Suicide and Eating Disordered Behavior Among Individuals of African Descent:: Acculturation and Psychopathology

By Dr. Daniel Leighton Hollar

This book examines the relationship between culture and psychopathology to determine if proposed psychological risk factors ( low ethnic identification and high level of acculturative stress) are predictive of several key mental health variables related to suicide and eating disorder behaviors (depression, anxiety, suicidality, body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness) in individuals of African descent in the U.S. Results confirm the hypothesis that low ethnic identification attitudes (low African Self-fortification) interacts with acculturative stress to predict greater suicidality in African American men while a low value for African Centered Relationships predicts Drive for Thinness in African American women.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503595682

Dr. Daniel Leighton Hollar

I completed my PhD in Clinical Psychology from Florida State University, where I taught general psychology, worked with juvenile sex offenders and forensic psychiatric inpatients. Upon graduation I was offered a visiting professorship at Florida A&M University, where I taught multiple undergraduate- and graduate-level courses, including Introduction Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, and Psychological Assessment. I served as chair for the Annual Imhotep Multidisciplinary Student Research Conference and assisted in the planning and implementation of the First Annual Black/African Psychology Conference, where I presented research found in this book. I hope this work is beneficial to researchers, clinicians, and laypersons. Peace.

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Copyright © 2015 by Dr. Daniel Leighton Hollar.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Rev. date: 08/18/2015

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Contents

LIST OF TABLES

1   INTRODUCTION

Suicide

Ethnic Identity, Acculturative stress and Suicide

Eating Disorders

Ethnic Identity, Acculturative stress and Eating Disorders

Summary

Current Study Proposed Model

2   METHOD

Sample Size Planning and Statistical Power

Participants

Procedure

Materials and Measures

Data Analytic Strategy

3   RESULTS

MINOR ANALYSES

The Ethnic Identification X Acculturative Stress Interaction on Suicidality Among All Individuals

Effects of Acculturative Stress, Ethnic Identification (MEIM) on Suicidality in African American Versus European American Individuals

The Ethnic Identification X Acculturative Stress Interaction on Eating Disorder Symptomatology Among All Women

MAIN ANALYSES

The Ethnic Identification Attitudes X Acculturative Stress Interaction in Predicting Suicidal Symptomatology among African American Men.

The Ethnic Identification Attitudes X Acculturative Stress Interaction in Predicting Eating Disorder Symptomatology among African American Women.

4   DISCUSSION

Discussion of Findings Specific to African American Participants.

African American Men & Suicidality

African American Women & Eating Disorder Symptomatology

Limitations

Implications and Conclusion

REFERENCES

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Summary of Means and Standard Deviations for Measures

Table 2 Intercorrelations Between Variables

Table 3 The Ethnic Identification (MEIM) X Acculturative Stress (SAFE) Interaction in Predicting Suicidal Symptomatology Among All Individuals

Table 4 a. The Ethnic Identification (MEIM) X Acculturative Stress (SAFE) Interaction in Predicting Suicidal Symptomatology among African American Individuals.

Table 5 a. The Ethnic Identification (MEIM) X Acculturative Stress (SAFE) Interaction in Predicting Body Dissatisfaction Among African American, European American and Hispanic American Women

b. The Ethnic Identification (MEIM) X Acculturative Stress (SAFE) Interaction in Predicting Drive for Thinness Among African American, European American and Hispanic American Women

Table 6 The Ethnic Identification Attitudes X Acculturative Stress Interaction in Predicting Suicidal Symptomatology among African American Men

Table 6 – continued

Table 7 The Positive Ethnic Identification X Acculturative Stress Interaction in Predicting Drive for Thinness among African American Women

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my major professor, Dr. Thomas E. Joiner, Jr., for his support and guidance. I thank my research committee members, Dr. Na’im Akbar and Dr. Ashby Plant for their recommendations concerning this project. Countless thanks are due to my parents, Tony and Endell, and to all of my family and community members for their concern and encouragement. Finally, I thank the Creator, for our individual differences and collective strengths.

INTRODUCTION

At some point in life, every individual will encounter negative life events that could lead to anxiety, depression or related forms of psychological distress. Though individual differences exist, some individual’s negative life experiences may be more similar due to environmental, temporal or biological variables. It is possible that one benefit of culture is that it helps individuals collectively cope with the similar problems they encounter. For example, in general, African American individuals experience unique problems related to racism and discrimination for which their culture has devised effective ways to cope (e.g., perhaps through emphasizing the importance of family relationships, community and faith). Each culture may have specific protective factors associated with it that help its’ members cope. If so, then African Americans who adopt a European American ethnic identification may not be well-equipped to deal with problems unique to the African American experience and vice versa. Thus, individuals who have greater and more positive ethnic identification attitudes should be better equipped to deal with the unique problems associated with belonging to their ethnic group.

The apparent increase in suicide among African American men and eating disorders among African American women has gained the attention of researchers investigating the psychological well-being of minority group members. Some researchers propose that such increases in pathological behavior are the result of experiences related to acculturation and acculturative stress (Hovey, 2000; Landrine & Klonoff, 1996; Walker, 2002; Perez, 2001). Such research is usually based on the notion that suicide and eating disorders are culturally linked phenomena that are not historically prevalent in the African American community. This may imply that traditional African American cultural values and norms protect against these forms of psychological distress. As African American individuals continue integrating into the dominant American culture, they will become increasingly exposed to the values, beliefs and practices of that culture. Some individuals may even replace their own values, beliefs and practices with those of the dominant group. This occurrence may become problematic if the acculturated attitudes place one at an increased risk for psychological distress. Thus, deficits in ethnic identification may be a risk factor for individuals who experience acculturative stress because the protective factors associated with identifying with one’s ethnic group are lost. Until now, the interaction of acculturative stress and ethnic identification attitudes as it relates to suicide in African