Black Children

Experiences and situations unique to black children and their parents are the focus of this comprehensive collection of current empirical research. "Afro-American children develop a duality for their existence," the editors emphasize. "To be fully functional, they must develop the skills to do well simultaneously in two different cultures, both black and non-black." This volume explores the meaning of this duality in four distinct environments: socioeconomic, educational, parental, and internal. The complex resulting picture explodes many of the myths that surround black childhood development. For example, although it is generally assumed that the harsh socioeconomic realities faced by most black children reduce their sense of self-worth, the studies in this collection show that black children have about the same distribution of self-esteem as other children, only deriving their self-esteem from different sources. The findings in this study confirm the contributors' two fundamental assumptions: first, despite the economic mobility of some blacks, most black children live in an environment that threatens their physical existence; and second, much of the child development research and literature has viewed black children negatively. Black Children, which is largely an outgrowth of meetings of the Empirical Conference of black Psychology held over the last nine years, will interest researchers and practitioners in several different fields, including black studies, family studies, education, and child psychology and development. "A valuable and welcome contribution to dispelling the kinds of myths and generalizations that abound in this area of study." --Ethnic Minority Digest "This fine book will be of particular interest to researchers, both for the issues that appear to be laid to rest and for the compelling and nagging questions that emerge: the differential influence of ecological systems on Black males and females, and what environmental characteristics may account for these differences. But this book will also be of great interest to practitioners and graduate students in education, social work, nursing, and mental health." --The Journal of Negro EducationMcAdoo, Harriette Pipes is the author of 'Black Children' with ISBN 9780803924611 and ISBN 0803924615.