multiple regression procedures revealed that attitudes toward body parts and processes; body dissatisfaction; and evaluations of health, fitness, and appearance were associated with salubrious lifestyle and establishing and clarifying purpose tasks of psychosocial development. © 1995 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Stress and illness in adolescence: Issues of race and gender

There is an abundance of information on the association between stressful life events and illness within the adult population. In contrast, research on this relationship among adolescents is limited. This study evaluated the role of individual differences (gender and race) on the stress-illness relationship within the adolescent population. Participants were 119 adolescents (54 females and 65 males), recruited from two public high schools located in the southeast, who were administered four questionnaires designed to measure levels of stress, anxiety, and illness. Overall, correlational analysis revealed that stress and anxiety were positively correlated with reported illness. However, racial and gender differences did emerge. Although no gender differences were found with regard to the experience of stress, African-American athletes reported a higher frequency of stressful life events than did their Euro-American counterparts. Further, African-American adolescents reported a lower frequency of illness than did the Euro-Americans. Females reported more illnesses than did males. Possible explanations for individual differences in reported stress and illness are discussed