Sociocultural Contexts of African American FamiliesHill, N. E., Murry, V. M., & Anderson, V. D. (in review). In K. A. Dodge, V. C. McLoyd, & N. E. Hill (Eds.), African American family life in the 21st Century America: Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities (tentative title). Duke Series on Child Development and Public Policy; Volume 2, Series Editors: K. A. Dodge & M. Putallaz. New York: Guilford Press.
An overview of sociocultural contexts that indirectly or directly affect African American family functioning, and explores implications of such contexts for research paradigms and policy development is provided. The chapter commences with a brief historical perspective of the terminology that has been used to describe African Americans, and the significance of terminology as a factor in shaping approaches to research on African American families. The chapter then explores emerging issues in the study of sociocultural contexts affecting African American family life, including increasing diversity among African Americans as a result of regional, income, political and phenotypic differences; the effects of increasing immigration and cultural pluralism; and continuities and discontinuities across time in the African American experience. The importance of conceptually and empirically delineating the effects of culture, minority status and poverty in research paradigms is also highlighted. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of methodological considerations for accurate examination of the sociocultural contexts discussed in this and other areas of the volume