Papers by Keisha Bentley-Edwards
Using a sociocultural stress and coping approach, this study focuses on the antecedents of goal e... more Using a sociocultural stress and coping approach, this study focuses on the antecedents of goal efficacy, or an individual’s appraisal that they can achieve their goals. Despite being in college, less than half of the participants demonstrated goal efficacy. Racial factors including racial cohesion, racial dissonance and race-related stress, along with the students’ reports of supports and barriers were assessed for their relation with goal efficacy for 242 Black college students. Racial cohesion and racial dissonance were positively and inversely related to goal efficacy, respectively. Racial factors also predicted the students’ specific goals and their support and barrier attributions.
Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 2014
Social cohesion and agency in Blacks have not been sufficiently explored in a culturally relevant... more Social cohesion and agency in Blacks have not been sufficiently explored in a culturally relevant context. The current study (n = 242 Black college students) explores the concept of racial cohesion, or the intersection of racial identity, common fate destiny, and sociopolitical agency by determining the psychometric properties of the Racial Cohesion Questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis established that the Racial Cohesion Questionnaire had two factors, Racial Agency and Psychological Cohesion. Additionally, racial ambivalence and disconnect was measured by the Black Racial Dissonance Inventory, which was determined using exploratory factor analysis. Racial cohesion and dissonance were also investigated for their relationship with community engagement and racism stress.
Women & Therapy, 2015
ABSTRACT
Throughout our lives, we are exposed to verbal, visual, and tacit messages that shape our self-pe... more Throughout our lives, we are exposed to verbal, visual, and tacit messages that shape our self-perceptions as well as our interpretations of our place in the world. As Black families are faced with the temperamental whims of acceptance by mainstream society, parents may use racial socialization to counter and protect their children from malicious stereotypes that may limit their opportunities as well as to promote healthy functioning through adulthood. In this chapter, we discuss the historical and current issues in racial socialization research and propose new directions for conceptualizing future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) (chapter)
-Spring Valley High School
-Cellphone Video & Social Network Reporting
-Social Justice
-An Op-Ed ... more -Spring Valley High School
-Cellphone Video & Social Network Reporting
-Social Justice
-An Op-Ed piece
How do African American youth perceive images of black women in popular media? How do they interp... more How do African American youth perceive images of black women in popular media? How do they interpret the meaning of these messages, especially those that maintain persistent negative stereotypes? Focus groups with African American high school and college-age youth were conducted. Findings indicate that youth, both male and female, readily identified many images of black women as negative, inaccurate, and offensive. Further, their responses suggest their concern about the impact of these images on how majority groups may perceive black women and black communities, overall.
Negotiating racial politics in the United States is a rapidly transforming and dynamic matter. As... more Negotiating racial politics in the United States is a rapidly transforming and dynamic matter. As a result, racial/ethnic socialization (R/ES) measurement must match this transformation to reflect the current processes utilized by Black Americans to manage racial conflict. We describe the scale construction of the Cultural and Racial Experiences of Socialization (CARES), a multidimensional assessment of R/ES based on Racial Encounter Coping Appraisal and Socialization theory. Additionally, we tested the CARES for its relation with gender and perceived racism. Utilizing a national sample of 373 Black college students, Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed the CARES to have 35 items and a 5 factor-solution. The CARES demonstrated strong overall internal consistency and its factors had moderate to strong internal consistency coefficients. The CARES factors allude to the complex role of R/ES as a social cognitive strategy for managing racial conflict. New concepts include both racism and bicultural coping strategies. We move beyond traditional concepts of cultural mistrust, which focus on a suspicion of the motives of White people, with the Racial Stereotyping factor that includes messages conveying cynical views of other Black people based on social class, gender and colorism. Gender differences in R/ES indicate that parents may perceive the consequences of racial conflict and miscues to be more dismal for their sons than their daughters. Interaction effects were found between R/ES and perceived racism. Family practitioners can use the findings to guide parents that are vacillating on the importance of discussing racial hierarchies with their children.
Social cohesion and agency in Blacks have not been sufficiently explored in a culturally relevant... more Social cohesion and agency in Blacks have not been sufficiently explored in a culturally relevant context. The current study (n = 242 Black college students) explores the concept of racial cohesion, or the intersection of racial identity, common fate destiny, and sociopolitical agency by determining the psychometric properties of the Racial Cohesion Questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis established that the Racial Cohesion Questionnaire had two factors, Racial Agency and Psychological Cohesion. Additionally, racial ambivalence and disconnect was measured by the Black Racial Dissonance Inventory, which was determined using exploratory factor analysis. Racial cohesion and dissonance were also investigated for their relationship with community engagement and racism stress.
Understanding the range of factors that contribute to Black students’ success requires scholars t... more Understanding the range of factors that contribute to Black students’ success requires scholars to examine resiliency from multifaceted perspectives that include aspects of social competency, social responsibility, and agency. Using a national sample of 242 Black college students, the current study examines the indicators that inform racial cohesion and dissonance at different college contexts, that is, Historically Black Colleges/Universities (HBCU) or Predominately White Institutions (PWI). Exploring these factors has implications for how Black college students perceive and navigate the challenge of balancing personal success and social responsibility. Students at HBCUs were higher in racial cohesion, particularly on the Racial Agency subscale. No statistically significant differences were found on the Psychological Cohesion subscale or on the measure of Black racial dissonance by college context and gender. This suggests that differences in racial cohesion behaviors were neither the result of disparities in emotional connections, nor ambivalent feelings toward Blacks as a whole. Social interactions in high school moderated the relationship between racial cohesion and college contexts. Thus, Black friendships before college may engender stronger racial cohesion, regardless of the college context. Additionally, racial cohesion moderated the inverse relationship between White social interactions and racism stress, implying that student affairs personnel can use community-building strategies to facilitate interracial social interactions on college campuses.
Bentley-Edwards, K. L. & Robbins, Paul A. (2014). What Black Parents Need to Know About School Re... more Bentley-Edwards, K. L. & Robbins, Paul A. (2014). What Black Parents Need to Know About School Readiness Contradictions. Psych Discourse, 48(1).
How do African American youth perceive images of black women in popular media? How do they interp... more How do African American youth perceive images of black women in popular media? How do they interpret the meaning of these messages, especially those that maintain persistent negative stereotypes? Focus groups with African American high school and college-age youth were conducted. Findings indicate that youth, both male and female, readily identified many images of black women as negative, inaccurate, and offensive. Further, their responses suggest their concern about the impact of these images on how majority groups may perceive black women and black communities, overall.
Bentley-Edwards, K. L., & Adams-Bass, V. N. (2013). The Whole Picture: Examining Black women thro... more Bentley-Edwards, K. L., & Adams-Bass, V. N. (2013). The Whole Picture: Examining Black women through the life span. In H. O. Jackson Lowman (Ed.), Afrikan American Women: Living at the Crossroads of Race, Gender, Class, and Culture: Cognella Press/University Readers.
Bentley-Edwards, K. L., Thomas, D. E., & Stevenson, H. (2013). Raising Consciousness: Promoting h... more Bentley-Edwards, K. L., Thomas, D. E., & Stevenson, H. (2013). Raising Consciousness: Promoting healthy coping among African American boys at school. In C. Clauss-Ehlers, Z. Serpell & M. Weist (Eds.), Handbook of Culturally Responsive School Mental Health: Advancing Research, Training, Practice, and Policy Springer.
Psychology in The Schools, 2009
The present study investigated the predictive influence of students' reactive emotional coping an... more The present study investigated the predictive influence of students' reactive emotional coping and racial socialization experiences on teachers' perceptions of classroom behavior adjustment problems. Participants were 148 African American male youth attending a secondary school in a large northeastern city. Behavioral outcomes included teacher ratings of student behavioral overactivity in different classroom situations. Results using hierarchical regression analyses show that measures of social rejection sensitivity, anger expression, and racial socialization predict teacher-observed behavioral overactivity, with overt anger expression being the most powerful predictor. Findings suggest that racial socialization and particular styles of emotional coping are important determinants for teachers' impressions of classroom behavior for some African American adolescent males. Implications for future research and interventions with African American male youth in urban secondary schools are discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Conference Presentations by Keisha Bentley-Edwards
From Brown vs. Board of Education to No Child Left Behind, to Race-to-the-Top, academic dispari... more From Brown vs. Board of Education to No Child Left Behind, to Race-to-the-Top, academic disparities between Black and White children and youth continue to permeate politics, disappoint parents and frustrate students and teachers. This panel offers insight into what we have learned about teachers and what is important for teaching Black youth. Within the context of the current state of the public education system and the legacy of Black teachers, the papers presented focus on academic experiences among ethnically diverse Black students, teacher preparation, essential skills and curriculum content for teaching Black youth. This roundtable offers insight into teacher preparation, profiles of savvy Black students, parent participation in education and how racial/ethnic socialization and Black History knowledge relate to students performance.
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Papers by Keisha Bentley-Edwards
-Cellphone Video & Social Network Reporting
-Social Justice
-An Op-Ed piece
Conference Presentations by Keisha Bentley-Edwards
-Cellphone Video & Social Network Reporting
-Social Justice
-An Op-Ed piece