Race, Ethnicity, and Differential Perceptions of Sexual Victimization (Assault)

The purpose of this pilot study is to ascertain how a sample of female college students perceives a hypothetical victim of a fabricated sexual assault. Participant perceptions of the sexual assault were explored through three distinct parameters: (1) victim responsibility attributes, (2) levels of trauma suffered due to the experience, and (3) levels of social support. This study addressed the two following research questions: (1) how does the hypothetical sexual assault victim\u27s race and ethnicity affect how the study parameters are assessed and (2) how do participants perceive a hypothetical sexual assault victim, when presented in different races and ethnicities, patterned after the jezebel image? Methods: This mixed methods study utilized a randomized post-test-only design to test participant reactions to a hypothetical sexual assault vignette. Participants received a vignette story-line, each with a unique scenario of the victim randomly assigned to reflect a Latina, White, or African American female college student. Each participant was asked to complete a paper-pencil survey after reading the vignette, as well as respond to a set of eleven open-ended questions regarding the vignette. In order to ensure optimal randomization of the study vignette, electronic block randomization (found at Randomizer.org) was utilized. Results: Statistical analysis using SPSS revealed no statistically significance for the trauma and responsibility study parameter and marginally significant outputs for the social support study parameter. Quantitative data revealed both overt victim blaming and shaming of the Latina and African American hypothetical victim of sexual assault. Conclusions: Differential perceptions of sexual assault may be formed due to the victim\u27s race and ethnicity

Racism, Black College Students’ Mental Health, And The Efficacy Of Diversity And Inclusion Initiatives: A Case Study.

Black college students who attend predominantly White institutions of higher education (PWIs) regularly encounter subtle and explicit forms of racism on campus. These daily experiences of prejudice and discriminatory behaviors can have an adverse impact on their mental health. This study examines the intersections of racism and mental health, particularly within an environment where racism is socially unacceptable. More specifically, this study uses qualitative methods to explore how Black college students who attend a predominately White institution of higher education (PWI) make meaning of their experiences with racial discrimination and its impact on their mental health, as well as their perceptions of PWIs efforts to redress the campus racial climate through diversity and inclusion initiatives. Individual, in-depth interviews and focus groups were conducted with a convenience sample of Black college students (ages 18-24) at a PWI in the southeastern United States. Data were analyzed using a combination of analytical strategies including critical race methodology (CRM) and a modified approach to grounded theory (GT). Qualitative data analysis revealed students’ experiences with everyday racial discrimination that contributed to overall feelings of anger, loneliness, social isolation, and invisibility in the narratives of their subjective sense of well-being. Students’ narratives also revealed how they perceived their university’s approach to diversity and inclusion to be superficial, which benefited White students while marginalizing the Black students. Placing the perspective of Black students at the center of inquiry allows for the development of a more nuanced understanding of the enduring discrimination that Black students negotiate at PWIs. The ways in which Black college students make sense of their experiences with racism on campus in relation to their mental health directs attention to the importance of expanding efforts to improve the racial campus climate at PWIs. Such insight can lead to potential strategies not currently in place such as activist based interventions guided students, faculty, and staff of color that actively confront the discourses of White supremacy that are entrenched in PWIs

“For Lack of Knowledge, Our People Will Perish”: Using Focus Group Methodology to Explore African-American Communities’ Perceptions of Breast Cancer and the Environment

Among women living in the United States, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death. Disproportionate racial disparities in breast cancer exist, with African American (AA) women consistently having the highest rates of breast cancer related mortality despite lower incidence. This study attends to the Institute of Medicine\u27s (IOM) call to action recommending the identification of effective strategies for communicating accurate and reliable breast cancer risk information to diverse audiences. Using focus group methodology, this study explores how AAs perceive and decipher information related to breast cancer and its relationship to their environment. Six focus groups were conducted. The sample (n = 50) was African American, 98% female, with an average age of 50.1 years. The focus group protocol consisted of open-ended questions designed to elicit information about participants\u27 perceptions of their environment and its link to breast cancer. Focus groups were audio recorded and professionally transcribed. Analysis of the focus group transcripts revealed themes pertaining to these categories: (1) general knowledge and beliefs about breast cancer, (2) perceived environmental risks factors for breast cancer, (3) importance of seeking knowledge about breast cancer and the environment, and (4) recommended communication strategies. The emergent themes reflect the knowledge participants possessed about breast cancer and environmental risk factors, in addition to concerns about the importance of possessing accurate information, and how culturally appropriate health communication strategies can be used to disseminate breast cancer knowledge in the community. Findings from this study can be used for culturally appropriate communication about breast cancer and the environment with AA communities

‘When you take pills you must eat’: Food (in)security and ART adherence among older people living with HIV

South Africa has increasing numbers of persons living with HIV on antiretroviral treatment (ART). There is evidence for a relationship between food, food security and HIV. Despite increasing rates of people older than 50 living with HIV coinciding with greater levels of co-morbidity, the existing research is largely limited to those aged 15–49 years. In this paper, we therefore explore how older people living with HIV (OPLWH) in two urban communities within South Africa negotiate and ensure they have sufficient access to food and how food insecurity may affect their retention in care and ART adherence. This study used exploratory qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews with 23 OPLWH to collect data in isiXhosa. Data were analysed using thematic content analysis. Factors at the community, household and individual levels influence (a) access to sufficient and quality food, and (b) beliefs about ART and food based on (mis)understandings of messaging from health care providers. The results demonstrate the need to explore further and clarify the nutritional guidelines that OPLWH receive from providers to ensure this does not result in reduced adherence or retention in care. They also demonstrate the role that social welfare and family or kin obligations plays in ensuring the food security of OPLWH