A note on changes in black racial attitudes in Detroit: 1968–1976

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43700/1/11205_2004_Article_BF00289437.pd

Black Racial Attitude Change in Detroit, 1968-1976.

The main focus of this dissertation was the analysis of replication data from four cross-sectional studies for the purpose of discerning change in the racial attitudes of Detroit Blacks from 1968 to 1976. Eleven items from two baseline studies--the 1968 Detroit Area Study (DAS) and the 15 Cities Study (Kerner-68)-- and one item from the 1971 DAS were replicated in the 1976 Detroit Area Study. The items were intended to represent two dimensions of Black racial attitudes: disaffection with White society and Black Consciousness. Schuman and Hatchett (1974) found an increase in what they termed "Alienation from White society" on the part of Detroit Blacks between 1968 and 1971. Seven of the items included in their Alienation from White Society index were replicated in the 1976 Detroit Area Study. The present analysis found a decrease in the responses characterized as representing alienation from White society between 1971 and 1976. Although the overall pattern was one of reversal, the resulting profile of Black racial attitudes was one of overwhelming trust and support of White society. Three items intended to represent Black Consciousness showed three different patterns of change. There was a decrease in support for shopping in Black owned stores, no change in support for avoiding Whites and an increase in the support for Black children learning an African language. For the disaffection items, analyses were done on both the item and index level. The reliability of the index itself changed over the eight year period. The average intercorrelation of items increased from 1968 to 1971 and decreased from 1971 to 1976. A "racial ideology" comprising both anti-White and pro-Black sentiments appears to have crystallized in the immediate post-riot era, only to dissolve in the late seventies. Also in 1976, the power of sex, age, education and income to predict racial attitudes decreased. Year of study remained the best predictor of Black racial attitudes in Detroit. A number of concerns accompany the analysis of change using cross-sectional data--comparability of interviewing methodology, composition of final samples, and context of replicated items. Different methodologies, types of respondents, and contexts across studies can have a distorting effect upon results. This thesis dealt with each of these concerns and concluded that the changes found were indeed real and not artifacts of method.Ph.D.Ethnic studiesUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/158838/1/8215007.pd

The Media and Social Reality Effects

This study investigated some key theoreticalpropositions derivedfrom a synthesis of two related areas of research: the construction of social reality and cultivation analysis. A total of eight hypotheses were generated from the following propositions: (1) three broad construct categories (objective, symbolic, and subjective) constitute, to a major degree, the construction of social reality; (2) indicators of subjective reality can be placed usefully on a close-remote continuum based on their distance from the everyday life experiences of the individual; and (3) the accumulation of television exposure has a dominant influence on the shaping of beliefs and interpretations of the world, the direction of influence being contingent on the "bias "of the specific content consumed. A national sample of black adults, 18 andover, was usedto test the hypotheses. Path analysis provided some support for the hypotheses.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67908/2/10.1177_009365028601300106.pd

Black racial attitudes : trends and complexities /

Includes index.Bibliography: p. 151-154.Mode of access: Internet

Early Years of Marriage Study, 1986-1989

This four-year longitudinal study, which began in 1986, investigated factors related to marital stability in the early years of marriage. Subjects were residents of Wayne County, Michigan who were less than age 35 at marriage. The main sample consisted of 373 couples (199 African American couples, and 174 white American couples) along with a control group of 59 couples (38 white American couples and 21 African American couples). The 1987 data collection included the participation of 347 couples. In 1988, 264 couples participated, and 252 couples responded in 1989. The key areas of study included the following: premarriage factors (social status, family background); marital factors (cognitions, interpersonal perceptions, and attitudes); perceived and actual interactions as a couple; stresses and social network; and marital feelings. In the first year of the study (1986), spouses were interviewed individually by staff from the Survey Research Center from the University of Michigan. The inclusion of an audiotaped couple interview enabled couples to tell the story of their relationship from start to present, as well as discuss their respective attitudes about rules for marriage. The second year (1987)entailed a telephone interview with each spouse. During the third year (1988), each spouse participated in another individual interview, followed by a second audiotaped couple interview. Finally, in the fourth year (1989) each spouse was individually reinterviewed by telephone. The Murray Research Archive holds numeric file data from wave I through wave IV for both individuals and couples, and audiotapes of narratives with each couple from wave I and wave III. Audio Data Availability Note: This study contains audio data that have been digitized. There are 886 audio files available

Family Ties and Marital Happiness: The Different Marital Experiences of Black and White Newlywed Couples

This paper explores the relationship of family ties to black and white couples' marital happiness over the first 3 years of their marriages. Respondents were 115 black and 136 white couples interviewed as part of the Early Years of Marriage study. Although there were many similarities in the way blacks and whites felt about and interacted with their families, black couples were less likely to argue over matters pertaining to family, visited their families more often but perceived fewer family members able to help if needed. Hierarchical panel regressions showed that close family ties had no effect on the marital happiness of whites but significantly predicted black couples' marital happiness, particularly the ties to the husband's family. Predictions of marital happiness further varied by low and high structural stress (low income combined with early family formation), such that low-stress blacks' increased closeness to their in-laws from year 1 to year 3 predicted marital happiness. For high-stress blacks, the couple's closeness to the husband's family in year 1 and increases in that closeness by year 3 predicted increased marital happiness. Findings point to the importance of accounting for both ethnicity and structural context for understanding the paths couples take in establishing happy marriages.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68592/2/10.1177_0265407596133003.pd

FEMINIST ATTITUDES AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN AND MEN

Research on the intersection of race and gender suggests that, for African Americans, racial inequality is more salient than gender inequality. However, theoretical perspectives on the multiplicative effects of status positions and “outsider within” models suggest that minority group membership can be a catalyst for the development of feminist attitudes. This article examines three issues central to feminism: (1) recognition and critique of gender inequality, (2) egalitarian gender roles, and (3) political activism for the rights of women. The authors found that support for feminist ideology was common for both African American women and men, although the level of support varied depending on the issue and by gender. Factors predicting the endorsement of feminist ideology also varied depending on the issue and by gender. The authors found partial support for the race saliency hypothesis, but there was also evidence of the multiplicative effects of status positions on African Americans' feminist attitudes.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66825/2/10.1177_089124398012001005.pd