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The Strong African American Families Program: Disrupting the Negative Consequences of Racial Discrimination Through Culturally Tailored, Family-Based Prevention

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Abstract

Racism continues to be a major source of stress for African Americans and can impair psychological functioning. Adolescents experiencing discrimination may engage in self-soothing, but risky behaviors, which leave them at risk for negative life trajectories. Black pride has been identified as a key factor in explaining the heterogeneity in responses to discrimination. Racial socialization, strategies parents use to promote Black pride and protect youth from discrimination, is an important focus of family-based prevention programs serving African American families. This study tests the efficacy of a culturally tailored preventive intervention for rural African American families to disrupt the negative consequences of discrimination on adolescent psychological functioning. Four waves of data from the Strong African American Families (SAAF) efficacy trial (Murry & Brody in Journal of Marital & Family Therapy 30(3):271-283, 2004) with 667 African American families in rural Georgia were used for this study. Structural equation modeling was used to test study hypotheses. Adolescent experiences with discrimination at age 15 predicted concurrent psychological functioning and multiple risk behaviors at age 16, including sexual risk behavior, substance use problems, academic failure, and juvenile justice involvement. Mediation analyses demonstrated that psychological functioning was a significant mediator of these relations. The SAAF program was associated with increases in racial socialization, which in turn fostered gains in adolescent Black pride. Black pride was indirectly associated with reduced risk behavior through adolescent psychological functioning, but Black pride did not moderate the effect of discrimination on psychological functioning. This study confirms that family-based prevention can support African American adolescent mental health in the context of discrimination. However, more emphasis on reducing exposure to discrimination is needed.

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Funding

This study was supported by National Institute of Mental Health (MH063043; PI Murry).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, 425 N. 5th St, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, USA

    Cady Berkel

  2. REACH Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA

    Cady Berkel

  3. Departments of Health Policy and Human & Organizational Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA

    Velma McBride Murry

  4. College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, USA

    Nalani A. Thomas

  5. Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Phoenix, USA

    Beza Bekele

  6. Department of Human & Organizational Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA

    Marlena L. Debreaux, Catherine Gonzalez & Rachel A. Hanebutt

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  1. Cady Berkel
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Correspondence to Cady Berkel.

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This trial was designed in accordance with the basic ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, justice, and non-maleficence and conducted in accordance with the rules of Good Clinical Practice outlined in the most recent Declaration of Helsinki. The project was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of Georgia.

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Consent and assent were obtained from all participants included in the study.

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Velma McBride Murry is a codeveloper of the Strong African American Families program.

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Berkel, C., Murry, V.M., Thomas, N.A. et al. The Strong African American Families Program: Disrupting the Negative Consequences of Racial Discrimination Through Culturally Tailored, Family-Based Prevention. Prev Sci 25, 44–55 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-022-01432-x

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