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AbstractObjectiveThe goal was to examine direct and indirect associations between racial discrimination and parenting among African American mothers and fathers.BackgroundExperiences of racial discrimination are common among African Americans, with well‐documented effects on individual functioning. Greater attention to associations between racial discrimination and family functioning, including parenting, is needed, as are tests of whether these associations might arise indirectly through depressive symptoms.MethodData from 346 African American families were used to examine correlations between racial discrimination and nurturant involved parenting, consistent discipline, and educational involvement among mothers and fathers, and to examine indirect effect models testing linkages through depressive symptoms.ResultsThere was minimal evidence of significant direct (bivariate) associations between racial discrimination and parenting. There were, however, significant negative indirect effects from racial discrimination to nurturant involved parenting and to consistent discipline through depressive symptoms for mothers and fathers.ConclusionHigher levels of racial discrimination were associated with lower levels of nurturant involved parenting and consistent discipline through higher depressive symptoms.ImplicationsConceptual models describing the effects of racial discrimination on families should integrate indirect effects through individual functioning. Interventions focused on supporting African American parents should address the harmful effects of racial discrimination on individual and family well‐being.

The term feminization of poverty was coined to capture the increasing rates of poverty among mother-only families. More recently, it has been used to draw attention to the failure of men to provide support for their former wives by emphasizing the enforcement of child-support legislation. The focus on this legislation has overlooked the needs of the most vulnerable families. By using the case of African-American families, this article presents a more comprehensive approach to addressing the poverty of single mothers that will bridge the racial and class divisions among women.

Grandmother caregiving in African American communities is a tradition used across social classes and circumstances of adult children and grandchildren. Yet, in the literature, it is viewed as a strategy used when the well-being of children is in jeopardy, families have low-incomes and limited resources, and parents are experiencing social problems. However, Mrs. Marian Shields Robinson is serving as a grandmother caregiver to the first African American First Family in the White House. This article provides an expanded view on the variations of grandmother caregiving by critically analyzing it and Mrs. Robinson's role to provide social workers with four implications for practice.

Studies on support networks suggest that networks are an important context from which families manage, especially for African American families. The 1988 National Survey on Families and Households was used to assess the extent of network involvement and the relationship to household labor. Among married, African American couples, about half received tangible assistance related to managing a household and a majority of men and women reported receiving emotional support from friends and relatives. Path models with tangible assistance, emotional support, demographic factors, and an indicator of stress revealed different variable relationships for husbands and wives. Husbands who received help with tasks reported more hours in weekly housework time. For wives, however, tangible assistance was independent of time in household tasks, but emotional support contributed to feeling overwhelmed by household responsibilities.

African American men constitute a disproportionate percentage of state-prison inmates throughout me United States. The author examines the reasons for this phenomenon and how imprisonment affects the families and family relationships of African American men. Five types of family-centered programs or services designed to help incarcerated African American men and their families survive the trauma of imprisonment are identified and described.

This qualitative study investigated the personal experiences of police racial bias and brutality among 18 African-American parents, the effect these experiences have had on them, how they discuss such incidents with their children, and which sources of strength the rely on during difficult times. Results revealed that both the participants and some of their children had endured negative encounters with law enforcement, and most of them suffered mental health consequences as a result, including fear, anger, and chronic stress. Most of the participants reported engaging in various forms of preparation for bias, including preparation for interaction with the police. For many, this was in order to ensure their children's survival. Despite the negative and sometimes traumatic experiences, participants indicated that they found strength primarily in their faith and their families. Implications of these findings are discussed.