for psychology class. the assignment will be a minimum of six pages in APA format.

 Page 1 – Cover page  

 Page 2 – abstract  (150-250 word summary of YOUR paper)

 Pages 3-5.. contains – Introduction (150-200 words), Review (500-word minimum), Critique (500-word minimum)

 Last page – References

abstract section in this paper will be a summary of what YOU write in the remainder of the paper. It is NOT a summary of the article or the overall subject. It helps the reader know what you have written in YOUR paper.

There are four important aspects to this assignment. 

• Clarity, Accuracy, APA Requirements and Reference. 
• Cite the research/author (in-text citations) correctly and record the reference in accordance with APA formatting style. 
• Write the Introduction section which is a summary of the article and include a problem statement.
• Correctly format the overall paper according to the APA 6th edition standards.

Please review the rubric before beginning the assignment. 

EARLY MORTALITY 8

Early Mortality: Review of the Charleston Heart Study

A Critiqué Submitted by

[Your Name]

El Centro College

Psychology 23xx, Section 5xxxx, Fall 2013

Running head: EARLY MORTALITY 1

Abstract

This essay provides a review of forty years of follow-up data from the Charleston Heart Study (CHS) in their article Divorce and Death: Forty Years of the Charleston Heart Study. This includes a longitudinal CHS, which included data collected from more than 1300 adults from 1960 to 2000, Sbarra and Nietert explored the relationship between social connectedness and health using the CHS data and attempted to provide insight into the long term health consequences of becoming separated or divorced (2009). Being separated or divorced during the follow-up window appeared to be one of the strongest predictors of early mortality. In addition to the review of the actual study, a critique is included that provides a critical analysis of the quality of the researchers’ study and article as published in the Psychological Science journal. The critique addresses such items as ethics, usefulness, sample size and diversification as well as a plethora of other interesting items useful to provide collegiate feedback of the work by Sbarra and Nietert.

Early Mortality: Review of the Charleston Heart Study

Introduction

The researchers posed that recent research in social epidemiology has spurred advances into the association between interpersonal relationships and health (Sbarra & Nietert, 2009) but there were limits to the overall findings. It is suggested that relationship can play a vital role in an individual’s lifespan development. Sbarra and Nietert share this sentiment. More specifically, that social integration (i.e. a close relationship in which one feels close to others and that the relationship is reciprocally dependable) is positively correlated with mortality; however, a life deficient in social integration may be a strong predictor of early mortality (Sbarra & Nietert, 2009). The researchers carefully reviewed the data from the CHS to help explain the mechanism linking social connectedness and health.

The authors were interested in providing new insights into the long-term health consequences of divorce or separation. Many previous studies on the link between divorce and health have failed to present marital status as a dynamic variable. However, the researchers took into account both the length of time the participants were divorced and eventual remarriage rates which appears to have significantly improved their ability to make the link.

Review

In order to present marital status as dynamically as possible, the researchers classified participants in the study in three ways. First, marital status (married, separated-divorced, widowed, or never married) at the first assessment was examined as a predictor of long-term mortality (Sbarra & Nietert, 2009). Second, the researchers calculated the hazard ratio (HR) of early death for adults who were separated or divorced at each assessment relative to all other participants who contributed at least one marital-status entry (Sbarra & Nietert, 2009). Finally, to determine if the effect of remaining separated or divorced differed from the effect of having ever experienced a separation or divorce, the researchers reclassified the sample to calculate the HR of adults who simply experienced a marital separation or divorce at some point during the CHS follow-up period relative to all other participants (Sbarra & Nietert, 2009).

The researchers used data collected in the Charleston Heart Study to address the possible link between marital status and health. The CHS was a community-based cohort study designed to assess the normal course of health and aging for adults over age 35 residing in Charleston County, South Carolina and while the study began in 1960, marital-status data were collected during several follow-up phases: 1962–1964, 1974–1975, 1984–1985, 1987–1989, and 1990–1991 (Sbarra & Nietert, 2009). Mortality data were updated throughout the study, with the final revision spanning the entire 41-year period.

The CHS began with an initial sample of 2181 adults, 1195 women and 986 men, 61% were of Caucasian decent, while the remainder of the sample was of African American decent (Sbarra & Nietert, 2009). At the onset of the study, the average age of the participants were 48 years 9 months. The fact that the average age of the participants was not exceptionally young, combined with the extended length of the study, provided an opportunity for the researchers to capture data to the end of life for the majority of the participants (Sbarra & Nietert, 2009).

In the CHS, information on marital status was collected by self-report, and participants were classified as married, widowed, separated, divorced, or never married at each assessment. In the researchers’ analysis, the separated and divorced categories were merged to create a single category defined by the experience of marital separation (Sbarra & Nietert, 2009). At the 1962–1964 assessment, the first-time marital status data was captured, 81.2% of the sample was married, 10% was widowed, 5.5% was separated or divorced, and 3.3% had never been married (Sbarra & Nietert, 2009).

In-person medical interviews at the beginning of the CHS provided a large amount of medical data, such as blood pressure, smoking status, and body mass index, that helped the researchers predict mortality. To predict mortality over the 41-year study period, the researchers used Cox proportional hazards models, a regression approach commonly referred to as survival analysis. The researchers were able to create predictors for each variable to isolate the effect of the variable of interest – time spent divorced or separated on age of death.

Of the 1,376 adults in the restricted sample assessed at baseline, 74% had died by 2000, with the remaining 26% excluded from the research (Sbarra & Nietert, 2009). The researchers found that separated and divorced participants had a 55% greater likelihood of death in the follow-up period than participants from the other three categories of relationship status (Sbarra & Nietert, 2009).

The analysis of the CHS data by the researchers suggests that longevity of life is positively correlated to healthy and cherished relationships and that living a large portion of life as a separated or divorced adult may add considerable risk for all-cause of mortality (as cited in Sbarra & Nietert). It may be further suggested that the process of a marital break may not present the highest mortality risk; rather it is more likely the time spent without a significant other that is the most crucial factor. The results do not lend to reasons of cause but suggest results of significant correlation. This agrees with Sbarra and Nietert, who also suggest that additional research is necessary to fully understand the mechanisms behind the elevated risk of early mortality associated with time spent as a separated or divorced individual (2009).

Critique

The Charleston Heart Study, on which the article is based, appeared to be conducted in an ethical and scientific manner. In addition, the researchers appeared to be interested in conducting a study that included a diverse sample. After the initial 1960 phase of the study, 102 Black men of high socioeconomic status were added to increase the diversity component, which could be considered “forward-thinking” for 1962-era America. The fact that this was a longitudinal study (i.e. conducted over a span of 41 years) proved to be beneficial. Since the original study was conducted with cardiovascular health in mind, the fact that the authors had the insight of gathering other useful data for later use, is truly impressive.

Still, there are some shortcomings with the data, as Sbarra and Nietert admit (2009). The incident of divorce was less customary at the onset of the CHS, though it would become significantly more common as the study progressed. Consequently, this presents one of the limits of a cohort study (i.e. how the customs of a single generation can affect the results of a study unlike another generation). The number of participants that remained separated or divorced throughout the follow-up period was relatively small, limiting the ability of the sample to be generalized across the entire population. It may have also been more efficacious to delineate between those who were separated and those who were divorced in the original study. Separating this group into two variables may have expanded the results and provided more insight.

Despite these limits, the work of the authors has provided contemporary researchers with a good start in understanding the link between marriage status and longevity of life. A more modern approach to this type of study, with more nuanced relationship status categories and more frequent follow-up occasions, might benefit the subject matter. A new study, with a more contemporary cohort sample and the opportunity to collect data specifically useful to psychological research, may proffer more insight for the avid researcher. Additional follow up studies may also include individuals from select cultures or ethnicities as well as individuals from a variety of socioeconomic statuses.

References

Sbarra, D. A. & Nietert, P. J. (2009). Divorce and death: Forty years of the Charleston heart study. Psychological Science, 20(1), pp. 107-113.

ABBREVIATED TITLE IN CAPITAL LETTERS

8

Full Title in Upper and Lower Case Letters

A Critiqué Submitted by:

Name of Student

El Centro College

Psychology 2301, Section 51005, Spring 2012

Running head: ABBREVIATED TITLE IN CAPITAL LETTERS 1

Abstract

The abstract is a summary of YOUR paper. In essence, the abstract section for this paper will include a summary of both the Review and Critique sections of YOUR paper. It is similar to reading the back cover of a book to get a snapshot of what the book is about. Read the author’s abstract as an example of how an abstract is written but DO NOT copy their abstract. If you write something in your abstract or any other portion of your paper that is taken from someone else (including the author of the article you are critiquing), you must cite them in or at the end of that sentence and later (on the References page) provide a full “address” of where the source can be found. Please be aware, for your purposes in this class, plagiarism will earn you an automatic zero (Ø) on the assignment.

The abstract is generally written last or after you have completed the assignment, as it is a summary of what you have written. For the Abstract, you will be required to write 150-250 words. This is the only page that is NOT first-line indented and is should be flush with the left margin of your page (i.e. left justified).

Note: When you submit your paper for grading, it will be automatically sent to SafeAssign which analyses your paper for similarities found in other papers that have been submitted, research articles and websites. It is highly functional and will most often catch plagiarism, so please do not plagiarize. Also, it is advisable for you to use this template as much of the formatting has already been done.

Full Title in Upper and Lower Case Letters

Introduction

Beginning on page three, you will write the headings Introduction, Review, and Critique and you will begin using indentions for each paragraph. In APA writing, there are specific ways to write headings depending on how many levels are used. This is the one time you ARE allowed to use font effects (i.e., bolds or italics).

The Introduction is ONE paragraph of 150-250 words that will first provide a PROBLEM STATEMENT in a single sentence and then summarizes the article you chose from the list. As soon as you state something that was taken from the article, you must IMMEDIATELY cite your source(s) within the text or at the end of that sentence (whether quoting or paraphrasing). Here are a couple examples of how to use “in text citations:”

· Smith suggests that the average dog lives eight years (2011).

· It is believed that the average dog lives eight years (Smith, 2011). The author’s name was not listed in the sentence and needs to be added to the end.

· “After careful review of over 10,000 records, it was determined that the average dog’s lifespan covers eight years” (Smith, 2011, p154). Quotes should include quotation marks and the citation identifies the specific page(s) on which the quote was found.

In any case, the period for the sentence is after the citation.

… lives eight years (2011). Not …lives eight years. (2011)

If it is found that you have plagiarized without having given due credit, you will receive a zero (Ø) on the assignment, and this activity may be reported to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences division. Plagiarism is a serious issue and will NOT be tolerated.

Review

When you write content on the next heading, do not add extra lines before the next heading. Notice there is not an additional line between the last sentence of the Introduction section and the beginning of the Review section of this template.

After you have read the material for your assignment and thought about it, give an overview of its contents. This differs from the Introduction section in that it is more comprehensive and consequently a page or more in length and that it must identify assumptions made by the researcher of the article.

Briefly explain WHAT types of research or experiments were conducted, WHO were these conducted on, WHERE were they conducted, WHEN were they conducted, and HOW were they conducted. For example, you might list the organization by name (Western University) or location (“an inner city high school in Chicago, Illinois”). Include ages and gender of the subjects, and whether or not parental consent was required in order to assess this sample.

Include details of how much research was investigated and the conclusions of the research.

Do NOT use I, my, he, she, them, we, us, or other pronouns. In fact, the assignment should be written completely in the third person which helps remove subjective opinion (i.e., your personal thoughts or opinions) and favors an OBJECTIVE approach (spoken from the perspective of an uninvolved observer) by such statements as, “The researchers determined that a multiple regression analysis of the data was sufficient to assess the validity of the research methodology.” Third person makes the writer a reporter of the facts. Personal opinions are simply not relevant or appropriate for this paper.

Further, when writing about an experiment, you must also indicate what the hypothesis’ were (there is rarely only one hypothesis, so include them all), and what the researchers expected to find.

State the findings (conclusions) and whether or not they were consistent with what the researchers had anticipated. “Negative results” are okay…we do not always find what we hope to, but we DO report everything. It is not necessary for you to give a synopsis of the statistical and data analysis methods used by the researchers.

Critique

In this section you will write a page or more about the quality of the author’s article and the quality of their research (if they conducted research). Do not write a review of the subject itself. This is your opportunity to express your objective findings on the article. Think of it as if you were a food critic and evaluating a restaurant. You would not report to your readers that the food was “very hot” because that would be subjective. You would possibly say the plate was seasoned with, reporting a list of spices, and most likely more spicy than the average person would prefer. It may also be reported that one might expect runny nose, watery eyes and similar types of reactions that are common when eating “spicy foods.” This provides a more objective view of the spicy level of the food.

Again, the assignment requires writing in third person, NOT first person (i.e., I think they failed to comply with the Scientific Method, etc.) nor use phrases like “in MY opinion.” It would be better to say, the authors did not comply with the Scientific Method as they did not ….

This is your rare opportunity to actually criticize (providing objective findings, positive and/or negative) what a researcher has done, so make the most of it. If you disagree with how the research was conducted, say so, but TELL WHY this is so, BASED ON THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD as discussed in lecture and your textbook. Such comments on your part show that you have applied critical thinking to your review of the article. Again, this is not a forum for your opinions or for feedback of the subject itself but for your collegiate critical thinking on the quality of their research and/or article. Then end your Critique section with a conclusion statement.

Here are more items to consider for your Critique section.

· Did the authors:

· follow all appropriate scientific protocols such as:

· identify the target population;

· obtain a random sample or more specifically a representative sample;

· provide clear definitions (operationalization) of their dependent and independent variables;

· indicate their specific methodologies;

· give adequate consideration to various aspects of their topic by having read the research of a number of researchers in this area.

· Did the findings leave the typical reader more or less interested in this topic?

· Would it be helpful for the reader to see more articles in this area of research or meta-analysis …perhaps with additional questions (i.e., hypotheses) in the future?

· Did the researchers violate the principles of scientific methodology (e.g., the Scientific Method) in some way?

· Did the researchers obtain Informed Consent from all participants? Was parental consent (or that of a legal guardian) required if the subjects were minors?

· Did the researcher miss something that was obvious?

· Would adding additional groups of people to the sample alter the results?

· Were the researcher’s findings significant, and if so, why?

· Are there additional questions one might have after reading this article?

· Should additional research (or follow up studies) be conducted– perhaps with additional questions or specific parameters or variables? If your article says the average dog can do three tricks, does that vary in other parts of the world or is there a significant difference in the abilities of different breeds of dogs to do tricks?

· What are potential follow-up studies that could be conducted to expand knowledge in this area?

Your responses to the questions and issues in this document will tell whether or not you have actually THOUGHT ABOUT the article at issue.

References

1st Author’s Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. & 2nd Author’s Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial (year published). Write the full title with this type of capitalization. Write the Full Journal Name in Italics in Regular Capitalization 12(1). pp. 120-151.

Note: Use a hanging indention as seen above (i.e. do not indent the first line of the reference but indent each line after for that reference). For the names, do not change the order of the name but also do not list first names, only initials. For the year, do not add season or month. The 12 in italics is the volume number and the 1 in parenthesis is the edition/issue number which is not in italics. Lastly end with the page range of the article followed by a period.

Here is an example of an APA formatted article:

Copeland, R. D. (2017). A comprehensive study of different dog breeds. Journal of Canine Friends, 34(2), pp. 123-145.

Economic Inequality, Racism and Trauma:

Growing Up in Racist Combat Zones and

Living in Racist Prisons

by

Rebecca S. Katz, Ph.D.
r.katz@moreheadstate.edu

Professor of Sociology, Social Work, and Criminology
Morehead State University

Hannah Willis

Undergraduate Research Fellow
Morehead State University

Justin Jabar Joseph

Graduate Assistant, Morehead State University

Abstract

Previous research explains inner city violence through neighborhood mechanisms of social control
without recognizing the traumatic conditions that resemble conditions of combat. This grounded
qualitative analysis based upon interviews with incarcerated men illuminates the combat-like conditions
in which boys become men resulting in multiple traumatic experiences and significant loss of family
members and friends. Moreover, these life history narratives also reveal that many young men of color are
victimized by systemic institutionalized racism within the criminal justice system. We propose a radical
alternative to current practices that offers legitimate job opportunities and mental health treatment rather
than harsh punitive responses.

Introduction

Living in a sanctioned combat zone is physically dangerous and psychologically traumatic
(Humphries, 2010). Similarly, living in a high crime urban area and witnessing your friends and
relatives die as the result of gang related or drug related violence is similarly psychologically
disturbing. In both scenarios, practicing the necessary hyper-vigilance necessitated for survival
over the course of time also becomes psychologically exhausting.

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The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol.7, no.6, November 2014

Young boys and girls who become men and women in communities surrounded by violence and
poverty, with little political or social recognition of these hardships or attempts to provide
assistance are not unlike our soldiers who survive war in spite of government inaction after their
return home. (Harding, 2009; Humphries, 2010). Living in constant fear and witnessing combat
or neighborhood violence is traumatic (Boelen & Prigerson, 2012; Stroebe, Schut, & Van De
Bout, 2013; Bowlby, 1969, & 1988). (Humphries, & 2010; Chamberlin, 2012). Specifically one
scholar argues; “trauma related nervous disorders became the mark of someone who had failed to
live up culturally constructed notions of the ideal male citizen soldier. Thus victims were blamed
for the unmanly behavior by way of stigmatizing medical diagnoses” (Chamberlin, 2012, p.
358). Similarly, our government labels inner city poor men of color who act out their pain after
witnessing neighborhood violence/combat, as criminals rather than victims of the corporate-
government abandonment of such places. Historical attempts to deny and complicate the trauma
of soldiers in combat is likened to historical attempts aimed at emasculating Black men while
differentiating them from real men, who are socially constructed as white and not criminal.
Therefore, our social, economic, and political denial of the humanity and worth of the
masculinity of men of color is similarly replicated in the social denial of their psychological
injuries suffered in economic deprivation, inequality and their early childhood and adolescent
neighborhood trauma (Boelen & Van Den Bout, 2007; & Bowlby, 1947). Moreover, both White
men and men of Color subsequently suffer the pains of imprisonment compounding the psychic
pain of their early experiences in abusive families and economically abandoned rural or urban
areas. Among men of color locked in Southern rurally dominated penal institutions, they
experience employees’ own racist attitudes are similar to poor white inmates’ racist ideologies
(Hassine, 2009, 2012).

Methodology

Semi-structured interview protocols were utilized to interview twenty-one adult incarcerated men
in two medium security prisons over the period of March 2012 through February 2013. The
University Institutional Review Board on Human Subjects approved the protocol as well as State
Department of Corrections and the two prison wardens. Neither Warden permitted a personal
solicitation of volunteers directly. One Warden at the prison with a higher a level of security
asked unit administrators to request that interested men place their names on a list to be
scheduled for the life history interviews. In the second facility, a slightly lower level of a
medium security facility, I spoke directly with Unit Staff asking them to encourage incarcerated
men who might be interested in participating and would be forthcoming. I met each man on the
unit where he lived in the second prison and in the first prison I met with men in the Education
wing separate from living quarters. While my undergraduate research fellow observed several
interviews, I was the only interlocutor throughout the data collection process.

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The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol.7, no.6, November 2014

As a former mental health therapist in a variety of settings from group homes and psychiatric
hospitals to two prisons, I established a therapeutic rapport to gain the trust of each interviewee
firstly expressing my interest in their lives. Secondly, I demonstrated my interest in them by
exhibiting genuineness, empathy and respect. Moreover, my experience as a Therapist has
provided with me a unique skill set to be present in the moment with each man and earn their
trust through the demonstrating the previously mentioned qualities and engaging in appropriate
self-disclosure with each individual.

The questions included eighty-six open-ended items querying men about their experiences inside
and outside their respective institutions including the following: neighborhoods where they grew
up, favorite activities, most pleasant and most painful memories, favorite relatives, the history of
involvement in substance abuse as well as delinquency, romantic relationships, prison visitation,
prison program participation, educational changes, and new attachment relationships. We also
queried early family relationships love relationships and same-sex friendships, work histories,
educational histories, history of harmful and helpful behavior, and gang involvement. These
questions were developed based upon extant research on systemic neighborhood theory, strain
theory, and social learning theory. One coder was utilized for the research simply because this
project was designed and conducted by a single social scientist with the assistance of an
undergraduate research associate and the graduate assistant who were trained throughout the
process of this research project.

We also informed each interviewee that we were attempting to understand their life story and
how they have become who they are now. I engaged each man by mindfully listening to their life
story and attending to verbal and nonverbal responses. I communicated a sincere understanding
of the man’s individual experiencing by demonstrating warmth, genuineness, empathy and
respect of the individual. In addition to the experience of institutionalization (Karp, 2010), we
argue that providing a nurturing and warm responsiveness to each man in a semi-private room,
allowed us to penetrate the protective armor that men in prison often wear to remain
psychologically guarded. I utilized additional probing questions as necessary to develop the life
history narrative of each individual in order to know them more fully as human beings. I took
voluminous notes during each interview capturing quotes when possible. Nevertheless, I tried to
capture the totality of each man’s life as best as is feasible through my field notes. After each
interview session notes were typed into an electronic document file. . This paper includes an
analysis of eight of the men of color and one White male whose life course resembled that of the
other men particularly with regard to his gang related experiences and because his racist beliefs
mirrored some of the other White males’ racist ideologies. .

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The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol.7, no.6, November 2014

With regard to coding data, only the primary researcher reviewed each written interview question
by question and typed responses from each man individually and then subsequently integrated
each man’s story into a coherent chronological order from their early environment through
adulthood and various periods of incarceration. There is no literal quantitative coding of this
data, as it is the story of their lives as they told me, it is a verstehen in the original
operationalization of the term as Max Weber intended it. Readers will come to know these men
as I did with their frailties and strengths as you read through their stories. Emergent these within
the narratives of the responses were identified are summarized below.

Seven of the incarcerated men were Black, twelve were White, and one was an Asian Pacific
Islander and one was Latino. Two men had been incarcerated for over twenty years and two for
over ten years. Four of the men who committed murders were white, and three were Black. One
white man was incarcerated for assaulting a police officer following a car accident and the
discovery of drugs in his automobile. Three Black men murdered other men in drug related
transactions. One white man was incarcerated for physically abusing his infant and five men
were incarcerated for burglary or robbery. Three other men, one white and two African
American were incarcerated for drug sales, although two reported that they witnessed, shot at
and probably killed others and had been shot or stabbed themselves ‘on the streets’. Only one
young African American male was incarcerated for a minor parole violation. Twenty of the
interviews were completed, however in this research we primarily discuss the men of color, all
which are based upon completed interviews.

Results

Each of the men in our study (White and men of color) were seriously psychologically damaged,
often resulting from early childhood wounds which remained largely ignored and untreated
within correctional institutions. Specifically, most of the men grew-up in violent families, were
physically or sexually abused and or witnessed violence in their family or neighborhood. More
importantly we also found that the psychic pain of these men resonated with the findings of other
studies of men and violence, particularly longitudinal work accomplished in Loeber’s (1998)
Pittsburg Youth Study as well as Farrington’s & Joffille’s work (2012) work with London men
(Joffile, Farrington, & Vannick, 2012; Loeber & Farrington, 1998; Loeber & Farrington, 2014).
Specifically, the men who came of age in poor violent urban neighborhoods encountered a great
deal of violent victimization both precluding and following involvement in perpetrating violence
themselves. These nine men experienced long periods of their youth in psychiatric
(predominately white men) or juvenile institutions (primarily men of color and some inner city
poor white men).

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The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol.7, no.6, November 2014

The juvenile justice and mental health systems failed to treat the mental health problems of these
men and boys when the opportunity presented itself. We find this particularly alarming given
current trends in recent mass shootings revealing that many shooters suffered from untreated
mental illnesses (Heinz, 2014, & Meloy, Hempel, Grey, Mohande, & Andrew, 2004).

Several central themes emerged across these men’s lives. Each man experienced insurmountable
or prolonged loss and were poorly equipped to manage such intense loss (emotional
abandonment and or abuse) and subsequently acted-out or performed violence and engaged in
drug use and sexual promiscuity to suppress or manage that anguish. Additionally, many of these
men experienced insecure attachments and poor parenting as boys and as adults similarly
demonstrated the same inability to parent their own children (Laub & Sampson, 1993, 2003;
Stroebe, & Van Den Bout, 2013; Hagan, McCarthy, & Foster, 2002.). This failure to develop a
secure attachment with a primary caregiver resulted in significant empathy deficits for most of
the men constraining their ability to develop long-term emotional relationships as adults. This
coupled with most men’s traumatic losses also constrained their ability to appropriately express
their psychic pain in socially appropriate ways (Frederick & Goddard, 2008 Jolliffe, &
Farrington, 2006, & 2007).

Given the context of poor parent child attachment experiences, the experience of early traumas
and interpersonal losses, as well as violent or economically deprived urban and rural
communities; these men developed what we refer to as a fractured masculine identity and in
some cases a kind of cowboy masculinity. This cowboy masculinity facilitated to survival in a
chaotic urban or rural context and family context. While some men viewed themselves as
successful economically whether gained legitimately or illegitimately, also they often viewed
themselves as physically powerful, and thus fully capable of withstanding street life as well as
the pains of imprisonment.

These cowboy masculine performances included successful demonstrations of athletic prowess
as youth, promiscuity (only one of the White men reported being gay) supplanted by concurrent
involvement in street corner or rural masculinity where expectations included acting physically
tough, engaging in violence, and using drugs and alcohol or in the case of the one normatively
economically successful men of color, becoming a member of the upper middle class. Among
this group of men of color, most came of age in urban spaces where joblessness and its
concomitant resulting poverty also limited their opportunities for legitimate economic success.

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The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol.7, no.6, November 2014

One man’s early family life was characterized by significant mobility revolving around an
unannounced parental separation that he described a ‘devastating’ community move. All the
other men of color were psychological, physically or sexually abused or abandoned by a parent
or an immediate family member or other adult, or witnessed parental intimate partner violence,
or neighborhood violence. For all these men, such traumatic losses resulted in the inability to
emotionally connect on an intimate level to another human being in a long-term relationship
whether platonic or romantic. Two of the men reported that their fathers arranged sexual
encounters with prostitutes for them when they were boys. Two other men were sexually abused
within the community by drug abusing adult women when they were minors. Five of these men
of color were locked up in group homes or juvenile facilities off and on throughout their teen
years without significant mental health treatment. All of these early psychosocial deprivations
left all twenty-one of the white men and men of color with few socially competent skills with
which to navigate life’s travails as well as with deeply painful psychological wounds with little
opportunity for treatment or healing. These wounds in addition to the abuse of drugs and alcohol
by all of the men with one exception, provided an opportunity to numb the pain and facilitated
on-going criminal involvement.

Among those who engaged in promiscuity and abused drugs and alcohol, their female sexual
partners were often characterized by the same kind of chaotic lives as the men. Most men had
limited legitimate job experience and when they worked legitimately, it was often sporadic. All
of these men’s masculine mentors or fathers and mothers were often antisocial, absent, abusive
and or addicted to mood altering chemicals.

The Survivalist Masculinity of the Inner City

Given the cultural constraints of performing successful masculinity in modern urban or rural
economically deprived zones, expectations of strength become normative, not unlike the
expectations of military masculinities structured into the institution of military service
(Henojosa, 2010). Violent neighborhoods and communities produce trauma, fear, and
educational deprivation and early teen pregnancy among the boys and girls who come of age in
these damaging places (Loeber & Farrington, 2011; Messerschmidt, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2010, &
2012; Websdale, 2010; Collins, 2008; & Harding, 2009). These disadvantaged neighborhoods
are the result of the abandonment by American businesses, the government and institutionalized
white racism and classism (Sampson & Wilson, 2012). These inner city youth and men of color
were forced to navigate the racist social welfare system, law enforcement system, juvenile justice
system, and corrections (Unnever & Gabbidon, 2011).

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The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol.7, no.6, November 2014

This necessitates a unique kind of survival masculinity enabling a boy and later a man to adapt to
these hostile institutions (Unnever & Gabbidon, 2011). Living through chronic individual racist
insults and institutionalized racism are traumatic as well and lead to the incorporation of an
identity grounded in a survivalist/combative type of masculinity, precluding the development of
all other kinds of masculinities (Unnever & Gabbidon, 2011). Sometimes this necessitated a
concerted effort to numb the pain through alcohol and drug abuse as well as serial monogamy
(Edin &Nelson, 2013).

With regard to rural and suburban white masculinities, surviving in economically deprived
communities amidst growing economic inequality with perceptions that they must compete with
white women as well as men of color for access to jobs, leaves them with few remnants of white
male privilege and entitlement, leaving them feeling embittered, what Michael Kimmel calls
‘aggrieved entitlement” (Kimmel, 2013). These men are angry too. Both white men and men of
color living in economic hard times are finding that weak social institutions fail to assist men and
boys in developing adequate opportunities for traditional masculine success (Messerschmidt,
2000, 2004, 2005, 2010, & 2012).

Dominating Masculine Identity: Growing-Up in Combat, the Hood

A number of these men mirrored the identity of their fathers who were deeply involved in
criminal activities, White and Black as well as across rural and urban spaces. Specifically, both
Steve and John’s (pseudonyms) fathers were drug dealers and gang members in highly urbanized
environments, both men’s fathers were sexually involved with multiple women and
demonstrated little ability to engage in nurturing fathering. Both Steve and John also became
drug dealers but failed to see themselves as criminals. For example, John characterized himself
as a simple businessman providing a consumer good while the other described selling drugs as a
sideline while simultaneously engaging in legitimate work. John’s inability to connect to other
human beings was illuminated in our conversations over time as described by long verbal
monologues.

Steve, on the other hand, was engaging and disquietingly happy about fathering seventeen
children even though he was completely disengaged from each of them. While only three
African American men were convicted of selling drugs; two other Black men convicted of
murder also sold drugs previously. Eight of the nine men of color grew-up in neighborhoods
surrounded by violence and poverty. However, two of the men believed the most painful event
in their lives were neither violence nor poverty; but rather a substantial geographic move. For
example, Kevin experienced a parental separation that he called the most painful event of his life
during which there was no communication about what led to the separation.

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The result was a significant geographic relocation across the country until his parents reconciled
a few years later., While Kevin described his boyhood community as a relatively poor inner city
neighborhood, he referred to those times as enjoyable but felt more significant sadness about a
female cousin whom he believed was provided with more nurturing and affection than was he.
The one Latino men, Lucas, reported that when he was growing-up, he and his mother moved
forty-five to fifty times he explained:

“Moving so much [was painful]. It was rough being Chicano and new gangs. Trying to fit in
cause they didn’t want to fit, cause of where you were. I was anxious and fearful.

Mobility as a simple dummy variable in quantitative work fails to capture the comprehensive and
pervasive experience of the loss of friendships, the familiarity of place that provides a sense of
grounding.

Gang membership was more common among the men of Color than among the White men.
Eight of the nine men of color were in gangs as adolescents, while only two of the twelve white
men reported gang experiences as youth.

Patrick, an Asian-Pacific Islander, often mistaken for an African American, had become
enamored with gang life by the time was eight years old.

I was attracted to the camaraderie. My brother had his own little squad. They had gang
sweaters…the Ghetto Gangster Sweaters. After school, the gangs would meet…the Latin Kings
and the Imperial Gangsters. I wanted to follow my brother with his posse that he ran with”.

Admiring and thus imitating his brother became a highly valued activity and thus provided him
with another opportunity to become immersed in a male homo-social environment performing
masculine domination through threatening postures. Thus he gained a sense of belonging that he
was unable to find elsewhere. Although Patrick had friendships with groups of boys as a youth,
he described no male friendships in adulthood. Similarly, other men reported most of their homo-
social relationships as centered around neighborhood violence and drug use. Patrick believed his
difficulties with the law began in adolescence after he was observed riding a stolen bike to
school. He helped a group of boys steal it by ‘borrowing’ his Dad’s bolt-cutters and giving them
to the other boys who then stole the bike. He lied to his father about the incident and when his
father found out:

“My Dad backhanded me”.

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His fathers’ fear that his son was becoming like him, led his father to subsequently send him to
live with his birth mother in another state. Patrick again became involved in delinquent activities
and was returned, like a commodity, to live with his father. These delinquent behaviors were
serious, yet he felt abandoned each time he moved from one parent’s home to another.
Subsequently, his younger brother and himself were moved to a more rural community in the
South in order to avoid urban gangs, however, Patrick’s involvement in growing marijuana and
drug dealing followed. His later fatherhood was not central to his identity, he had two adult
children as the result of relationships with two different women; he failed to maintain
relationships with either child.

Terry was a thirty two year old white man, who grew-up with an addicted mother. Following his
mother’s incarceration he moved into his Grandmother’s home. He relayed that she needed
money so he began selling drugs to help her financially. He told me that he learned about how to
sell drugs from:

“A bunch of guys on the street corner…. We hung out on the street corner, there were no gangs.
We looked out for each other. If you got into it, we’d take care of each other, no blacks, all white
kids. It was the white side of two but it was still [a] degraded town”.

Later he contradicted himself by telling me that he was a part of a criminal organization on the
street.

“I’m in it now. We’re all Irish, all white. We all grew up together, selling is a part of the
organization, dealing in stolen cars, guns, gambling, porn. They would love for you to stay
straight, no pressure. I have a couple of buddies in here who are in for murder-robbery gone
bad.”’

He disclosed that he had been involved in gang fights on the outside and he called his gang the
“Bank Lick Gang” claiming a membership of about one hundred other guys. He reported that
women were in the gang too but were not involved in the same criminal activities as the males.
He described his neighborhood as characterized by violence and drugs sales. His neighborhood
also contained racialized violence, some of which he perpetrated. Specifically, when he was
about thirteen or fourteen he recalled seeing whites burn out Blacks or Mexicans homes by
pouring gas all over their homes. He also stated:

“I saw people shot and stabbed, I saw one guy get punched in the face so badly his face was
bashed in”

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I asked him he felt about that and he replied:

“I had no feeling, it was an ordinary occurrence. My grandparents tried to tell us not to get
involved and we’d say okay but we didn’t. I made my own decision I’m not going to blame my
Mom or grandparents. I lived by myself by the time I was 14. I lived with Mom and had my own
apartment, I was selling crack”.

Terry’s white racist street masculinity was embedded in his identity well before his adolescence.

“Mom was still drinking; her boyfriend was a crack head, one night they were sitting in the
kitchen drinking. I was setting on the back porch; a crack dealer came up to sell to my Mom and
boyfriend.”

He explained that this drug dealer was concerned about his living conditions with his mother and
told Terry to leave his Mom’s home and he would take care of him. Subsequently, he retrieved
his clothes and left with this man. He was fourteen at the time and began living in an apartment
with this stranger and five other children. While Terry described this man as if he was a hero or
savior, the man mentored him in drug sales. This apparent savior was nineteen years old at the
time.

“I dealt with him. The guys we hung out with out on the street, we felt related.”
His favorite memories are related to these relationships with co-drug dealers. Terry admired this
man and referred to him later as:

“…the Man who raised me. He’s always been around, he used to kick my ass if he caught me
skipping school. He fed me and gave me money…looked after me. He still writes. Every Sunday
we played neighborhood football, basketball, baseball, street ball and softball. Some of the guys
even played semi-pro football. We were very athletic. The older guys in the hood also went to
watch sports, a couple of us are still here together. I was young, I hung with older guys and
chased girls like they did”.

He reports that he was eight years old when he began pursuing girls and that,

“I can’t remember no advice..my grandmother caught me out in back with another girl and they
made fun of me…none of my uncles or my Mom gave me the talk. I figured it out as I went. Some
of the older guys showed me how to make it with girls [how to get a girl to have sex with you].”

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Terry reported numerous delinquent adjudications and spent time in each juvenile facility across
the state. He counted seven facilities where he resided from six months to a year. As an
adolescent he was involved in stabbings, robbery, assault, as well as arson (abandoned
buildings). Also important to him was garnering the fear of other boys and young men as he
expressed here.

“Other guys would see us coming and walk away.”

In school he reported he had fun and explained why.

“I didn’t deal with bullies, I’d bully him, whatever he did to them, I’d do to them”. “I done a lot
of dirt in my day. I carry a gun every day. I won’t stop carrying a gun. I’d rather be by judged by
twelve than carried by six”.

He also shared with me with that he had been involved in fights with thirty-five different guys
and these men incurred scars as well. I asked why so many and he replied that he knows when
somebody is about to do something bad to him, like take out a friend or hurt a friend, so:

“I see the bad in a person. He’s gonna steal my buddy, so I’ll steal him first”.
So I responded by calling it a preemptive strike.

“Yes, take people by surprise and by the time that they figure out what’s going on, the fight is
over.”

Then I asked how he planned to avoid these kinds of confrontations in the future he replied:

“I’m gonna live in the country.”

Many other men similarly planned unrealistic methods of avoiding future involvement in crime
and drug and alcohol abuse including becoming youth workers, preachers, or counselors.

Terry played football in high school because:

“That is where you found out where the parties were that weekend.”

Terry’s suburban neighborhood was poor, although some people worked in the legitimate
economy. Terry dropped out of high school in the 11th grade and reported that although he liked
school he also sold drugs at school. He began using drugs and alcohol at age eight.

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He told me that he was drinking to get drunk by the time he was 12 or 13 years old. He recalled
being involved in fights by the time he was five years old and selling marijuana by the time he
was eight years old. He reportedly preferred marijuana and alcohol but also experimented with
cocaine, heroin and lots of different pills. Terry smoked marijuana daily and was drunk at least
three nights a week on the outside. One night he received a DUI after driving into a police car,
leading to this incarceration:

“I was dead when the ambulance had to revive me”.

Terry’s dangerous lifestyle was similarly reflected in the lives of the men of color across a
variety of different inner cities. For example, Roy was a thirty-year-old black male incarcerated
for murder. Roy grew-up in a large urban area that he identified as ‘rough’. When I asked him
what he meant by that he indicated that he was introduced to violence and drug dealing at early
age. He also told me that his neighborhood consisted of normal activities as well and that he
could have been involved in those too, such as boys’ clubs and youth centers, but with regard to
his involvement in those activities, he said:

“I wasn’t. I did not live a child’s life from middle school on.”

He acknowledged that he was present when the murder transpired but reported that he did not
kill the victim. Roy told me about his more recent crime that brought him to prison.

He stated it was ‘drug deal gone bad.’

“He pulled out a weapon, the guy that I was with pulled out a weapon too, I didn’t shoot
him…manslaughter…it got knocked down for that reason. I was facing the death penalty. The
judge could have reversed it entirely. I have shot people. I didn’t have regard for human life,
yeah I know I killed others, eye for an eye. I might not be here If I hadn’t killed”.

Included in his life sentence are convictions for burglary and drug trafficking. Similarly, Mark
was a twenty-eight year old African American man who grew up in a housing project in a highly
urbanized large American city.

“You know it took a village to raise me. There was a whole lot of love with rough moments. They
were good Christians. A lot of my family was close. We all loved each other. My friendships will
last forever. Experience is priceless, I learned values instilled, family is most important. Sticking
together no matter what”

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While Mark stated the above in the initial stages of the interview process, Mark later
acknowledged that the village he was referring to was mostly gangs within his neighborhood.
He further explained the rough moments.

“I realized the seriousness of the situation. It was a war zone in its own way. Kids killing, by big
stray bullets, gang wars, drugs being sold, corrupt police officers, family members selling and a
single mom using an addicted to crack cocaine.”

Mark was one of seven other men of color men who grew up in poor inner city violent
communities. While other scholars frame such communities as socially disorganized, such
conceptualizations ignore the constant exposure to criminal victimization resulting in multiple
youthful traumatic experiences. Mark’s characterization of his neighborhood as a ‘war zone’
exemplifies the level of cumulative collective trauma he others like him experience. He stated
that his mother was addicted by the time he was five or six years old and with regard to his
father:

“He was in and out of the household as he had another household with another woman and
other kids. Three guys I was really close to, they got killed, two were together every day, they
were both killed in gun battles, one of my best friends in 2003”.

One other death included his cousin in 2004. Later in 2008 a second cousin was murdered in
2008 while he was incarcerated for this crime. He explained in more detail.

“Those people who were attached to me when I was a kid. We always represent the gang in my
neighborhood; they ran the whole housing project, the Gangster Disciples. It was a double
standard, they provide for families during Christmas. When I was coming up nobody had a job.
They provided for the neighborhood through illegitimate economy, it kept everybody afloat.
These guys were getting harassed by the cops. They hurt others through getting people killed,
people were affected by the drugs and killings, the good fellas, close friends and associates in
[name of city], the Gangster Disciples, we looked out for each other. We were always affiliated
with Gangster Disciples. I’ll be affiliated with them for the rest of my life.”

According to Mark and most of the other men who were involved in gangs, leaving is never an
option even if your gang involvement is minimal. While, Mark was surrounded by violence in
his neighborhood, his own violent behavior resulted from this traumatic early exposure to
violence.

“I was involved in shootings. The first time I was ten or eleven. We were at school and a kid
came out and shot at us. A bullet grazed a guy’s head but nobody got hurt”

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Mark was involved ten to twenty shoot-outs all of which he described as drug or gang related. He
claimed that the Vice Lords or the Cobras often shot at them and apparently they returned fire.

“It’s a forever {never] ending problem. You ain’t from their gang, more than one gang from the
same projects, their share the same stores and schools. It was crazy. A handful of times I have
shot at people before. To this day, I had changed things and could do things differently I would. I
do have regrets about it. I know I didn’t kill anybody. The first time I shot a gun I was fifteen or
sixteen. The guy tried to take the gun from me, I was selling drugs. I shot him because he was
trying to take the drugs from me, he was older. I did what I was taught to do, stand my ground. I
was afraid he was going to shoot me. Usually it’s fear and anger and being stupid.”

I asked why he sold drugs and used drugs. I also asked about the presence of legitimate jobs in
the neighborhood.

“To provide for myself, if I depended on the adults to get it I knew it wasn’t going to happen. My
mom and her boyfriend were using drugs, so I got it myself the best way I knew how. Dealing
with poverty, surrounded by pain and poverty…do something to numb the pain. I think most do
something due to the circumstance[s] of the situation to deal with it. Everyone in the projects
that I lived in, people got it, including the people I lived with. I didn’t see much work. I didn’t
see people working from my hood. I did see some people doing janitorial work. There were metal
detectors and security in the projects and people got those jobs. The only people who own stores
were Jews and Arabs where I come from.”

Growing up in this war like zone as well as being unable to cope with his mother’s addiction and
his father’s periodic absences left Mark with few options. I asked Mark about his feelings on the
outside and he told me about using drugs and alcohol simply to remain numb.

“Numbed by weed every day, all day. I was depressed coming of age. Life, a whole lot of things
were happening that I didn’t’ know how to deal with, death, funerals, nobody to help you grieve.
I grieved by drinking and smoking weed. The community didn’t know how to deal with it. My day
might be coming any day, it’s kinda depressing. It made me kinda messed up, I carried a gun. I
didn’t want to be the next person to be killed. I thought about my daughter.”

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When I asked Mark what he could have differently, he told me this.

“A lot of things, stayed in school. I was gifted in sports, basketball and football. If I’d had an
encouraging person in my life to keep me in sports. Instead I did as the Romans do. I could have
done performing arts, nobody ever encourage those gifts. I could draw. I was crazy about
dreams. I could draw a lot.”

Subsequently, I asked what individuals or institutions could have done differently.

“Public school system could have been better in [name of city]. They knew the level of our
community was in. They looked at us like another statistic, that is how you felt about it. It didn’t
matter if you were a black or white woman [the teachers], it didn’t really connect. The whole
school, all the kids were from the projects.”

Like many of the other men, Mark’s entire boyhood and adolescence were surrounded by
violence and loss with few opportunities for it to be avoided. However, reenacting the violence
does facilitate a means of gaining emotional control over the trauma. More specifically, with no
chance of recovery or escape, the only option is to re-enact the trauma as method of gaining
some semblance of control as well as providing the chance to have an emotional catharsis of
sorts (Baker, 2006). Repetitive traumatic experiences may irrevocably damage one’s identity.
Mark’s early life story centered around his exposure to violent victimization and crime.
Unfortunately, Mark, like many of the other men interviewed; also was sexually victimized by an
older woman. When he was initially sent to a juvenile camp, he reported that a female employee
initiated a sexual relationship with him.

“It got in trouble for touching her butt, she blew the whistle on me, she didn’t get in trouble. I
was doing what I needed to do program wise. I was angry. I got put in an isolation cell every day
at the camp, it caused problems I was beating on the doors. They restrained me and stuff. I did it
intentionally to get out of there.”

The loss childhood innocence within these neighborhoods, among men like Mark, Don, Shaun,
and Roy who experienced the violent death of friends and family members in the context of
serious economic deprivation made life extraordinarily painful. When I asked Mark about
friendships with other men, although he previously labeled fellow gang members as friends. It
appeared that Mark experienced these friends more as military comrades rather than as
emotionally supportive friendships. This seems to be the case for most of these men whom I
interviewed. Their male friends were comrades in arms, surviving combat not long-term
friendships. Mark explained:

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“When you come to prison, it’s a touchy situation. Your friends are not the same when you came
to prison. It’s like you’re dead. They forget what you did for them. They forget about the love.
Some have written and sent me money. A lot of my friends are in and out of prison and kids from
different women. I feel kind of cold and bitter, I believe people still think of me. They should tell
me that they miss me. Life has gone on without you [himself]. I wonder what they are doing but I
guess if they’re thinking about me they don’t do anything about it.”

Mark was a twenty-eight year old African American male incarcerated for robbery and drug
sales. He reportedly committed the robbery for money to support a new baby. Mark grew up in a
poor housing project and described many of his neighbors as good people. However, he indicated
there many rough moments too:

“I realized the seriousness of the situation…it was war zone….in its own way kids killing by big
stray bullets…gang wars…drugs being sold…corrupt police officers…family member selling
and a single mom using and addicted to crack cocaine“ I realized the seriousness of the
situation…it was war zone….in its own way kids killing by big stray bullets…gang wars…drugs
being sold…corrupt police officers…family member selling and a single mom using and
addicted to crack cocaine.”

Mark indicated that the “innocent times” were only in elementary school.

“I’ve been involved with gangs since I was ….9 or 10….they run everything…. Friends were all
in gangs….it was good stuff…I had no brother growing up— these guys treated me like a
brother ….we would fight with other gangs…at first innocent fighting with sticks…then
guns…my family was afraid that something would happen”.

After attempts by his family to remove him from this inner city surrounded by drug sales and
violence, he returned at the age of nineteen. He describes his surroundings like this.

“I was still selling drugs and carrying a gun…when I came home to a situation where it was the
survival of the fittest. The only people who embraced me were drug dealers. “

Mark told me that where he grew up people didn’t have hopes and dreams for the future, no
starts as he put it.

“There was no starts in my neighborhood…my heroes were drug dealers…they were the people
who were providing and putting smiles on people’s faces”.

Moreover, the most painful memories Mark has are those surrounding the multiple deaths he saw
or friends and family members, who died sometimes violently, sometimes from disease, like his
mother.

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“Being locked up and watch people die…family members and friends. I saw somebody beat to
death with a baseball bat…right before I was locked up. One of my friends got killed …a fight
broke about …and he got shot outside the club. We were drinking and hanging out. Some guys
got arrested for it but don’t know if these guys did it. It made me drink more. I was paranoid. My
uncle had drank himself to death (grandmother’s brother). A cousin died in Texas, he got shot
and was a teen.”

Mark also experienced violence at the hands of police officers, both White and Black.
“ I was mad about it. .I seen stuff like this going on before…cops roughing up kids”.

Don, like Mark, grew up in the projects in a large urban inner city. Don was thirty-three year old
African American man who had spent the last fifteen years of his adult life in prison. He was
locked up one month after turning eighteen. He described his neighborhood:

“It was challenging….poverty. You are forced to be around people that you don’t need to be
around. People with a lack of education, a lack of money, people who sell drugs, robbing due to
lack of money, people who don’t get proper upbringing, family values, no Fathers, Moms are
playing two roles. Those who do have Dads, he is not a shining Dad, he is trumped down,
meaning no job.”

I asked him if there were any good times and responded briefly and stated:

“There was some fun and enjoyment. But there was drugs and robbing because of poverty”

While Don knew that his neighborhood was poor and crime ridden, he never overtly identified
the crime problem as caused by poverty. Only near the end of the interview process, Don
officially acknowledged that lack of money was significant cause of street crime. Don told me he
was incarcerated for murder and robbery. He was serving a twenty-five year sentence. He
explained what transpired.

“I played dangerous games. I played like I robbed somebody and then he tried to take the gun,
he didn’t know I was playing. The other guy was shot twice. It was adrenalin.”

Don’s somewhat ambiguous description of the incident that brought him to prison may appear to
be a way to minimize his involvement. However, it is also likely that the events transpired as he
relayed mirroring an innocent adolescent prank turned deadly. Readers should recall he was only
eighteen years old at the time of the crime. Like many of the other men, Don’s involvement in
crime began as a youth. He was involved fights in school as early as the third grade and was
placed in a class for behavioral disordered children.

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The teachers believed that he suffered from ADDH and tried to get his mother to have him
medicated but she refused. However, Don believed that the medication might have changed his
life course. Interestingly, Mark also was diagnosed with ADDH and also never took the
recommended medication. Don was mainstreamed by middle school and became involved in
vandalism, car theft, drug possession, and assaults. He spent nine and half months in a juvenile
camp for delinquent youth as a result. Don also used mood-altering chemicals and began regular
use of marijuana by the time he was ten. Don’s experience with racism outside the prison system
was exceeded by his experience in prison.

“I’ve experienced this all my life, but I’ve recognized it more since I’ve been locked up”.

Every man of color similarly reported a life characterized by repeated racist insults. We
characterize these types of experiences as traumatic as well.

Racism Inside and Outside Prison

Each African American man or man of color interviewed reported experiencing racism in the
prison system, primarily exhibited by correctional officers. However, they also encountered
racism within their neighborhoods or communities by some white residents. Most of these racist
practices were exhibited by police officers. Most incarcerated men also indicated being prepared
to experience racism by their family members, including keeping their head held high, or not
letting it get to them. Patrick, an Asian American, explained that he is often perceived by others
as Black. For example, after initially moving to the South as a boy, he experienced racism
regularly, but indicated his younger brother had even more such experiences and often was
involved in physical altercations as a result. Lucas, the only Latino man in the study, reported
that one night before a bar fight ensued the following these pejorative words.

“What are you? They are coming over here and taking our jobs. I told him about my enlistment.
I was in uniform at the time and told him, look at me, if you want to enlist, there is a recruiting
office right over there.”

However, he explained that in other similar circumstances, he doesn’t always respond physically.

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“When I come across it, I walk away. I know I worked for one guy who was very indifferent to
me, but he knew I did my job. Some people you just gotta ignore them. It’s never stopped me
from doing what I gotta do. Yeah the most I had to deal with it was by Hispanic cops, saying
things like this to me. You’re up to no good, that’s probably most of it. I was at a phone booth
and a cop came up behind me. I was twelve years old and he beat me up with a flashlight. It was
a white cop. My brother was there and said, what’s going on, he said I fit the description of
another guy and brother told him, look around you.”

Lucas explained that his mother and brother provided an important opportunity for him to
improve his ability to cope with this kind of subtle racism.

“You’ll run in to some people who are ignorant and brought up this way and told me to try to
show them differently.”

He reported that he often hears “They’re gonna take my job”. He argued that Mexicans and
immigrants take the hard jobs that nobody else wants.

“Picking watermelons. I did that for a while, it was the worst job in my life, in the heat, heavy
lifting, twenty-to twenty-five pounds each and I was fourteen years old.”

While one other White interviewee explained that prison culture vacillated between periods of
privilege followed by chaos, as rules change or become inconsistently applied. Similarly, men of
color reported little privilege but rather constant insults through exposure to racism within the
correctional system. Each man came to recognize the imperfections with the correctional system
and both the White men and Men of Color endured daily insults (racism or other forms of
domination-subordination) to their identities. For example, Kevin relayed to me that the staff
members do not like it when White women come to visit the Black guys. Don, Roy, and Mark
also disclosed that Black men were more likely to receive misconduct reports than White
inmates. They also reported regularly being treated with less respect than the White incarcerated
men. Both Kevin and Steve viewed perceived the criminal justice system in its entirety as
extremely racist. Steve believed he received his lengthy sentence only because he was Black.

“This incarceration takes the cake….they’re blatantly racist here..the town court system is
racist. I’ve been discriminated against..profiled by the cops..they assume that if I’m with a white
friend…he’s a buyer and I’m a dealer. It’s more divisive between races in here…not in the city
where I’m from……well let me correct that in [city name] you don’t see whites, only Blacks and
Hispanics. Well I’ve seen white guys give up their homes to avoid [name] County Jail. The
violence is bad [in that county jail]. As a little boy I was around white kids and Hispanics.

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It was normal to be around other races. I never gave racial issues a second thought until I came
here [to the south]. It brought me anger. These correctional officers discriminate a lot, it is the
way they grew-up. One even said to me, what are you doing? Mocking me, because I talked with
sense [didn’t speak using Ebonics]. I’m smart, here when I say hi, when I walk by and say how
are you doing? They don’t respond, I broke one, he speaks to me now, it’s a transition. My Dad
told me, what are you doing in [state name], they are racists.”

With regard to the criminal justice system in general, Kevin, a Black man, reported that he had a
White public attorney during his trial. Also the prosecutor and the jury were all White, only the
Judge was an African American.

While Kevin was the oldest Black male interviewed, he told me that things were different when
he was a boy, but the younger Black men indicated police harassment was a daily battle. During
Kevin’s boyhood, mandatory integration of public schools did not yet exist. He explained that
retrospectively, he viewed the predominantly Black schools were poorer than schools with more
White students. He believed that if his education had been different, things in general for the
course of his life would also have been different. He recalled an incident during which White
kids threw bricks at the Black kids, but he acknowledged that Black kids also did the same to
White kids. Insightfully, he argued that city and state administrators simply should have made
the black schools as good as the white schools. He revealed that his parents never talked about
racism until educational integration became law. His perception was that this was more difficult
on the whites because of whites’ minimal exposure to people of color.

“Racism is something you learn.”

Kevin’s insightful comment is reflected in one of the White inmates’ comments. This thirty-two
year old white male, Terry, previously committed a hate crime in his neighborhood by burning
down a Black neighbor’s home. Terry told me he didn’t like of the Deputy Warden because he
was Black. After asking Terry about the first time he recognized that people of different skin
tones existed, he explained:

“They were a different skin color. They were not in my hood. I went to school with them when I
was little. I don’t mess with Black people. I was racist on the street and I’m more racist in here.
They’re loud, trying to talk shit to scare people. It doesn’t work on me.”

Terry laughed at one point in the interview when he acknowledged that his two young sons were
becoming racists.

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Roy a thirty-five year old Black man incarcerated for murder also relayed an early traumatic
experience with racism during his first and last day as a boy scout. The scout leader used racial
slurs when addressing him. He told his mother about the incident and she immediately “got me
out of there”.

“We were in a mixed hood growing up. It was commonplace to see Whites and Blacks. There
were some streets that we were told not to go there. One incident occurred where Whites chased
some Black and they had brass knuckles”.

Roy, similar to Kevin’s revelations about another prison, also explained that prison staff
members were more racist in this prison that in any other prison in the state and he had lived in
each one.

“Down here, the staff are racist[s]. I feel it every day…all day. I feel like a slave sailing in a
boat. I’m not going to let them get to me. When I go to court-call, a Black guy gets a write-up for
something a White guy doesn’t get, or the white guy doesn’t go the hole [segregation] and the
Black guy does.”

This behavior, he told me, comes mostly from the officers, who abuse their authority.
“I used to respond to that in a violent way. I don’t feel like that now.”

Roy no longer feels this way as he transformed himself during his time in prison through self-
reflection and religious/spiritual study. His identification of racist prison experiences include that
following Black inmates filing of grievances about racist treatment, the inmate often gets
transferred to another institution while officers are treated with impunity. Another example of the
pains of imprisonment and the trauma of incarceration was Roy’s sexual victimization by a
correctional officer during a pat-down search during which he disclosed that the officer groped
his genitals. Roy stated:

“He went too far”.

Roy also was sexually abused as a boy in a neighborhood crack house. He and other local boys
would exchange crack with local women for sex. He realized retrospectively that this was a form
of child sexual abuse, however he argued that he and the other boys enjoyed the sex.

“At least we could control the interaction.”

Roy’s early sexual abuse in addition to his exposure to his father’s sexual promiscuity interacted
to facilitate his inability to relate to women in any intimate ways other than sexually. However,
Roy expressed desire a full time monogamous relationship after his release.

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In spite of Roy’s negative relationship with his father and his experiences with racism; he
developed a positive male relationship with a White man. This individual was an old childhood
friend who occasionally called him and sent him money. They served time together too and this
man reportedly saved his life by giving him hope and friendship.

Mark’s believed that the current major social problems included racism and unemployment and
noted the insightfully noted following.

“Like Obama, it’s always negative when people talk about him”.

Mark also recognized that providing more jobs is central to solving some of America’s social
problems. He also argued that a lack of political and elite motivation existed to make than
transpire.

“More jobs…. people that are in business that used to create them. There are a lot of people are
well off, but they aren’t doing anything. I see em on TV. They are all talk and no show.”

Mark eloquently relayed what it was like to grow up in America’s poor inner cities surrounded
by pervasive institutionalized racism.

“Any person of color has, in the communities where I come from, you are targeted. The police
presence is always there, this whole thing was designed to be like this. It’s like cat and mouse.
Prisons, restaurants, stores, being followed by people who think I’m going to steal something.
Cops say racist stuff. Look at where we are [He names the place were we were currently located
in a southern rural community with few employment opportunities.] We are here with people
who have never been around black people in their life. Guys from the inner city, you don’t think
guards are going to look at black guys and say the n…word? If you are a racist you are stupid.”

He reveals that he has heard guards and staff call other people of color a variety of racist names.
However, Mark’s grandmother remembered the Jim Crow south and wanted Mark to live a
proud post-civil rights era life telling him.

“How do you prepare somebody for something like that [racism]? I don’t think that they knew
how to. They said how to react when something happened. My grandmother said, look people in
the eyes; don’t put your head down. She instilled those type of values”.

Leon was a fifty-six year old black man, incarcerated for shooting his estranged wife. He had
become a highly successful businessman although he grew-up as a poor farmer’s son. His mother
worked as the “Help” cleaning homes for whites. While he reported that he had good parents,
this centered on his parents’ involvement in paid legitimate labor, not around interpersonal
family dynamics.

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He compared his background to the common background of minority men who grew up without
both parents present. Leon’s father was an alcoholic who battered Leon’s mother through
Leon’s childhood and adolescence. He did not resent his Father, but became resentful towards
Whites, not the result of witnessing his mother’s abuse at the hands of his Father but her
exploitation by whites. He became blamed himself and other poor Black people for not doing
more for the black community.

“My Mom and Dad didn’t own their own home until they were in their sixties. We let the White
people buy up property. I don’t know why they didn’t just pool their money to prevent this from
happening.“

Larry shot his wife after discovering her affair with another man. He believed he didn’t have a
chance at trial because his wife was White and so was the jury.

“I was married to a white woman” The jury was all White. He talks about the unfairness of this
considering that he is a black man and a jury of peers did not exist in this case.”

Leon received the minimum sentence of 10 years. While Leon grew-up in a poor rural
community, he too was the recipient of racism at the hands of the White community as a boy.
However, following in his father’s working class footsteps was determined to become
economically successful. He became a very successful businessman as he reached the peak of his
earning potential at mid-life. Like many other younger Black and White men, he too had two
children from two previous long-term relationships with women of color neither of whom he was
close to. However, his marital estrangement from his White wife, whom he never really
indicated he loved, had become an apparent symbol of his economic mobility and masculine
success. So when they separated he became depressed and suicidal. The day he shot her, he had
earlier in that day considered shooting himself. The loss of his wife was significant for him, as
salient as the loss of loved ones to violence, natural causes, or the loss surrounding exposure to
multiple incidents of neighborhood violence. Additionally, the loss of his wife to separation
must have resounded to the losses surrounding his witnessing of his father’s violence aimed at
his mother. Leroy was drinking alcohol heavily after his wife left him and prior to the shooting.
While Leroy did not experience urban neighborhood violence, his exposure to family violence
mirrors similar exposure to the trauma of war that the other men of color experienced. Only one
young Black male incarcerated for a minor parole violation (missing one appointment with his
parole officer on a holiday) did not report experiences with neighborhood violence even though
he grew-up in the projects. His athleticism, (like one other White male) appeared to offer an exit
from the neighborhood until he was injured.

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On the other hand he was forced to endure his mother’s addiction to crack cocaine and
abandonment by his birthfather. His first incarceration was for a robbery committed with a group
of male peers but was not gang related. He was a soft-spoken young man who reported
benefitting from prison programs as some of the other men similarly reported. Nevertheless, he
saw White men and Black men as isolated from one another and in what he perceived as
“cliques”.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The ground must shift from painting these men of color as making simplistic individual choices
to engage in violence or to sell drugs to a more compassionate and holistic perspective of men
who grew up under combat like conditions within violent families and or neighborhoods within a
context of cultural and institutionalized racism. Given a more empathetic approach rather than
punitive perspective, several solutions become necessitated.

Firstly, American businesses and corporations must not be legally permitted to close or abandon
operations in inner cities or rural communities simply to improve profit margins or assuage
shareholders; particularly where much of the economic base of the local community is based on
their operations. Rather, these businesses must be required to remain in America, instead of
shipping operations abroad to exploit third world workers of color. If they are granted legal
moves abroad, they must be required to either pay the costs for re-training all employees
(including higher education) should be offered new equitably paid positions in company
subsidiaries.

Eliminating institutionalized racism in the criminal justice system requires similar national
legislation similar to but more rigorous than the 2002 Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention
Act of 2002 which attempts to eliminate disproportionate minority juvenile confinement (OJJDP,
2014). Unfortunately, this was simply a fiscal generating program for states through which
grants allowed them to conduct research to:

1. Identify the extent to which Disproportionate minority confinement (DMC) exists
2. Assess the reasons for DMC if it exists.
3. Develop and implement intervention strategies to address these identified reasons.
4. Evaluate the effectiveness of these chose intervention strategies.
5. Monitor the changes in DMC trends and adjust intervention accordingly.
6. States must report on their progress in 3-year plans and subsequent updates.
7. States that fail to address any DMC problems may lose 20% of formula grant allocations

for the year.

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This alleged solution ignores the influence of poverty, the cultural and institutional supports to
continue to practice silent racism and of course the implications of this DMC of juveniles
becoming cumulative into adulthood. Thus future policies must not simply fund local/state
research and self-monitoring but must mandate monitoring and research from the non-partisan
and non-criminal justice invested employees in order to reduce institutionalized racism as it
exists within the criminal justice system and other related policy arenas as illustrated in Jonathan
Simon’s recent text, “Governing through Crime” (Simon, 2009).

Finally, criminal justice professionals must be degreed mental health workers who can provide
mental health and substance abuse treatment for these men and women who suffer similar
symptoms and have similar diagnoses as military soldiers who return from combat zones (Pryce,
Pryce, & Shackelford, 2012). Interestingly, these authors’ review of other substantive empirical
evidence that combat can become as addictive as a mood altering chemical and if the soldier fails
to rationalize or justify his or her involvement in the killing, the result will be “one or even all of
the negative outcomes of PTSD, major depression, and self-destructive behavior (Pryce, et al,
2012, p. 8). Most importantly historically soldiers abuse mood-altering chemicals to cope with
the emotional consequences that combat induces. Recent evidence explicates that the Iraq and
Afghanistan wars have led to a hundred percent increase in substance abuse problems among
soldiers. They refer to these psychological wounds as resulting as soul damaging or character
changing, necessitating psychological treatment or therapy. Apparently, even the military as a
social institution is avoiding dealing with these damaged men in healthy, ethical ways and thus it
is clear that there are also hurdles for us to overcome to attune the government to abandon it’s
punitive approach to poor rural and inner urban crime areas for a more empathic and ethical
humane approach to the crime problem. We also must make the effort to sustain and heal those
who are harmed by our racist, classist, and gendered or patriarchal social institutions and
agencies.

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Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 75, No. 4, 2019, pp. 1057–1086
doi: 10.1111/josi.12350

This article is part of the Special Issue “Research on Race and Racism;”
Andrea L. Miller, Chadly Stern and Helen A. Neville (Special Issue Editors).
For a full listing of Special Issue papers, see: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
doi/10.1111/josi.2019.75.issue-4/issuetoc.

Internalized Racism: A Systematic Review of the
Psychological Literature on Racism’s Most Insidious
Consequence

E. J. R. David ∗ , Tiera M. Schroeder, and Jessicaanne Fernandez
University of Alaska Anchorage

Racism is often thought of as existing and operating at the interpersonal and insti-
tutional levels. One aspect of racism that has been relatively forgotten, however,
is its internalized component: racism that exists and operates at the internalized
level. Surprisingly, even psychology—the field that is arguably best equipped to
study the internalized component of racism—seems to have lagged in investigating
and addressing this construct. Thus, we conducted a systematic literature review of
psychological work on internalized racial oppression to better understand what is
currently known, what the recent surge in scholarship has contributed, and where
the research and service gaps are in order to identify areas for future growth.
Overall, psychological attention on internalized racism seems to be increasing,
and there have been some exciting conceptual (e.g., cognitive behavioral con-
ceptualization, moving toward “appropriated racial oppression”) and empirical
(e.g., development of scales, correlates with mental health variables) develop-
ments. However, our review also revealed a need for more work that: (1) utilizes
qualitative or mixed methods; (2) focuses on the experiences of different racial and
ethnic groups; (3) investigates how internalized racism intersects with other forms
of internalized oppression; (4) clarifies the connection of internalized racism with
other theoretically similar phenomena; and (5) incorporates social justice and
advocacy in clinical and community services to balance unequal power dynamics
that perpetuate racism—the root cause of internalized racism.

Oppression has taken place throughout history. Examples include biblical sto-
ries (e.g., the enslavement of the people of Israel), the colonization of Indigenous
peoples (e.g., Dunbar-Ortiz, 2015), the subjugation of women (e.g., Baker, 2006),

∗ Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to E. J. R. David, University of
Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Drive SSB-303H Anchorage, AK 99508 [e-mail: ejrdavid@
uaa.alaska.edu]

1057

∗C 2019 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/josi.2019.75.issue-4/issuetoc

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/josi.2019.75.issue-4/issuetoc

https://uaa.alaska.edu

1058 David, Schroeder, and Fernandez

the denial of equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer indi-
viduals (e.g., Nadal, 2013), the constant push for anti-immigrant policies (Vargas,
2018), and the marginalization of people with different abilities (e.g., Watermeyer
& Gorgens, 2014). Sidanius and Pratto (1993, 2001)—in their articulation of social
dominance theory—even argued that intergroup oppression is inevitable. Indeed,
oppression in its many forms (e.g., racism, sexism, heterosexism, xenophobia,
and ableism) has been so widespread that it is likely that everyone has witnessed
oppression, experienced oppression, inflicted oppression, or all of the above.

So what is oppression? Although there are various definitions (e.g., Barker,
2003; Collins, 1993; Davis, 2002; Deutsch, 2006; Frye, 1983; Gil, 1994; Johnson,
2002a, 2002b; Young, 1990), all of them center on the notion that groups of
people have unequal power (oppression as a state) and the more dominant groups
use their power to exert violence on, exploit, marginalize, deny equal rights from,
and inferiorize the dominated groups (oppression as a process). For example,
Prilleltensky and Gonick (1996) conceptualize oppression as follows:

“ . . . oppression entails a state of asymmetric power relations characterized by domination,
subordination, and resistance, where the dominating persons or groups exercise their power
by restricting access to material resources and by implanting in the subordinated persons or
groups fear or self-deprecating views about themselves . . . Oppression, then, is a series of
asymmetric power relations between individuals, genders, classes, communities, nations,
and states (pp. 129–130).

Thus, “oppression is both a state and a process, with the state of oppression
being an unequal group access to power and privilege, and the process of oppres-
sion being the ways in which inequality between groups is maintained” (David &
Derthick, 2014, p. 3).

In addition to understanding that oppression is both a state and a process, it is
important to clarify two key and necessary components of oppression—power and
privilege. By its very definition, oppression does not exist if there are no power and
privilege inequalities between people. Power may be defined as people’s access
to resources that enhance their chances of getting what they need in order to lead
safe, productive, fulfilling lives. It is the capacity to exert force, influence, or
control over one’s environment—which includes other people, organizations, and
institutions—in order to get what one wants (Fiske, 1993; Fiske & Berdahl, 2007).
Power also includes the system of individuals, institutions, and cultural norms,
standards, and assumptions that support, justify, legitimize, and protect certain
worldviews and ways of doing. The existing power inequality between groups
gives some people privileges that others do not have. Privilege may be defined
as unearned power that is only easily or readily available to some people simply
as a result of their social group membership. Privilege is enjoyed by a dominant
group—whether they are aware of their privileges or not, whether they want it
or not, and whether they are well-intentioned or not—giving them economic,

A Review of Internalized Racism Literature 1059

political, social, and cultural advantages over members of marginalized groups
(David & Derthick, 2014).

Racial Oppression

For many people, the type of oppression that most easily comes to mind is
racism—oppression that is based on racial or ethnic group membership. Racism
has been an important global issue for centuries. Particularly in the United States,
it is undeniable that racism is a major component—if not the foundation—of the
country’s creation, development, and rise as a world power. Although racism may
have evolved throughout history from blatant forms to more subtle forms (and, re-
cently, blatant again), and although people may employ various strategies to mask
their racial bias or deny the existence of racism (Karmali, Kawakami, Vaccarino,
Williams, Phills, & Friesen, 2019), it is clear that racism still exists (David &
Derthick, 2017) and has various negative effects on Peoples of Color (e.g., Albuja,
Gaither, Sanchez, Straka, & Cipollina, 2019; Ozier, Taylor, & Murphy, 2019). For
instance, the Southern Poverty Law Center (2016) has reported that there has been
a significant rise in hate crimes over the past 2 years, with most of these hate
crimes due to race and other identities (e.g., immigration status and religion) that
are linked to race. Thus, racism continues to be an important social issue today.

When people think of racism, they likely think of interpersonal examples,
such as when a White police officer closely monitors the behaviors of Black,
Latinx, and Native people, because the officer assumes they are more likely to
commit crimes or when a White woman calls an Asian person a derogatory term
as they accidentally bump into each other. These are both examples of racism
operating at the interpersonal level because they involve relatively more powerful
and privileged individuals (White folks) engaging in biased thoughts, attitudes,
and behaviors toward other individuals (Peoples of Color). Although interpersonal
forms of racism are still the most easily seen and acknowledged type of racism,
there seems to be an increasing societal understanding that racism also exists and
operates at the institutional level (Jones, 1997, 2000). In other words, it seems that
more people are becoming aware that existing policies, norms, and institutions
may privilege some racial groups while denying such privilege to other groups,
and that such privilege and power inequalities between racial groups is a necessary
component of racism (Prilleltensky & Laurier, 1996). Increased discussions about
how racism exists and operates in interpersonal interactions and institutions (for
an example of interpersonal and institutional racism, see Kovera, 2019) seem
to suggest that people are becoming more aware that racism is systemic and
everywhere. However, fewer people seem to be aware that racism also exists
and operates within people. Indeed, one aspect of racism that continues to be
relatively forgotten is its internalized aspect—racism may also exist and operate at

1060 David, Schroeder, and Fernandez

the internalized level (David, 2014; David & Derthick, 2017; Jones, 2000; Pyke,
2010).

Internalized Racial Oppression

Internalized racial oppression may be defined as “the individual inculcation
of the racist stereotypes, values, images, and ideologies perpetuated by the White
dominant society about one’s racial group, leading to feelings of self-doubt, dis-
gust, and disrespect for one’s race and/or oneself” (Pyke, 2010, p. 553). In early
conceptualizations (e.g., Fanon, 1965; Freire, 1970; Memmi, 1965), internalized
racism was considered a major psychological effect of racism. Psychiatrist Franz
Fanon posited that the sustained denigration and injustice that the oppressed are
subjected to often lead to self-doubt, identity confusion, and feelings of inferior-
ity. Postcolonial scholar Albert Memmi added that the oppressed may eventually
believe the inferiorizing messages about one’s racial group. Consistent with this,
the classic doll studies of Clark and Clark, (1947)—perhaps the first quantitative,
lab-based psychological study on internalized racism—indicated that internaliz-
ing the alleged inferiority and undesirability of one’s racial group can begin at a
very young age. Another notable postcolonial scholar Paolo Freire also contended
that because of the inferiority attached to their racial group, the oppressed might
develop a desire to distance oneself from their racial or ethnic group and to emulate
the oppressor because their ways are seen as superior. These early conceptualiza-
tions of internalized racism suggest that experiencing racism over lifetimes and
generations can lead individuals to internalize the messages of inferiority they
receive about their group, and to develop animosity toward others of the same race
or ethnicity, or toward other oppressed racial or ethnic groups. These ideas are
consistent with Lipsky’s (1987) definition of internalized racism as the “turning
upon ourselves, upon our families, and upon our own people the distress patterns
that result from the . . . oppression of the (dominant) society” (p. 6).

The importance of understanding and addressing internalized racism has been
expressed by other scholars as well (e.g., Bailey, Williams, & Favors, 2014;
Banks & Stephens, 2018; Gonzalez, Simard, Baker-Demaray, & Iron Eyes, 2014;
Hipolito-Delgado, Gallegos Payan, & Baca, 2014; Millan & Alvarez, 2014). For
example, noted sociologist Karen Pyke (2010) stated that “to forge effective meth-
ods of resistance, it is necessary to understand how oppression is internalized
and reproduced” (p. 552). The U.S. Surgeon General also noted that internalized
racism is an important pathway through which racial oppression causes psycho-
logical and physical harms to Peoples of Color (U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, 2001).

Despite the importance of internalized racism, however, the field of psychol-
ogy seems to have paid little attention to it (David, 2014; David & Derthick,
2017; David & Okazaki, 2006a). This is surprising because psychology – with its

A Review of Internalized Racism Literature 1061

emphases on individual level and internal factors (e.g., cognitions, emotions) –
seems to be the field that is arguably the most intuitively equipped to study the
internalized component of racism. For instance, a basic search on PsycINFO on
“racism” revealed 12,698 hits whereas “institutional racism” revealed 919 hits.
The term “internalized racism,” however, produced only 292 hits (as of July 27,
2018). Further, in addition to the relatively low numbers for “internalized racism,”
it is also important to note that a significant proportion of the existing psycho-
logical literature on this construct—approximately 90%—has come during the
last two decades. Therefore, there seems to be a need to review the existing psy-
chological literature on internalized racism to better understand what is known
about internalized racism, how the recent surge in scholarship has improved the
understanding of this construct, where the research gaps are, and areas for future
growth.

Method

The purpose of our review was to provide a general description of the existing
empirical (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods) and theoretical literature on
internalized racism. Thus, as summarized in Figure 1, our literature search and lit-
erature review process was broad and inclusive. We started by searching the largest
database of psychology and psychology-related literature—PsycINFO (includes
PsycNET, PsycARTICLES, PsycBOOKS, and PsycEXTRA)—for scholarship fo-
cusing on internalized racism using the following keywords: internalized racism,
internalized racial oppression, internalized ethnic oppression, internalized racial
discrimination, internalized ethnic discrimination, colonial mentality, or internal-
ized colonialism. Our search produced 122 results (as of October 26, 2018). We
reviewed the abstracts and categorical information available on PsycINFO to de-
cide which of the articles pertained to the topic of interest. For articles that did
not have abstracts readily available via pdf or physical copy, we obtained copies
through interlibrary loan.

After an initial review, we omitted 15 (see Figure 1), leaving us with a
total of 107 articles. Each member of the research team reviewed all of them
independently. The second and third authors categorized the remaining articles
based on source format (e.g., peer-reviewed journal article, book, book chapter,
etc.), nature of the article (e.g., theoretical/conceptual, data based), method (e.g.,
qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods), race/ethnicity of participants, sample
population (e.g., school, general population, etc.), and setting (i.e., location of
study). The second and third authors also included a short excerpt of the main
findings for each article. After consolidating the categorizations and resolving
questions or inconsistencies, the categorizations were sent to the first author who
further reviewed the categorizations for inconsistencies, confusions, or errors.
This back-and-forth between the authors took place until all disagreements,

1062 David, Schroeder, and Fernandez

Fig. 1. Process of literature search and literature review.
Note: Based on all the literature (N = 123) and on data-based literature (n = 81).
[Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

inconsistencies, confusions, and errors were resolved unanimously. In addition,
the first author— who specializes in internalized racism work—noticed that
several known psychology and psychology-related articles on internalized racism
were not captured by the PsycINFO search. Thus, 16 publications were added
to the list of 107, bringing the final total of reviewed articles to 123. Finally,
each of us provided general observations of the reviewed literature and some
recommendations for future work in this area.

https://wileyonlinelibrary.com

A Review of Internalized Racism Literature 1063

Results

General Description of Existing Literature

The 123 articles included in our review are identified by asterisks in the
reference list (for a complete list of the reviewed literature and how they were
categorized, please visit: https://mfr.osf.io/render?url=https%3A%2F%2Fosf.
io%2Fvjygc%2Fdownload). Our systematic review showed that an overwhelming
majority of the existing psychological work in this area was done over the past 10
years (approximately 74%), suggesting that there is a rapidly increasing interest
on internalized racism in psychology. Of the 123 articles that focused on inter-
nalized racism, a majority were data-based (n = 81; 66%). Of these data-based
publications, approximately two-thirds used quantitative methods only (67%) and
most were conducted with adults (72%) and with the general community (67%).
Literature focusing on African Americans was the most common (41%), and
the overwhelming majority (92%) of the literature focused only on internalized
racial oppression and did not consider any other type of internalized oppression.
A more detailed breakdown of the reviewed literature is pictorially presented in
Figure 2.

Theoretical and Conceptual Developments

A deeper review of the internalized racism literature revealed some notable
theoretical and conceptual developments, and we highlight some of them in this
section. There seems to be empirical evidence to support early theoretical concep-
tualizations of internalized racism (i.e., Fanon, 1965; Freire, 1970; Memmi, 1965).
Specifically, data suggest that people who experience more racism also tend to
have higher levels of internalized racism (e.g., David & Okazaki, 2006b; Graham,
West, Martinez, & Roemer, 2016), and people who are more frequently exposed
to inferiorizing messages about their race or ethnicity through their experiences
with their relatives, peers, and the general community also tend to have higher
levels of internalized racism (e.g., David & Nadal, 2013; Ferrera, 2011; Varela,
2015). Further, not only does internalized racism result from racism and social-
ization, internalized racism perpetuates racism—consistent with Pyke’s (2010)
contention that the reproduction of oppression is a component of internalized
racial oppression. For example, Neville, Coleman, Falconer, and Holmes (2005)
found a negative relationship between internalized racism and the degree to which
people agree that racism exists. Similarly, David and Okazaki (2006a) argued
that one component of internalized racism is when members of oppressed racial
groups tolerate, minimize, deny, and perhaps even justify racism. Such findings
are consistent with system justification theory, which argues (among other things)
that members of disadvantaged groups may legitimize social hierarchies even at

https://mfr.osf.io/render?url=https%3A%2F%2Fosf.io%2Fvjygc%2Fdownload

https://mfr.osf.io/render?url=https%3A%2F%2Fosf.io%2Fvjygc%2Fdownload

1064 David, Schroeder, and Fernandez

Fig. 2. General description of internalized racial oppression literature. Left column is based on data-
based literature (n = 81) and right column is based on all literature (N = 123).
Note: Based on data-based literature (n = 81) and on all the literature (N = 123).

the expense of their own group’s interest (Jost & Banaji, 1994). Thus, in addition
to participating in their own oppression through self-destruction, violence toward
self (Padilla, 2001), and self-denigration (David & Okazaki, 2006a), members
of racially oppressed groups may also rationalize and propagate racism. Further,
internalized racism perpetuates racism by creating conflicts within (e.g., David
& Okazaki, 2006a, 2006b; Pyke & Dang, 2003) and between (e.g., Fors, 2018;
Tawa, Suyemoto, & Tauriac, 2013) oppressed racial groups, and may push op-
pressed groups to emulate and identify with oppressors (Lipsky, 1977; Padilla,

A Review of Internalized Racism Literature 1065

2001). Perhaps even more insidious is that internalized racism results in the in-
corporation of inferiorizing stereotypes into cultural values and traditions (i.e.,
“that’s just the way we are”; Lipsky, 1977, p. 5), so that oppression becomes
institutionalized as a norm and, thus, may be transmitted across generations (e.g.,
David, 2013; David & Nadal, 2013; David & Okazaki, 2006b; David, Sharma, &
Petalio, 2017; Whatley, 2017).

Levels and manifestations of internalized racial oppression. Integrating
what has been learned about the concept of internalized racism, David, Petalio,
and Crouch (2018) proposed a conceptual framework to delineate that internalized
racism may be expressed intrapersonally, interpersonally, and institutionally. The
most frequently known manifestation of internalized racism is intrapersonal—
when individuals hold derogatory, denigrating, or inferiorizing attitudes or
feelings toward themselves and enact such beliefs toward themselves (e.g., use of
skin-whitening products). When inferiorizing beliefs and behaviors are expressed
toward others, internalized racism is expressed interpersonally (e.g., when Native
people belittle other Native people for being “too Native”). When inferiorizing
attitudes and practices become normalized—perhaps even to the point where
social norms, policies, or laws are developed to legitimize them—internalized
racism becomes institutionalized (e.g., when Peoples of Color equate “looking
professional” and “respectable” to wearing suits and having short hair, and these
become unquestioned practices in their families and businesses). Internalized
racism that is expressed interpersonally or institutionally occurs when internalized
racism is directed toward other oppressed racial groups or other members of one’s
racial group. Thus, interpersonal and institutional internalized racism occur when
internalized racism becomes lateral (or horizontal) racism—when members of
oppressed racial groups use the biased views and/or institutions of the dominant
society to marginalize other racial groups (i.e., between-group) or other people
in their own racial group (i.e., within-group). An example of within-group lateral
racism is when Asians derogate other Asians for speaking English with an
accent (e.g., Castillo et al., 2007, 2008; David & Okazaki, 2006b). An example
of between-groups lateral racism (e.g., White & Langer, 1999) is when Asian
Americans see themselves as “model minorities” and uphold stereotypical views
of Black, Latinx, and Native Americans as lazy and not as intelligent.

Cognitive behavioral theory (CBT) conceptualization of internalized racism.
There has also been a proposal to adapt a cognitive behavioral theory (CBT)
conceptualization of internalized racism, which defines internalized racism as a set
of self-defeating thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors that were developed as a result
of one’s experiences of racism (David, 2009). This move toward conceptualizing
internalized racism in CBT terms is an attempt to make internalized racism more
familiar and “palatable” to the field of psychology and, therefore, facilitates the

1066 David, Schroeder, and Fernandez

field’s attention to and consideration of the construct. Using CBT principles and
concepts, internalized racism may be conceptualized as a distorted view of the self
(as inferior), one’s racial group (as inferior), and of others (e.g., White people
as superior and other Peoples of Color as inferior) that is a consequence of
experiences in the environment. One of the most basic tenets of CBT is that
thoughts that occur most frequently and are most easily accessible in memory are
the ones that tend to be believed. Thus, according to the CBT conceptualization
of internalized racism, members of oppressed racial groups have been—both in
subtle and overt ways—consistently receiving the message that they are inferior to
the dominant racial group. Eventually, members of oppressed racial groups may
no longer need society to perpetuate such inferiorizing messages, because they
begin inferiorizing themselves in overt and subtle ways (Cajucom, 2017; Duran,
Firehammer, & Gonzalez, 2008; McDonald & Gonzalez, 2006).

Social-cognitive conceptualization of internalized racism. Consistent with
a CBT conceptualization of internalized racism, emerging evidence suggests that
internalized racism is composed of both overt (i.e., conscious, behaviors) and
covert (i.e., attitudes, emotions, may be nonconscious) components, with the
covert components existing and operating outside of one’s awareness, intention,
or control (David, 2010, 2013; David & Okazaki, 2010). This social-cognitive
conceptualization of internalized racism is based on the literature on learning
and cognition, memory, priming, spreading activation theory, and the dynamic
constructivist approach to culture and cognition (Hong, Morris, Chiu, & Benet-
Martinez, 2000). Based on this body of literature, members of oppressed racial
groups may internalize the oppression they experience so deeply that it creates
within them a knowledge system characterized by automatic negative cognitions
and perceptions of their racial group. For instance, using methods such as the
word-completion task, implicit association test, and the lexical decision priming
task with Filipino Americans (David, 2010; David & Okazaki, 2010), evidence
suggests that members of this group may have learned to automatically associate
undesirable, unpleasant, and negative thoughts with Filipino, and desirable, pleas-
ant, and positive thoughts with American/White. The implicit association test
has also been used to capture components of internalized racism among African
Americans (Chae et al., 2014) and Latinx (e.g., Uhlmann et al., 2002). These
findings suggest that racism may be internalized deeply enough by members of
racially oppressed groups for a distorted cognitive system to be developed and
automatically operate.

Toward “appropriated racial oppression”. Most recently, and the last con-
ceptual development we want to highlight, some intriguing and promising efforts
have challenged the term “internalized” itself along with the potentially problem-
atic connotations attached to it. Indeed, some scholars (Banks & Stephens, 2018;

A Review of Internalized Racism Literature 1067

Campon & Carter, 2015; Tappan, 2006) have argued that internalized racial op-
pression is better termed and conceptualized as “appropriated racial oppression.”
They contend that the term “internalized” perpetuates the psychological field’s
tendency to overemphasize internal factors and, consequently, blame individuals
for oppression instead of focusing on the reality that oppression is systemic. Also,
proponents of “appropriated racial oppression” argue that this is a less restrictive
conceptualization than “internalized racial oppression,” because the former is not
limited to accepting the negative messages about one’s racial group but also in-
cludes the adoption, mastery, and use of the various “tools of oppression”—some
of which may appear adaptive or positive at face value (e.g., assimilation, “looking
professional” or “respectable”). Even further, they argue that a shift in conceptu-
alization toward “appropriated racial oppression” allows for a more nuanced and
complete understanding of how Peoples of Color “inherently have a relationship
with oppression and the extent to which they believe they deserve the oppression,
it is natural, or it is inevitable” (Banks & Stephens, 2018, p. 94).

Research Trends

Quantitative measures for internalized racial oppression. In addition to
the exciting theoretical and conceptual developments summarized in the previous
section, our systematic review of the internalized racism literature allowed us to
identify some research trends. Although approximately 25% of the data-based
literature used qualitative methods, there seems to be a clear recent surge in
developing quantitative scales to capture internalized racism, making quantitative
explorations of the construct more feasible. It is noteworthy that the first
quantitative measure for internalized racism—the Nadanolization Scale—was
not published until Taylor and Grundy (1996), perhaps a reflection of how
internalized racism has been neglected by psychology. However, what is perhaps
a reflection of the recent surge in psychological interest in internalized racism
is that—in just the last decade—there have been psychometrically developed
scales to capture internalized racism as experienced by various groups, such
as African Americans (Bailey et al., 2011), Asian Americans (Choi, Israel, &
Maeda, 2017; Liao, 2017), Filipino Americans (David & Okazaki, 2006a), Latinx
(Hipolito-Delgado, 2016), Puerto Ricans (Capielo et al., 2019), Ghanaians (Utsey
et al., 2015), and even a general scale for use with all Peoples of Color (Campon
& Carter, 2015). Although groups differ in their experiences of internalized
racism (e.g., desiring straight hair is common among African Americans but not
Filipinos, while desiring straighter/bridged noses is common among Filipinos
but not African Americans), it is important to note that there are some consistent
similarities such as feelings of inferiority, shame, or embarrassment; adopting
American or Western standards of physical attractiveness (e.g., lighter skin tones);

1068 David, Schroeder, and Fernandez

animosity toward other members of one’s racial/ethnic group; and minimizing,
tolerating, denying, and even justifying racism.

Further, in addition to self-report scales, methods have been developed to
more subtly capture internalized racism using procedures, such as the Implicit
Association Test and various priming tasks, for example, lexical decision priming
(e.g., Chae et al., 2014; David & Okazaki, 2010), consistent with the social-
cognitive conceptualization of internalized racism suggesting that one component
of the construct may exist and operate as implicit automatic associations outside of
one’s awareness, intention, or control. These efforts to quantify internalized racism
are typically intended to better understand how various racial groups experience or
manifest internalized racism, as well as to quantitatively link (through correlations)
internalized racism with other psychological constructs such as ethnic identity,
self-esteem, and various mental health variables.

Correlates of internalized racial oppression. A large percentage of the data-
based studies (approximately 46%) on internalized racism explored its relationship
with other variables, and we highlight some of them in this section. A number
of studies has investigated the relationship between internalized racism and eth-
nic/racial identity, which tend to be negatively correlated (e.g., Benigno, 2017;
Bryant, 2009; Cokley, 2002; David & Okazaki, 2006b; Ferrera, 2017; Hipolito-
Delgado, 2008, 2010,2016; Zhen-Duan, Jacuez, & Saez-Santiago, 2018; Williams,
2011). Relatedly, some studies also suggest that internalized racism is related
to assimilation or lower levels of being enculturated or connected with one’s
racial/ethnic group (e.g., David & Okazaki, 2006b; Hilaire, Blitz, Lisa, & Greene,
2006). These studies suggest that levels of ethnic/racial identity and enculturation
may be important factors to consider in preventing the development of internalized
racism or reducing/eliminating internalized racism.

A number of studies has looked at the relationship between internalized racism
and academic performance. Some studies (e.g., Brown, Rosnick, & Segrist, 2017;
Brown & Segrist, 2016; Johnson, 2009; Morente, 2016; Robertson, 2018) suggest
that internalized racism is related to lower career aspirations, lower valuing of
education, lower academic self-concept, and lower grades. However, some studies
have also found no evidence that internalized racism and academic achievement
are correlated (e.g., Aliciano, 2018; Harper & Harris, 2010). Initial evidence has
shown that among African American high schoolers there is a positive relationship
between internalized racism and aggressive behavior and propensity for violence
(Bryant, 2009). This same study also found that African American students who
were educated in “African-centered” ways tended to have lower levels of internal-
ized racism than African American public high school students, again highlighting
the importance of a positive racial/ethnic identity in potentially buffering the neg-
ative effects of internalized racism.

A Review of Internalized Racism Literature 1069

Most studies that investigate internalized racism’s relationship with other vari-
ables are focused on various indicators of mental health. In this regard, internalized
racism seems to be consistently related to lower levels of personal and collective
self-esteem (e.g., Bailey, 2009; Clement, 2015; David & Okazaki, 2006b; Utsey
et al., 2015), psychological well-being (e.g., Bailey, 2009; Ferrera, 2016), and
life satisfaction (e.g., Bailey, 2009; David & Okazaki, 2006b). Some studies have
also found correlations between internalized racism and higher levels of hopeless-
ness (Cort et al., 2009) and stress (e.g., Bailey, 2009; Garcia, David, & Mapaye,
2018; Grace, 2013; Szymanski & Obiri, 2011; Tull, Sheu, Butler, & Cornelious,
2005). There is also a growing body of empirical literature documenting inter-
nalized racism’s links with specific psychological disorders like depression (e.g.,
Cajucom, 2017; David, 2010, 2008; David & Okazaki, 2006b; Molina & James,
2016; Mouzon & McLean, 2017; Utsey et al., 2015), anxiety (e.g., Clement, 2015;
Graham, West, Martinez, & Roemer, 2016; Utsey et al., 2015), and body dissatis-
faction (e.g., Cajucom, 2017; Cort et al., 2013; Mason, 2016). Furthermore, some
studies have linked internalized racism to physical ailments such as obesity (e.g.,
Butler, Tull, Chambers, & Taylor, 2002; Chambers et al., 2004; Martin, 2013), car-
diovascular disease (e.g., Chae, Lincoln, Adler, & Syme, 2010), and even sooner
death as internalized racism has also been found to be related to shorter telomere
length (i.e., Chae et al., 2014).

Addressing Internalized Racial Oppression

Because of empirical evidence showing that internalized racism has negative
mental health consequences, there have also been efforts to address internalized
racism in clinical and community settings (see David, 2014 for a review). We
highlight some of them in this section.

Clinical context. The majority of the literature on clinical approaches to
internalized oppression pertains to African Americans. For example, Thomas,
Speight, Witherspoon, and Chin (2005) explored the impact of internalized op-
pression on Black women and found that it often effects psychological functioning
as well as interpersonal behavior. They recommended therapy that focuses on the
development of critical consciousness and an authentic self. Frame, Williams,
and Green (1999) also worked with African-American women who reported in-
ternalized oppression and described specific interventions that promote self-love,
self-compassion, and identity exploration. Similarly, Watts-Jones (2002) empha-
sized the importance of promoting and engaging in a safe community in which
healing of internalized oppression can thrive, while Kaufka (2009) endorsed the
use of a composition-based narrative therapy process that addresses internal-
ized oppression by externalizing the problem, reclaiming personal stories, and

1070 David, Schroeder, and Fernandez

providing an outlet for emotion exploration dialogical interaction between con-
flicted aspects of the self.

Addressing internalized racism in the clinical setting is also where we typi-
cally see the few articles that touch on intersectionality. For example, Drazdowski
and colleagues (2016) reviewed the effects of racism and LGBTQ discrimination
on internalized oppression and illicit drug use among people of color. They sug-
gested examining the links between forms of oppression, internalized oppression,
and illicit drug use with the aim of redirecting focus on substituting more adaptive
coping. Similarly, Rutter and Camarena (2015) presented a theoretical psychother-
apeutic model for African American and Latino men who have sex with men,
which could also be used as a template for work with other marginalized groups.
It begins with assessment of colonial mentality that emphasizes acknowledgement
and understanding of the client’s experience of marginalization. It follows with
treatment that incorporates motivational interviewing, indigenous knowledge, nar-
rative therapy, cognitive interventions, and feminist counseling theory, with the
intent of incorporating a postmodern view that encourages identity integration and
service focused on enhancing clients’ involvement in their community.

A smaller portion of the literature pertains to address internalized racism
among South Asian minorities, although many of the recommendations are similar
to those summarized previously. For example, Dominic (2016) found that discrim-
ination against South Asian minorities in Indian workplaces was perpetuated with
the intent of preserving upper caste hegemony, which resulted in dehumanization
and demoralization. He insisted upon the importance of mental health workers de-
veloping an understanding of marginalized clients’ inner worlds of discrimination
to find effective coping strategies for ethnic discrimination-related stress, in ad-
dition to encouraging the challenges of problematic systemic norms. As for work
with South Asian Americans, Parakrama (2014) also stressed the importance of
mental health professionals’ understanding the effects of internalized racism and
the nature of race in psychotherapy in order to provide effective and supportive
services.

Overall, the literature suggests that addressing internalized racism in clinical
settings should be approached with great sensitivity and considerable awareness
of the oftentimes imperceptible ways in which it affects marginalized individuals.
Approaching therapy through an internalized racism lens that seeks to uncover
and understand the ways in which individuals internalize oppression and how
that internalization affects their lives appears to be a key component of effective
and supportive treatment. The most common treatment recommendations include
person-centered and narrative therapies that aim to help individuals gain insight
about their experience of internalized oppression, empower them to reclaim their
narratives, and integrate newfound understanding of themselves into their identity.

A Review of Internalized Racism Literature 1071

Community context. While acknowledging the importance of addressing
internalized racism in clinical contexts, primarily because internalized racism
has serious negative mental health implications, many scholars also continue to
emphasize that internalized racism would not exist if the system of racism did
not exist (e.g., Banks & Stephens, 2018; David, 2013; Pyke, 2010). Thus, there
have also been noteworthy efforts to make systemic or environmental changes
to address internalized racism. For example, Miranda (2013) has suggested that
schools can become transformative spaces to address and prevent internalized
racism among Mexican American students if the schools provide youth with
opportunities to gain better understanding of their history and to have sustained
conversations about such history with their families. Similarly, the development
of schools or similar educational spaces (e.g., workshops, after-school programs,
etc.) that promote cultural recovery and empowerment seem promising ways
to address internalized racism among Native Americans (e.g., see Gonzalez,
Simard, Baker-Demaray, & Iron Eyes, 2014, for a review), Pacific Islanders (e.g.,
see Salzman & Laenui, 2014, for a review), African Americans, (e.g., see Bailey,
Williams, & Favors, 2014, for a review), and Asian Americans (e.g., see Millan
& Alvarez, 2014, for a review) largely because such efforts tend to address power
imbalances in the larger society. Further, in addition to strengthening individual
and systemic factors that may serve as protection against the development of
internalized racism, these community-level efforts attempt to develop critical
awareness among Peoples of Color and spark collective action to challenge
racially oppressive social systems—the root cause of internalized racism.

Discussion

There seems to be a growing interest in internalized racism in psychology,
and our review suggests that the understanding of this construct has significantly
improved. Despite such advancements, however, our review also allowed us to
identify areas for future growth. Thus, we close by providing research, service,
and policy recommendations.

Research Recommendations

Conceptually, the proposal to move toward “appropriated racial oppression”
to allow for an expanded and more nuanced conceptualization of internalized op-
pression represents an important contribution to further clarifying this construct.
The potential danger of the term “internalized” to shift focus away from systemic
racism toward blaming individuals is an excellent point. However, the term “ap-
propriated racial oppression” is not without its own limitations. For instance, the
term “appropriate” is usually defined as taking something without the permission
of the “owner.” In the case of oppression, it seems as though oppressors would

1072 David, Schroeder, and Fernandez

happily “share” their oppression to oppressed people. Indeed, as South African
antiapartheid activist Stephen Biko (1978) stated, “the most potent weapon in the
hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.” Further, “appropriate” also
speaks to an imbalance of power between groups who are exchanging or adopting
elements of their cultures, with the more powerful group taking something from
the less powerful group and benefitting from it. In other words, appropriation can
only go one way—from oppressed to oppressor, by the oppressor, for the benefit
of the oppressor. When it comes to oppression, oppressed groups cannot appropri-
ate it (because they do not hold more power) and they are clearly not benefitting
from it. Therefore, the term “appropriated racial oppression” seems limited, even
nonsensical.

Perhaps psychological research can continue using the term “internalized
racism”—we are psychology after all—but also consistently emphasize that in-
ternalized racism would not exist if racism did not exist and expand its definition
as proponents of “appropriated racial oppression” propose. In fact, this may not
require that much of a change as a closer look at how some scholars have con-
ceptualized internalized racism seems to already adhere to this conceptualization,
while still using the term internalized racism. For example, in their conceptualiza-
tion of internalized racism among Filipinos, David and Okazaki (2006b) included
assimilation, tolerating, denying, justifying racism/colonialism, and perceiving
racism/colonialism as necessary and for one’s own good. Similarly, Neville and
colleagues as well as other scholars (e.g., Fors, 2018) have always conceptualized
internalized racism as including the adoption of the dominant group’s perspectives
on race (e.g., colorblindness) that seems to be “adaptive” or positive on the surface.

Our review also revealed a large body of psychological literature that is
relevant to and informs the understanding of internalized racism (or appropriated
racial oppression), but does not explicitly focus on internalized racism. Indeed,
the empirically sophisticated and dynamic work on racial phenotypicality bias
(e.g., for a review, see Maddox, 2004), outgroup favoritism (e.g., for a review,
see Dasgupta, 2004), system justification theory (e.g., Jost & Banaji, 1994; Jost,
Banaji, & Nosek, 2004), and social dominance theory (Sidanius & Pratto, 1993,
2001) are about phenomena that may be seen as manifestations of internalized
racism (e.g., members of marginalized groups preferring the characteristics of
dominant groups, desiring to preserve systems that benefit dominant groups, and
accepting the hierarchical order of groups). Yet work on these topics very rarely
mention internalized racism or other forms of internalized oppression as part of
their conceptualization of their respective phenomena. The fact that such literature
is not explicitly framed as about internalized racism—or that such work typically
does not even make an effort to mention or connect with internalized racism (nor
were they required to by reviewers/editors)—speaks to the point that internalized
racism is typically ignored, unacknowledged, and understudied in psychology.
Similar to how internalized racism has been conceptually connected with CBT

A Review of Internalized Racism Literature 1073

and social-cognition literature, perhaps future work can consolidate the seemingly
related bodies of literature on phenotypicality bias, outgroup favoritism, system
justification theory, and social dominance theory into an integrated theory of
internalized racism (or internalized oppression more generally). Such an integrated
articulation of these related phenomena may clarify their connections with each
other and facilitate future research.

As psychological research on internalized racism proceeds, more work needs
to be done with the various racial and ethnic groups who have experienced various
forms of historical (e.g., colonialism, slavery, and genocide) and contemporary
(e.g., anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiments) racism. Understandably, given
their long and painful histories of racial oppression in the United States and in
other parts of the world, a large proportion of internalized racism literature is
about African Americans (41%). However, given the diversity of racist experi-
ences between racial groups, and how such experiences may be internalized and
manifested by each racial group, there seems to be plenty of much-needed research
opportunities.

Further, as researchers widen their focus to conduct research with various
racial and ethnic groups, they must also widen their methodological toolbox. In-
deed, 67% of the data-based literature on internalized racism used only quantitative
methods. Given the diversity of experiences between oppressed racial groups and
the complexity of internalized oppression and its effects, psychological research
should utilize both quantitative and qualitative methods. Indeed, as useful as quan-
titative studies are, there are nuances to internalized racism that such studies may
not completely capture. For example, through the use of in-depth interviews,
Ferrera (2016) found that the internalized racism manifestation of colonial debt
was consistently mentioned by Filipino Americans as adversely affecting their
emotional well-being. This finding is inconsistent with quantitative results (e.g.,
David & Okazaki, 2006b) showing that this component of internalized racism was
not statistically related to mental health variables (and if so, related in a beneficial
direction). Thus, qualitative studies may provide a more nuanced understanding of
internalized racism, which can lead to more refined research questions and more
accurate understanding of the construct.

Generally, as research on racism and other forms of oppression is conducted,
researchers need to be aware of and guard against a dominant tendency to au-
tomatically privilege quantitative work—or research that seems to better satisfy
conventional standards of science, such as statistics, large sample sizes, and highly
controlled experiments—as inherently better, more rigorous, or more acceptable
than qualitative work. Keeping in check the tendency to automatically overvalue
the standards of conventional science and unquestionably accept its assumptions,
values, and methods is especially important when studying oppression and work-
ing with oppressed groups. This is because many oppressed groups have painful
histories with conventional science, not only in terms of how science was used

1074 David, Schroeder, and Fernandez

to inferiorize them and legitimize their oppression (e.g., “The Bell Curve” by
Hernstein & Murray, 1994), but also because an overemphasis on Western sci-
entific methods, assumptions, and values has contributed to the erasure of many
racial groups’ own epistemology or ways of knowing—a tragedy that schol-
ars have called scientific imperialism (e.g., Diaz-Loving, 1999; Enriquez, 1993;
Kim, 2000; Shams, 2002) or epistemicide (de Sousa Santos, 2014). Thus, re-
searchers need to listen to the communities they are supposed to be serving
and use research methods that are more indigenous, natural, and empowering to
them. In this regard, psychology’s growing use of community-based participa-
tory research is promising because it regards researchers and participants as equal
stakeholders, engages the community of interest in all aspects of the research
process (e.g., decisions about topic, methods), and gives the community power
over how research is disseminated (e.g., journal articles, media, and conference
presentations).

Also, similar to the need for more intersectionality research in multicul-
tural psychology in general (e.g., Castillo-Lavergne & Destin, 2019; Jaxon, Lei,
Vraneski-Shachnai, Chestnut, & Cimpian, 2019), psychological research on in-
ternalized racism in particular needs to reflect the reality that people simulta-
neously hold multiple oppressed identities and that such identities may inter-
act to influence peoples’ psychological experiences in very complex ways. In-
deed, our review shows that only 8% of the literature on internalized racism
also touched on other types of oppression. Thus, the psychological literature on
intersectionality needs to grow, and the relatively few studies looking at inter-
sectionality have provided some exciting insights. For example, Szymanski and
Gupta (2009) looked at the intersections of internalized racism and internalized
heterosexism and found that, although both were important for LGBTQ POC’s
mental health, internalized heterosexism was more of a concern. Several stud-
ies (e.g., Szymanski & Henrichs-Beck, 2014; Szymanski & Kashubeck-West,
2008; Szymanski & Owens, 2009) also found that experiences of sexism and
heterosexism—as well as the internalization of such forms of oppression—had
unique and cumulative effects on sexual minority women’s mental health. In-
deed, this is definitely an exciting area of research and future psychological work
on multiple oppressed identities may shed light on many remaining unanswered
questions.

Service Recommendations

Our review suggests that internalized racism is related to more psychological
distress and various mental health concerns. Therefore, psychological services
must incorporate a social justice framework to better identify racial oppression as
a contributor to clients’ distress and address it appropriately, sensitively, and ef-
fectively. A social justice approach acknowledges the role of systemic oppression

A Review of Internalized Racism Literature 1075

in the development and maintenance of psychological distress or psychopathol-
ogy (Martı́n-Baro,´ 1996; Ratts, 2009). Services can also be antioppression by
valuing—and incorporating—other ways of healing (e.g., talking circles, sweats,
storytelling, culture camps, hunting, berry picking, and ethnic studies courses) to
more appropriately, respectfully, and effectively help individuals who are members
of historically oppressed groups. In addition to serving as culturally appropriate
and comfortable avenues through which internalized racism and its effects can be
better explored and understood, incorporating other ways of healing into services
is one small way in which service providers can change clients’ immediate envi-
ronmental contexts and structures; make services more accommodating of their
cultures, worldviews, and experiences; and balance the power differential between
“expert” and “layperson,” “clinician” and “patient,” or “provider” and “recipient.”
Indeed, incorporating a social justice lens into existing services may help mental
health service providers ensure that they do not fall victim to simply teaching
clients to tolerate racism or become well-adjusted to oppression. Thus, not only
will the adoption of a social justice framework and becoming more oppression-
informed improve the effectiveness of services, it prevents the propagation of
internalized oppression.

Policy Recommendations

In addition to making small changes in structures that service providers have
direct control over, such as clinics and theoretical orientations, service providers
must also take collective action toward changing larger systems or institutions.
Psychologists and the organizations that represent psychologists (e.g., American
Psychological Association) must work toward legitimizing other ways of knowing
and healing, many of which are based on non-Western worldviews, and regard
them as just as legitimate, valid, and potentially helpful as Western-based practices.
Some specific institutional-level changes that a social justice-informed psychol-
ogy can work toward are: (1) requiring social justice or “oppression-informed”
training in psychology graduate programs (e.g., Neblett, 2019); (2) revising the
standards of APA’s list of empirically based practices (American Psychological
Association Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice, 2006) to in-
clude the perspectives and standards of historically oppressed communities; (3)
encouraging empirical tests of indigenous or traditional ways of healing that com-
munities regard as helpful for their well-being, which could lead to considering
the inclusion of these approaches in APA’s list of empirically based practices; (4)
making health insurance companies recognize such practices as “reimbursable”;
and (5) making educational institutions, insurance companies, community agen-
cies, hospitals, and clinics value the practitioners (e.g., elders, traditional healers)
of these methods (David & Derthick, 2017). Once again, these recommendations
are driven by an effort to balance the power between ways of knowing, healing, and

1076 David, Schroeder, and Fernandez

doing that have been historically valued and privileged and those that have been
marginalized, hence, directly addressing the state and processes of oppression that
leads to internalized oppression.

Finally, oppression-informed psychologists must find and embrace other roles
that allow them to be more useful to the communities with whom they work,
communities that have increasingly become more diverse over the years. Thus,
psychologists must also diversify their skillsets and ways of helping by going be-
yond their laboratories, classrooms, offices, clinics, therapy rooms, or hospitals—
contexts wherein the imbalance of power between psychologists and the people
they serve are maintained— and find other ways to make society more just and
healthy. In addition to conventional roles as teachers, therapists, researchers, or
administrators, other roles that psychologists can fulfill as they collectively try to
address and eliminate oppression include consultation (e.g., assist organizations,
agencies, or community groups in some specific issues or projects), community or-
ganizing (e.g., bringing community members together in a joint action intended to
improve their lives and well-being), and coalition building (e.g., bringing together
community groups, organizations, or stakeholders to address issues). These other
roles put psychologists in contexts wherein they must work collaboratively with
the communities they are supposed to serve—equalizing the power dynamics to go
beyond making individual-level changes and also try to make systemic changes.
Indeed, as liberation psychology pioneer Ignacio Martı́n-Baró (1996) argued, it is
the duty of the psychologist to change the world.

Summary and Conclusion

Our systematic review of the psychological literature on internalized racism
suggests that there has been significant growth in this area of work. There have
been exciting conceptual (e.g., cognitive behavioral conceptualization, moving to-
ward “appropriated racial oppression”) and empirical (e.g., development of scales,
correlates with mental health variables) developments. Nevertheless, our system-
atic review also revealed gaps in efforts to better understand and address this
phenomenon. Specifically, our review suggests that more work is needed that: (1)
utilizes qualitative or mixed methods; (2) focuses on the experiences of different
racial and ethnic groups; (3) investigates how internalized racism intersects with
other forms of internalized oppression; (4) clarifies the connection of internal-
ized racism with other theoretically similar and overlapping phenomena; and (5)
incorporates social justice and advocacy into clinical and community services.
We hope that the identification of areas for future growth will contribute to col-
lective efforts to better understand and address internalized racism, which has
insidiously plagued and damaged many communities throughout the world for
generations.

A Review of Internalized Racism Literature 1077

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E. J. R. DAVID is an Associate Professor at the University of Alaska Anchor-
age, with his primary duties being with the PhD Program in Clinical-Community
Psychology that has a Cultural and Indigenous Emphasis. He has published the-
oretical and empirical works on Internalized Oppression or Colonial Mentality,

https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798414537935

1086 David, Schroeder, and Fernandez

including four books: Brown Skin, White Minds: Filipino -/ American Postcolonial
Psychology (Information Age Publishing); Internalized Oppression: The Psychol-
ogy of Marginalized Groups (Springer Publishing); The Psychology of Oppression
(Springer Publishing); and We Have Not Stopped Trembling Yet (SUNY Press).
Dr. David was the recipient of the 2007 American Psychological Association
(APA) Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues (Division
45) Distinguished Student Research Award, the 2012 APA Minority Fellowship
Program (MFP) Early Career Award in Research for Distinguished Contributions
to the Field of Racial and Ethnic Minority Psychology, the 2013 Asian Amer-
ican Psychological Association (AAPA) Early Career Award for Distinguished
Contributions to Research, the 2014 Alaska Psychological Association “Cultural
Humanitarian Award for Exemplary Service and Dedication to Diversity,” and
was inducted as a Fellow by the AAPA in 2015 for “Unusual and Outstanding
Contributions to Asian American Psychology.”

TIERA M. SCHROEDER received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at
Fort Lewis College, and is now pursuing a PhD in Clinical-Community Psychology
with a Cultural and Indigenous emphasis at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Her research interests pertain to Alaska Native substance use and misuse and
Alaska Native suicidality, with the intentions of finding ways to cultivate and
implement culturally based prevention and intervention techniques. The aim of
her current research revolves around identifying sources of dissemination of the
“firewater myth” (i.e., the belief that American Indians and Alaska Natives have
specific biological vulnerability to alcohol problems) in an attempt to combat
continuation of the belief.

JESSICAANNE FERNANDEZ received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychol-
ogy at California State University, Chico and is currently attending the University
of Alaska Anchorage’s Clinical-Community Psychology PhD program that has a
Cultural and Indigenous emphasis. Her research interests include using qualitative
research methodology on a variety of topics surrounding discrimination, microag-
gressions, and racism among Filipino youth and other Asian American youth
populations and how these groups overcome such issues during adolescence/early
adulthood. In addition, she is also interested in researching Asian American and
other minority groups that have experienced eating disorders, domestic violence,
sexual abuse, and/or childhood/adolescence trauma and how their cultural/familial
influences differ from the experiences of White Western individuals, as well as
looking into what types of measures can be taken to prevent these issues from
arising in these groups (i.e., youth empowerment programs, promoting awareness,
etc.).

Copyright of Journal of Social Issues is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may
not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s
express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for
individual use.

1. * Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to E J R David University of:

Received 06/19/12
Revised 12/18/12

Accepted 01/09/13
DOI: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.2014.00154.x

Research

Perceived Racism as Moderator
Between Self-Esteem/Shyness
and Psychological Distress
Among African Americans
Ruth Chu-Lien Chao, Joseph Longo, Canzi Wang,
Deepta Dasgupta, and Jessica Fear

In the spirit of the mission of social justice in counseling, this study examined perceived racism as a moderator on the
association between self-concept (i.e., self-esteem, shyness) and distress among African Americans. The authors
examined whether perceived racism changed the relationship between self-esteem/shyness and psychological dis-
tress by investigating a sample of 394 African Americans. With a moderation analysis, the authors found signifcant
interaction effects of Self-Esteem × Perceived Racism and Shyness × Perceived Racism on distress.

Keywords: self-esteem, shyness, perceived racism, psychological distress, African Americans

Given the importance placed on individualism in Western
culture, self-concept has been critical in understanding
people’s psychological issues from the Western perspective.
Moreover, it is hardly surprising that self-concept has been
described as one of the most pivotal personality attributes
related to psychological distress (Marsh, Trautwein, Lüdtke,
Köller, & Baumert, 2006). Self-concept has two indexes, self-
esteem and shyness, which indicate how much people believe
in themselves in terms of their sense of personal value and
comfortableness with others (Cheek & Buss, 1981). Specif-
cally, individuals with higher self-esteem tend to have better
mental health and are more resilient in the face of adversity
compared with those with low self-esteem (Marcussen, 2006).
Shyness, the other component of self-concept, is defned as
“one’s reaction to being with strangers or casual acquain-
tances: tension . . . feelings of awkwardness and discomfort”
(Cheek & Buss, 1981, p. 330). Shyness is associated with high
negative emotionality, negative affectivity, personal distress,
low positive affect, and low constructive coping (Eisenberg,
Fabes, & Murphy, 1995).

Many scholars (e.g., Cowden, 2005; Harris, 2010; Mar-
cussen, 2006) have found that self-concept can positively or
negatively relate to psychological distress, which refers to
the current or past level of overall experiences of symptoms,
intensity of symptoms, and number of reported symptoms
(Derogatis, 1993). With regard to the association between

self-concept and psychological distress, there are two types
of studies: one investigates the relationship between self-
esteem and psychological distress (e.g., Abe, 2004; Cassidy,
O’Connor, Howe, & Warden, 2004), and the other explores
the relationship between shyness and mental health (e.g.,
Cowden, 2005).

According to Ratts (2011), one important component in
the social justice mission in counseling is to alter or recognize
oppressive environmental conditions such as racism. Unfor-
tunately, the context of the prior studies shows that a gap still
exists between the prior studies and the call from the social
justice mission. The prior research used a univariate perspec-
tive, which could only answer the direct association between
self-concept (e.g., self-esteem, shyness) and psychological
distress, but may not ft with the emerging commitment of
the social justice mission in counseling-related professions
(e.g., Goodman et al., 2004; Lum, 2003; Ratts, 2011; Ratts,
Toporek, & Lewis, 2010). Among the burgeoning topics
most directly relevant to social justice are correlates and
consequences of injustices, including racism and prejudice.
The harmful nature of racism has been a crucial experience
for African Americans. Perceived racism could be a proxy
for actual experiences of racism, and it refers to one’s ap-
praisals of the stressfulness of the racist events (Landrine
& Klonoff, 1996). Indeed, evidence has accumulated during
the past decade to suggest that reports of perceived racism

Ruth Chu-Lien Chao, Joseph Longo, Canzi Wang, Deepta Dasgupta, and Jessica Fear, Department of Counseling Psychol-
ogy, University of Denver. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ruth Chu-Lien Chao, Department of
Counseling Psychology, Morgridge College of Education, University of Denver, 1999 East Evans Avenue, #260, Denver, CO 80208
(e-mail: cchao3@du.edu).

© 2014 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved.

Journal of Counseling & Development ■ July 2014 ■ Volume 92 259

mailto:cchao3@du.edu

Chao, Longo, Wang, Dasgupta, & Fear

are related to mental health and symptoms of psychological
distress (e.g., Fischer & Shaw, 1999). There is evidence to
suggest that, in addition to being harmful, perceived racism
varies among African Americans (Clark, Anderson, Clark,
& Williams, 1999; Landrine & Klonoff, 1996). Levels of
perceived racism relate to how African Americans manage
the association between stress and mental health (Kaiser,
Major, & McCoy, 2004).

Mahalik, Pierre, and Wan (2006) suggested that self-con-
cept, including self-esteem and shyness, was commingled
with perceived racism to such a degree that it was diffcult
to determine the association between self-concept and psy-
chological distress without considering perceived racism.
For example, among African Americans, perceived racism
was associated with lower self-esteem and higher psycho-
logical distress, which subsequently may make it diffcult
to initiate a conversation with strangers (Clark et al., 1999;
Fischer & Shaw, 1999). African Americans with higher
perceived racism had lower use of counseling services and
greater diffculty in trusting culturally different counselors.
Applying the current literature of the relationships between
self-esteem/shyness and psychological distress to African
Americans without considering their perceived racism would
miss the mission of social justice in counseling (Fischer &
Shaw, 1999; Kaiser et al., 2004; Ratts, 2011). To fulfll the
mission of social justice, which recognizes and alters op-
pressive environmental conditions, we examined the role of
an oppressive environment condition (i.e., perceived racism)
to better understand the relationship between self-esteem/
shyness and psychological distress.

Self-Esteem, Perceived Racism, and
Psychological Distress

Self-esteem refers to an individual’s overall evaluation or
appraisal of his or her worth and encompasses both beliefs
about oneself and emotions. It refers to how people feel
about themselves, such as feeling competent and pos-
sessing a positive self-attitude (Marcussen, 2006). Theo-
retically, self-esteem infuences the way people are and
their sense of personal value. Self-esteem also affects the
way people feel and act in the world and how they relate
to others. Those with high self-esteem may believe that
they have good qualities, a perception that is critical in
maintaining low psychological distress. In recent years, a
growing body of research has supported the vulnerability
model, which states that low self-esteem operates as a
risk factor for psychological distress (Harris, 2010; Orth,
Robins, & Roberts, 2008). Individuals with low self-esteem
are assumed to have fewer coping resources and thus are
prone to distress, whereas those with high self-esteem
are assumed to have suffcient coping strategies, which
prevent them from spiraling downward into psychologi-

cal distress. Empirically, high self-esteem has been found
to be negatively associated with psychological distress,
but low self-esteem may signifcantly exacerbate people’s
psychological maladjustment (Orth et al., 2008).

Although the relationship between self-esteem and psy-
chological distress has been established, when applying this
relationship to African Americans, the precise mechanisms
of in what conditions and among whom self-esteem may
lead to distress have not yet been determined. In other words,
conceptualizing a direct association between self-esteem and
psychological distress for African Americans may lead to two
diffculties. First, Mahalik et al. (2006) found that African
Americans’ development of self-esteem closely relates to
their racial identity and discrimination. Szymanski and Gupta
(2009) found that among African Americans, perceived rac-
ism was negatively associated with self-esteem but positively
associated with distress. Our study attempted to further ad-
vance the literature on self-esteem, perceived racism, and
psychological distress by conceptualizing perceived racism
as a moderator that may change the mechanism between
self-esteem and distress.

Second, Klonoff, Landrine, and Ullman (1999) reported
that perceived racism is a ubiquitous part of many Afri-
can Americans’ experiences. More than 90% of African
Americans have experienced racist events in their lifetime
(Landrine & Klonoff, 1996). Indeed, racism is insidious in
society and permeates many aspects of African American
life. Jones (1997) suggested that the experience of racism is
multidimensional and can be classifed by using a tripartite
typology: individual racism, institutional racism, and cultural
racism. Because racism could be experienced by African
Americans on almost a daily basis, Landrine and Klonoff
(1996) suggested that the assessment of the degrees of racism
or appraisal of the racist experience may be more important
than measuring the types of racism. For example, two African
Americans may experience the same racist event, and yet
one may fnd it very stressful or be severely hurt whereas the
other dismisses it (Landrine & Klonoff, 1996). In addition,
perceived racism can signifcantly affect African Americans’
mental health. The more racism that African Americans ex-
perience, the higher the levels of psychological distress they
report (Fischer & Shaw, 1999).

An understanding of the role of perceived racism would
seem to be of great importance to counselors when they serve
African Americans. In other words, while we continue to work
toward the social justice mission (i.e., a better understanding
of racism), it is inevitable to examine how perceived racism
may change the established association between self-esteem
and distress. Furthermore, we also work to identify under what
conditions (i.e., high vs. low perceived racism) is self-esteem
negatively associated with the distress of African Americans.
Understanding the role of perceived racism could allow coun-
selors to determine among whom (i.e., African Americans

Journal of Counseling & Development ■ July 2014 ■ Volume 92 260

Perceived Racism Among African Americans

who perceive high vs. low racism) psychological

distress

can be minimized regardless of the levels of self-esteem. We
thus conceptualized that the association between self-esteem
and distress among African Americans may depend on the
extent of racism that the individual perceives. When African
Americans perceive high levels of racism, their self-esteem
may be vulnerable to psychological distress. Yet, when African
Americans perceive low levels of racism, they may be able
to maintain low psychological distress across different levels
of self-esteem. Therefore, our frst hypothesis was that per-
ceived racism moderates the relation between self-esteem and
psychological distress among African Americans. However,
when perceiving less racism, African Americans would be
able to maintain low psychological distress across different
levels of self-esteem. Taken together, although prior studies
have addressed perceived racism, almost none addressed it as
a moderator variable. Thus, we examined perceived racism as
a moderator, rather than simply repeating past studies on the
direct effects between self-esteem and psychological distress.

Shyness, Perceived Racism, and
Psychological Distress

According to Cheek and Buss (1981), shyness is a person-
ality characteristic or a component of self-concept and is
characterized by the discomfort and inhibition that may occur
in the presence of others. Conceptually, shy people tend to
be aware of themselves as social objects more than people
with low shyness. Given that shy people tend to feel tense
and awkward, they may have higher levels of psychological
distress (Eisenberg et al., 1995). Empirically, shyness is pre-
dictive of later psychological and social functioning (Beer,
2002). Shyness is positively associated with neuroticism
and negatively associated with extroversion, two personality
traits of the Big Five scale (Ryan & Xenos, 2011). Shyness
is often thought to be associated with anxiety or generalized
negative affect, and its relation to psychological distress has
been reasonably well documented. Research has also found
that shyness is associated with depression (Beer, 2002), low
self-esteem, and loneliness (Cheek & Buss, 1981). Thus,
based on the current literature, shyness could be a risk factor
for psychological distress.

Although shyness could be a vulnerability factor for psy-
chological distress, it is still unknown or questionable if this
association is valid among African Americans. For example,
African Americans may feel uncomfortable when encounter-
ing strangers because of shyness or perceived racism from an
unwelcoming stranger. Or perhaps the extent of the racism
that African Americans perceive exacerbates their shyness on
distressed feelings. To date, there has been no rigorous test
of the association between shyness and psychological distress
among African Americans. Joiner (1997) suggested that
the association between shyness and psychological distress

should be considered within the context of a targeted popula-
tion. Given the fact that many African Americans encounter
racist events (Landrine & Klonoff, 1996) and that the way in
which it is experienced is a unique stressor for this popula-
tion (Clark et al., 1999; Harrell, 2000), it seems appropriate
to include perceptions of racism in the association between
shyness and distress among African Americans. Thus, a goal
of our study was to explain, at least in part, when and how
shy African Americans become psychologically distressed,
by using interactive views between shyness and perceived
racism on symptoms of distress.

The reason that perceived racism could be a moderator
that changes the association between shyness and distress
could be due to a variety of issues (Eisenberg et al., 1995).
First, when African Americans perceive more racism, they
may be more vulnerable to shyness, which has been associ-
ated with distress. African Americans who perceive more
racism tend to have less resilience and fewer resources
to manage daily stress than those who perceive less rac-
ism (Beer, 2002). Second, although shyness is associated
with psychological distress, more important for African
Americans, it is suggested that higher level of perceived
racism may make shy African Americans more vulner-
able to distress. For African Americans, shyness involves
an internal experience of emotional isolation, whereas
perceived racism creates an even deeper sense of social
marginalization and relational disconnection. Moreover,
when African Americans are disturbed by racism, they
may become lonely and frustrated and may be unable
to manage their shyness, which in turn leads to greater
psychological distress (Cowden, 2005). That is, African
Americans’ perceived high levels of racism are predicted
to worsen the association between shyness and distress.
Finally, because shyness does not assume high levels of
perceived racism, some shy African Americans may still
perceive low levels of racism. Such low levels of perceived
racism may make African Americans more confdent and
relaxed when encountering strangers.

Thus, low perceived racism may buffer against shyness on
negative social and health consequences, and African Ameri-
cans reporting low perceived racism may be able to maintain
low psychological distress no matter how shy they are. The
present reconceptualization thus asserts that shyness will
buffer against psychological distress when African Ameri-
cans perceive low levels of racism-related stress (i.e., per-
ceived racism moderates the relation between shyness and
psychological distress among African Americans). In other
words, when feeling shy, African Americans who perceive
low levels of racism may have a buffer that differentially
affects the association between shyness and psychological
distress (Clark et al., 1999). Thus, our second hypothesis was
that perceived racism moderates the relationship between
shyness and psychological distress among African Ameri-

Journal of Counseling & Development ■ July 2014 ■ Volume 92 261

Chao, Longo, Wang, Dasgupta, & Fear

cans. The less racism perceived by African Americans, the
more buffered the relation is; however, those who perceive
high levels of racism would lack the buffer against shyness
on distress. Therefore, we examined perceived racism as a
moderator between shyness and psychological distress rather
than simply addressing the direct effects between shyness
and psychological distress.

The Present Study
In an effort to advance the social justice mission of counseling
and psychology, we expanded the current literature on the associa-
tion between self-concept and psychological distress for African
Americans. Contextualizing this association based on African
Americans’ experiences with racism serves two purposes: First,
it addresses the emergent social justice mission imperative in
counseling; and second, it facilitates counselors’ cultural sensitivity
when serving this population. Because perceived racism affects
the lives of many African Americans, we constructively tested our
two hypotheses with a sample of nonclinical African Americans.
Our frst hypothesis aimed to determine whether perceived racism
moderates the association between self-esteem and psychological
distress. Our second hypothesis examined whether perceived rac-
ism moderates the association between shyness and psychological
distress. We hope that our fndings will assist African Americans
in dealing with the association between self-concept and distress,
as well as help advance the current literature on self-esteem and
shyness in the face of racism. We placed the association between
self-esteem/shyness and psychological distress in the mission of
social justice via conceptualizing perceived racism as a moderator
to this association.

Method
Power Analysis

A power analysis was conducted by using G*Power 3.1.2
(Erdfelder, Faul, & Buchner, 1996) to estimate the sample
size. A sample size of 386, 55, and 26 was needed for a small,
medium, and large effect size, respectively. In our study, a
sample size of 394 would detect a two-way interaction effect
with a small to medium effect size and a power of .80.

Participants

Our study participants were 394 African American students
from one historically Black university in the mid-Atlantic
region of the United States. Specifcally, there were 212 (54%)
women and 177 (45%) men; fve participants did not identify
their gender. Most participants were undergraduate students
(17% freshmen, 14% sophomores, 23% juniors, 26% seniors,
and 20% graduate school). The participants had declared ma-
jors in biology, engineering, education, or psychology. About
77% of participants were 25 years of age or younger. All par-
ticipants were informed that their participation was voluntary
and reassured that all information would be kept anonymous.

Instruments

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965).
The RSES is a 10-item scale that assesses an individual’s
self-esteem. It uses a 4-point Likert-type response, ranging
from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree), with higher
scores indicating higher self-esteem. The RSES has a more
than adequate coeffcient alpha of .92 and a test–retest cor-
relation over 2 weeks of .85 (Kwan, John, & Thein, 2007). In
our study, the coeffcient alpha was .89. Convergent validity
is reported between .56 and .83 and discriminant validity at
.53 (Robins, Hendin, & Trzesniewski, 2001). The RSES cor-
related with one-item self-reports of self-esteem and has been
used as a brief and reliable measure of self-esteem (Robins
et al., 2001). These pieces of evidence indicate the construct
and concurrent validity of the RSES.

Cheek and Buss Shyness and Sociability Scale (CBSS;
Cheek & Buss, 1981). The CBSS was used to assess African
Americans’ levels of shyness and focuses on shyness-related
behaviors, emotions, and cognitions. An example of a shy-
ness item is “I fnd it hard to talk to strangers.” Participants
responded on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (very
uncharacteristic of me) to 4 (very characteristic of me).
Responses are summed to create a score for shyness. The
validity and reliability of the CBSS are well established and
supporting data can be found elsewhere (e.g., Cheek & Buss,
1981). The CBSS has a more than adequate coeffcient alpha
of .90 and a test–retest correlation over 2 weeks of .88 (Cheek
& Buss, 1981). In our study, the coeffcient alpha was .85.
Shyness is found to be signifcantly positively associated
with self-consciousness and fearfulness and had discriminant
validity with self-esteem (Cheek & Buss, 1981). These pieces
of evidence indicate the construct and concurrent validity of
the CBSS.

Schedule of Racist Events (SRE; Landrine & Klonoff,
1996). The SRE is an 18-item instrument developed to as-
sess African Americans’ frequencies of experiences of rac-
ist events during the past year (SRE–Recent Racist Events)
and during their lifetime (SRE–Lifetime Racist Events), as
well as the overall degree of racism-related stress (SRE–
Appraised Racist Events). Each item is presented three
times. For the two frequency scales, a 6-point response
scale is used (1 = if this has never happened to you, 6 = if
this has happened almost all of the time [more than 70%
of the time]), and for the stress scale, another 6-point scale
is used (1 = not at all, 6 = extremely). A sample item is
“How different would your life be now if you had not been
treated in a racist and unfair way?” Landrine and Klonoff
(1996) reported reliability coeffcients ranging from .94
to .95 for the three subscales, and split-half reliability co-
effcients ranging from .91 to .93. Evidence of the SRE’s
validity was observed in the correlations between the three
SRE subscales and all of the Brief Symptom Inventory
(BSI) subscales. Our sample yielded coeffcient alphas of

Journal of Counseling & Development ■ July 2014 ■ Volume 92 262

Perceived Racism Among African Americans

.90 for the SRE–Recent Racist Events subscale, .88 for
the SRE–Lifetime Racist Events subscale, and .87 for the
SRE–Appraised Racist Events subscale.

BSI (Derogatis, 1993). The BSI is a 53-item self-report
measure of the frequency of experiencing a list of physical and
psychological symptoms during the past 7 days. The measure
consists of subscales to assess symptoms in fve dimensions:
Somatization, Anxiety, Obsessive–Compulsiveness, Interper-
sonal Sensitivity, and Depression. Participants respond on a
4-point rating scale (1 = not at all, 4 = extremely). A sample
item is “Your feelings being easily hurt.” Derogatis (1993) re-
ported reliability coeffcients ranging from .84 to .87 for each
of the subscales, 1-week test–retest reliability coeffcients
ranging from .75 to .84, and support for criterion-related
validity and construct validity. Data from our study yielded
a coeffcient alpha of .92 for the total scale and alphas of
.89, .84, .86, .88, .79, and .88 for the subscales Somatization,
Anxiety, Obsessive–Compulsiveness, Interpersonal Sensitiv-
ity, Depression, and Global Severity Index (GSI), respectively.
In our study, we used the GSI to measure psychological
distress given that the GSI is the most sensitive indicator of
the respondent’s distress level (Derogatis & Savitz, 1999).

Demographic questionnaire. The demographic question-
naire includes questions on race/ethnicity, age, sex, year in
college, and whether study participants have had therapy or
counseling.

Procedure

Before the survey began, a research coordinator visited
classes to explain the purpose of the study. Participants were
informed that the goal of the study was to identify factors that
can change psychological distress among African Americans.
Each participant was asked to read and sign a consent form
prior to his or her participation. Participants completed a
questionnaire package containing the RSES, CBSS, SRE,
BSI, and a demographic questionnaire. The questionnaires did
not contain any questions that could be used to identify the
participants. The students were debriefed upon the completion
of the questionnaire. All data were kept in a secure research
lab. The total possible sample was 440 students; however, 25
students did not complete the survey, leaving the sample at
415 participants and a response rate of 94%. Later, 21 students
were removed from the sample of 415 participants because
they responded to a validity item inaccurately. We only used
the valid data in our analysis, and the valid response rate was
90% (i.e., [440 – 25 – 21]/440 = 90%).

Results
Preliminary Analyses and Descriptive Statistics

We conducted a post hoc power analysis to estimate the
power. A sample size of 394 has .81, 1.0, and 1.0 power for
a small, medium, and large effect size, respectively. Analy-

ses were conducted to examine the descriptive statistics,
internal consistency reliability estimates, and correlations
among variables of interest. Table 1 shows the correlations,
means, standard deviations, and alpha coeffcients among
the variables. The zero-order correlations among the vari-
ables indicated that self-esteem was negatively associated
with psychological distress, but shyness and perceived
racism were positively associated with distress. We then
conducted a series of analyses of variance (ANOVAs) on
psychological distress to examine whether the dependent
variable varied as a function of participants’ sex and years
in college. Neither sex nor years in college had a signif-
cant effect on psychological distress, F(1, 388) = 0.58, p
> .05 and F(6, 387) = 0.69, p > .05, respectively. Yet, to
college students, psychological distress may be perceived
differently according to differences in age (Thorsteinsson
& Brown, 2009); therefore, it was critical to control these
latter factors before conducting our multiple regression
analyses.

Another issue in multiple regression analysis is normality,
because substantial departures from normality can adversely
affect the results, and so the data needed to meet regression
assumptions of normality, linearity, and homoscedasticity
(Cohen, Cohen, West, & Aiken, 2003). Results of our mul-
tiple regression analyses indicated that the skewedness of
residuals ranged from –0.14 (z = –1.21, p > .05) to –0.09 (z
= –0.94, p > .05), and the kurtosis of residuals ranged from
0.54 (z = 1.65, p > .05) to 0.57 (z = 1.68, p > .05). The results
indicated no statistical departure from normality. In terms
of the relationship between self-esteem and psychological
distress, self-esteem negatively contributed to the variance
of psychological distress (see Table 2). However, there was
a positive relationship between shyness and psychological
distress (i.e., as shyness increased, so did psychological
distress; see Table 3).

TabLe 1

Correlations, Means, Standard Deviations, and
alphas among the Variables

Variable 1 2 3 4 5

1. Age
2. Self-esteem
3. Shyness
4. Perceived

racism
5. Psychological

distress

—

–.02

–.03

.08

–.03

—
–.20***

–.06

–.24***

—

.09*

.42***

—

.34*** —

M
SD
a

20.59
3.73

NA

2.41
0.24

.89

2.04
0.49

.85

1.74
0.70

.90

0.50
0.45

.88

Note. N = 394. NA = not applicable.
*p < .05. ***p < .001.

Journal of Counseling & Development ■ July 2014 ■ Volume 92 263

TabLe 2

Two-Way Interaction of Self-esteem ×
Perceived Racism on Psychological Distress

Step and Variable B SE B b ΔR2 ΔF

Step 1 (covariate) .01 1.13
Age –0.01 .01 –.07

Step 2 (predictor) .09 44.50***
SE –0.14 .02 –.30***

Step 3 (moderator) .01 3.93*
PR 0.08 .04 .17

Step 4 (two-way
interaction) .02 10.11**

SE × PR –0.07 .02 –.14**

Note. N = 394. SE = self-esteem; PR = perceived racism.
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Primary Analysis

We frst standardized the covariate, predictor, and moderator
variables to reduce multicollinearity (Aiken & West, 1991;
Frazier, Tix, & Barron, 2004). We then created two interac-
tion terms: Self-Esteem × Perceived Racism and Shyness ×
Perceived Racism. Two regression analyses were conducted;
one with self-esteem as the predictor variable and the other
with shyness as the predictor variable.

Perceived racism as a moderator on the association
between self-esteem and psychological distress. To test Hy-
pothesis 1, in Step 1 of the regression, we entered age as a
covariate to control for the potential confounding effects on
psychological distress. In Step 2, participants’ self-esteem
was entered. In Step 3, participants’ perceived racism was
entered. In Step 4, an interaction term, representing Self-
Esteem × Perceived Racism, was entered (see Table 2). Table
2 showed that, after controlling for the covariate (in Step 1),
self-esteem in Step 2 accounted for 9% of the variance of
psychological distress. In Step 3, perceived racism accounted
for an additional 1% of psychological distress (ΔR2 = .01, p <

Chao, Longo, Wang, Dasgupta, & Fear

distress (ΔR2 = .02, p < .01). Champoux and Peters (1987) and Chaplin (1991) conducted a comprehensive review of social science literature and reported that interaction terms typically account for approximately 1% to 3% of the vari- ance, although Cohen (1992) suggested that an R2 value of .01 indicates a small effect size.

After a signifcant two-way interaction effect was found,
the next step was to interpret the interaction by plotting per-
ceived racism scores for self-esteem scores of one standard
deviation above and below the mean (Aiken & West, 1991;
Frazier et al., 2004). To check whether the slopes of simple
regression lines at high and low perceived racism signifcantly
differed from zero, we conducted simple regression analyses
as outlined by Aiken and West (1991). Its criterion variable
(i.e., psychological distress) is regressed on the predictor
(i.e., self-esteem), the moderator (i.e., perceived racism) at
a conditional value (e.g., high or low), and the predictor by
the moderator. The t test for the regression coeffcient of the
predictor variable in this equation did refect the signifcance
of the simple slope (i.e., whether the slope was signifcantly
different from zero).

Figure 1 shows that the slope with high social support was
signifcantly different from zero (b = –0.20, p < .05), but the slope with low perceived racism was not signifcantly dif- ferent from zero (b = –0.07, p > .05). These results indicate
that high perceived racism does not have a moderating effect
on the association between self-esteem and psychological
distress, whereas low perceived racism serves as a buffer to
maintain less psychological distress. The difference between

= High Racism
= Low Racism

0.8 —

High: b = –0.20, b = .07
0.7 —

.05). Finally, in Step 4, the two-way interaction of self-esteem
and perceived racism signifcantly predicted psychological

TabLe 3

Two-Way Interaction of Shyness × Perceived
Racism on Psychological Distress

Step and Variable B SE B b ΔR2 ΔF

P
sy

ch
o

lo
g

ic
a

l
D

is
tr

e
ss 0.6 —

0.5 —

0.4 —

0.3 —

Low: b = –0.07, b = .06

0.2 —

Step 1 (covariate) .01 1.10 0.1 —
Age –0.01 .01 –.07

Step 2 (predictor) .14 75.69*** 0 —
Shyness 0.18 .02 .38*** — —

Step 3 (moderator) .01 4.65* Low Self-Esteem High Self-Esteem

PR 0.08 .04 .17* Self-Esteem

Step 4 (two-way FIguRe 1
interaction) .03 17.67***

Shyness × PR 0.08 .02 .18*** Interaction effect of Self-esteem and Perceived
Note. N = 394. PR = perceived racism. Racism on Psychological Distress
*p < .05. ***p < .001.

With Perceived Racism as a Moderator

Journal of Counseling & Development ■ July 2014 ■ Volume 92 264

Perceived Racism Among African Americans

these two regression lines was also signifcant, as indicated by
the signifcant regression coeffcients found for the interac-
tion terms in the tests of the moderator effects, according to
the procedure recommended by Aiken and West (1991) and 0.8 —
Frazier et al. (2004).

0.7 —Perceived racism as a moderator on the association
between shyness and psychological distress. After analyz-
ing Hypothesis 1, we analyzed Hypothesis 2 in the same
manner. The initial four steps of the multiple regression
analysis were repeated to test Hypothesis 2. Table 3 shows
that, after controlling for the covariate (in Step 1), shyness
in Step 2 accounted for 14% of psychological distress. In
Step 3, perceived racism accounted for an additional 1% of P

sy
ch

o
lo

g
ic

a
l
D

is
tr
e
ss 0.6 —
0.5 —
0.4 —
0.3 —
0.2 —
= High Racism
= Low Racism

High: b = 0.26, b = .08

Low: b = 0.10, b = .07psychological distress (ΔR2 = .01, p < .05). Finally, in Step 4, the two-way interaction of shyness and perceived racism 0.1 — signifcantly predicted psychological distress (ΔR2 = .03, p <

0 —
.001). Because interaction terms in social science literature — —

and studies typically account for approximately 1% to 3%
Low Shyness High Shyness

Shyness
of the variance (Champoux & Peters, 1987; Chaplin, 1991),
the 3% of psychological distress accounted for by Shyness
× Perceived Racism appears important for counselors and
scholars when working with African Americans.

After fnding a signifcant two-way interaction effect,
we interpreted the interaction by plotting perceived racism
scores for shyness scores of one standard deviation above
and below the mean (Aiken & West, 1991). Its criterion vari-
able (i.e., psychological distress) is regressed on the predic-
tor (i.e., shyness), the moderator (i.e., perceived racism) at
a conditional value (e.g., high or low), and the predictor by
the moderator. The t test for the regression coeffcient of the
predictor variable in this equation did refect the signifcance
of the simple slope (i.e., whether the slope is signifcantly
different from zero). Figure 2 shows that the slope with
high social support was signifcantly different from zero (b
= 0.26, p < .001), but the slope with low perceived racism was insignifcantly different from zero (b = 0.10, p > .05).
These results indicate that only low perceived racism serves
as a buffer to maintain less psychological distress, whereas
high perceived racism does not have a moderating effect
on the positive association between shyness and distress.
The difference between these two regression lines was also
signifcant, as indicated by the signifcant regression coef-
fcients found for the interaction terms in the tests of the
moderator effects, according to the procedure recommended
by Aiken and West (1991).

Discussion
The results of the present study provided initial support for
Hypotheses 1 and 2. With regard to Hypothesis 1, levels of
perceived racism changed the relationship between self-
esteem and psychological distress. With regard to Hypoth-
esis 2, levels of perceived racism moderated the association

FIguRe 2

Interaction effect of Shyness and Perceived Racism
on Psychological Distress

With Perceived Racism as a Moderator

between shyness and psychological distress of African
Americans. This study offers important contributions to
researching and counseling African Americans in two ways.
First, this study extends a growing body of research on the
relationship between self-esteem and distress among African
Americans. When studying or counseling this population,
rather than assuming that self-esteem is always negatively
associated with psychological distress, it is necessary to ex-
amine the conditions (high vs. low perceived racism) under
which self-esteem would be more and less likely to predict
distress. Our fndings provide novel insights into the role of
African Americans’ perceived racism. The current literature
that suggests higher self-esteem relates to less psychological
distress appears insuffcient for African Americans. When
they perceive more racism, African Americans experience
more diffculty in maintaining low psychological distress
across different levels of self-esteem. In particular, African
Americans with higher perceived racism are vulnerable to
lower self-esteem, which is associated with higher distress.
When they perceive less racism, African Americans feel able
to manage the association between self-esteem and distress
and maintain less distress regardless of whether they have
high or low self-esteem.

Second, although shyness was positively associated with
psychological distress (Joiner, 1997), unfortunately, applying
this association to African Americans without considering
their cultural context (i.e., racism) amounts to missing the
mission of social justice in counseling (Goodman et al.,
2004). To effectively counsel African Americans, counselors

Journal of Counseling & Development ■ July 2014 ■ Volume 92 265

Chao, Longo, Wang, Dasgupta, & Fear

must understand the role of perceived racism in the associa-
tion between shyness and distress given that experiences of
racism are unavoidable for many African Americans. When
feeling shy, African Americans would need assurance that
others (e.g., White people, government, society) are willing
to accept their struggles with racism. Unfortunately, some
people, social policies, and institutions are operating under
misunderstandings and stereotypes about African Americans
and cannot offer such assurance and acceptance (Clark et al.,
1999). It is not surprising that African Americans perceiving
high racism in their environments were quite vulnerable as
they experienced limited buffering in regard to their shyness
and psychological distress. Moreover, many African Ameri-
cans live at the crossroads of countless stressors—struggling
with racism, problems with interacting with people or strang-
ers, worries about mingling with a group of people—while
also facing everyday diffculties. All of these stressors can
make them feel that they are overwhelmed by handling many
challenging tasks, including not only managing their shyness
but also struggling with racism. These multiple stressors also
may make them vulnerable because their shyness is positively
related to distress when they perceive high racism.

Our results additionally show that low perceived racism
could be a buffer against shyness on psychological distress.
When African Americans do not feel inferior, prejudiced,
or discriminated against because of being Black, they may
have more internal resources (e.g., culture-related coping) to
maintain low psychological distress across different levels of
shyness. Thus, perceived racism in our study serves a moder-
ating role between shyness and psychological distress. High
perceived racism would exacerbate this association, but low
perceived racism was able to help African Americans main-
tain low distress when feeling shy. In practical terms, when
African Americans feel shy, understanding how they perceive
racism may be a good beginning to help them maintain peace
of mind. Ignoring the role of perceived racism may exacerbate
their distress.

Finally, it is important to be aware that the interaction
effects signifcantly contributed 2% to 3% to the variance
of psychological distress. On one hand, it is typical that
the interaction effects of many studies are within the range
between 1% to 3% (e.g., Champoux & Peters, 1987). On the
other hand, when there is a signifcant interaction effect, the
impact of one variable (i.e., self-esteem, shyness) on distress
depends on the level of the other variable (i.e., perceived
racism). In our results, independent variables (e.g., shyness,
self-esteem) explained 9% to 14% of the variance of psy-
chological distress. This indicated that (a) it is imperative for
counselors and educators to understand that self-esteem and
shyness are contributors to African Americans’ experience of
distress, and (b) the contribution of individual variables such
as self-esteem and shyness validates the prior studies about the
direct associations between self-concept and psychological

distress. However, our two-way signifcant interaction effects
from our results clearly indicate that interpretation of the
individual variables (i.e., self-esteem, shyness) only may be
incomplete without considering a moderator variable (i.e.,
perceived racism; Frazier et al., 2004). Applying the direct
association between self-esteem/shyness and psychological
distress to African Americans demonstrates two problems.
First, statistically, the interpretation is defcient because there
were signifcant interaction effects between self-esteem/shy-
ness and perceived racism. Second, this application misses
a critical component (e.g., recognizing an oppressive condi-
tion such as racism) in the social justice mission, which is
a necessary factor in providing culturally competent care
(Ratts et al., 2010).

Limitations

Although our fndings extend the current knowledge on self-
esteem (Orth et al., 2008) and shyness (Cheek & Buss, 1981)
to African Americans in a historically Black university, our
study has three limitations. First, self-esteem, shyness, and
psychological distress were conceptualized on the basis of
African Americans’ experiences and used perceived racism
as a moderator variable; therefore, these fndings cannot be
generalized to other racial/ethnic minority populations such
as Latinos/as. Racism is a shared experience among many
racial/ethnic minority people; however, people of different
racial backgrounds may have particular experiences of racial
discrimination for their group. For example, Asian Americans
may often experience stereotypes such as being categorized
as the model minority (Liang, Li, & Kim, 2004). This could
result in a substantially different experience than those of
other minority populations. Moreover, African Americans
who are not in college may have tremendously different ex-
periences than those who are in college. Thus, our fndings
may be limited when generalizing to African Americans who
do not have experiences in college. In addition, our data were
collected at a historically Black university, which may create
a different culture for African American students than the
cultures found at other universities (e.g., Hispanic-serving or
predominantly White universities). As a result, our fndings
may be limited in generalizing to students not in historically
Black universities and colleges.

Second, our study examined two components of self-
concept—self-esteem and shyness—to demonstrate whether
and when perceived racism moderates the associations (i.e.,
self-esteem and distress, shyness and distress) among African
Americans. However, there was no focus placed on the as-
sociation between these two types of self-concept, although
they were found to be negatively associated (Cheek & Buss,
1981). Our study did not examine the interaction between
self-esteem and shyness, although it is understood that some
African Americans may simultaneously have struggled with
these two types of self-concept. Because self-esteem and shy-

Journal of Counseling & Development ■ July 2014 ■ Volume 92 266

Perceived Racism Among African Americans

ness were treated as predictors, our fndings did not focus on
the buffering effect of high self-esteem and low shyness. This
limitation could be addressed by future studies. Finally, the
participants were recruited from a historically Black univer-
sity, and they may have perceptions of racism different from
African American students on predominantly White campuses
(Brinson, 2005). Therefore, the results of this study may have
limitations in being generalized to African Americans in other
environments such as a majority White campus, community
population, and hospital setting.

Recommendations for Future Research

Three recommendations can be made for future research.
First, it would be useful to replicate this study among people
in different cultures. For example, perceived racism may
affect the lives of many racial/ethnic minority people, but
people of different cultures may need to be assessed with
other types of racism measurements to better refect their
experiences of racial discrimination. For example, to repli-
cate this study to Asian Americans, researchers can measure
their perceived racism with a model minority scale (Liang
et al., 2004) that assesses racism closely related to Asian
Americans’ experiences. In addition, because self-esteem
was negatively related to shyness (r = –.20, p < .05), future studies can advance this current methodology to examine a three-way interaction (i.e., Self-Esteem × Shyness × Perceived Racism). The three-way interaction examination may further enhance the current knowledge on African Americans’ psychological distress in different conditions. Just as important, future studies will be able to address the question of what conditions among African Americans (high vs. low self-esteem, high vs. low shyness) lead to the highest levels of distress when perceived racism is present. Future studies may also examine under what conditions (high vs. low self-esteem, high vs. low shyness) low perceived racism can serve as a buffer against distress.

Implications for Counseling

This study has three implications for counseling African
Americans. First, understanding the role of racism is as cru-
cial to counseling African Americans as social justice is to
counseling. African Americans have suffered from racism for
hundreds of years, so ignoring the role of racism may equate to
applying a uniform and unyielding standard of counseling to
this population. In addition, the signifcant moderation effects
of racism indicate that helping African Americans deal with
their perceived racism could be a critical factor in counseling
them on how to manage these two associations (i.e., self-
esteem and distress, shyness and distress). Stereotypes about
African Americans, their lower employment rate, and limited
educational resources are indexes of perceived racism that
fail to minimize African Americans’ shyness in relationships
(Watkins, Terrell, Miller, & Terrell, 1989). As our study and

the literature review show, some African Americans have high
levels of perceived racism, so counselors should encourage
African American clients to talk about their perceptions of
racism rather than assume that most African Americans have
similar perceptions of racism. Through knowing that some
African Americans are suffering from high perceived racism
or lack buffers against negative self-concept such as poor
self-esteem or shyness, counselors can help them explore
any specifc components of perceived racism that may be
contributing to their psychological distress.

Second, because perceived racism comes from various
sources, such as personal racism, institutional racism, and
cultural racism (Harrell, 2000), it is necessary to explore
how different levels of racism relate to African Americans’
psychological distress. Counselors can facilitate African
Americans’ coping with perceived racism. Helping Afri-
can Americans manage racism could help them overcome
shyness and low self-esteem and subsequently decrease
their psychological distress. For example, counselors
can offer culturally appropriate psychoeducation to help
African Americans understand that racism affects mental
health, including by leading to symptoms of anxiety and
depression. Learning how to handle racism could possibly
reduce their psychological distress; counselors can also
facilitate African Americans’ resilience and competence in
reducing perceived racism. Indeed, looking back at Black
history, despite the long list of adverse conditions and
centuries of exclusion from the socioeconomic mainstream,
African Americans have managed to make signif icant
contributions to American society. Examples are legion:
their vibrant Afro-centric cultural independence; unique
legacy of social activism; unparalleled advances in the
arts, sports, and business; and distinctive creativity of
spirit, all of which have enriched our nation. Counselors
can reinforce African American clients’ awareness of
their contributions to America to help strengthen their
competence in handling racism.

Finally, to integrate the mission of social justice into
counseling, counselors should demonstrate cross-cultural
empathy to show that regardless of their cultural background,
they understand and are sensitive to the negative realities
of life that many African Americans face (Watkins et al.,
1989). Counselors should also be aware of the role of per-
ceived racism in the therapeutic dynamic between counselors
and African American clients. Some crucial questions for
counselors to consider include: How much do my African
American clients perceive racism from my counseling,
my agency, and even my institutional policy? Is there any
racism-related issue in the service (e.g., intake process,
therapeutic modality, implicit assumption toward African
Americans)? As noted, African Americans perceive racism
in their living environment and daily life, and it is a part of
the mission of social justice that counselors are sensitive

Journal of Counseling & Development ■ July 2014 ■ Volume 92 267

Chao, Longo, Wang, Dasgupta, & Fear

to this to prevent African Americans from reexperiencing
racism in counseling.

In conclusion, our study is the frst one to examine the
moderation effect of perceived racism on the two associations:
between self-esteem and psychological distress, and between
shyness and psychological distress. Our study advances the
current knowledge regarding when self-concept (i.e., self-
esteem and shyness) of African Americans (experiencing high
vs. low perceived racism) relates to psychological distress.
Because only low perceived racism has been able to buffer
the impact of shyness and low self-esteem on psychological
distress, counselors can facilitate African Americans’ abilities
to manage racism. In addition to contributing to the feld of
counseling with empirical evidence, our study also fulflls
the mission of social justice to provide culturally sensitive
counseling for African Americans.

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1. High Racism: Off
2. High Racism_2: Off

REVIEW

Addressing Sexual and Relationship Violence
in the LGBT Community Using a Bystander

Framework
Sharyn J. Potter, PhD, MPH, Kim Fountain, PhD, and Jane G. Stapleton, MA

Sexual and relationship violence are two major public health issues that affect an alarming number
of undergraduate students. As a result, many colleges and universities have protocols to serve
victims of these forms of violence. Despite federal legislation stating that all students should have
equitable experiences, current protocols and programs focus primarily on heterosexual
students. College student victims of sexual and relationship violence who identify as lesbian, gay,
bisexual, or transgender can face particular challenges, including disclosure of their sexual
and gender orientations, and revictimization when seeking services. In recent years an
increasing number of campuses have adopted bystander prevention strategies to address sexual
and relationship violence. These strategies seek to engage community members in the prevention
of sexual and relationship violence by training them to identify and safely intervene in situations
where sexual or relationship violence is about to occur, is occurring, or has occurred. In this article
we review published bystander prevention strategies that focus on preventing sexual and
relationship violence in the campus community, and discuss how bystander strategies are
addressing or can address relationship and sexual violence in the LGBT community. (HARV REV
PSYCHIATRY 2012;20:201–208.)

Keywords: bisexual. bystander prevention strategies, college, gay, lesbian, relationship and sexual
violence, transgender

From the Department of Sociology (Dr. Potter) and Women’s Stud-
ies Program (Dr. Fountain and Ms. Stapleton), University of New
Hampshire.

Original manuscript received 18 August 2011; revised manuscript
received 17 December 2011, accepted for publication subject to re-
vision 17 January 2012; revised manuscript received 9 February
2012.

Correspondence: Sharyn J. Potter, PhD, MPH, Department of Sociol-
ogy, University of New Hampshire, 20 Academic Way, Durham, NH
03824. Correspondence: sharyn.potter@unh.edu

© 2012 President and Fellows of Harvard College

DOI: 10.3109/10673229.2012.712838

Sexual assault of women is the most common violent crime
committed on college campuses today; one in four college
women experiences completed or attempted rape during
their college years.1 The majority of these assaults are
perpetrated by the victim’s acquaintances (e.g., classmates,
residence hall neighbors, dates) or intimate partners.1−3
College women are at higher risk for sexual assault than
peers who are not in college.4 Studies show that college men
also report unwanted sexual experiences.5,6 Recent research
indicates that 25% of women and 14% of men will experience
relationship violence over the course of their lifetimes.7
Exposure to sexual and relationship violence∗ is a key public
health issue and is associated with a multiplicity of negative
outcomes, including increased substance use, depressive
symptoms, health-risk behaviors, and symptoms of
posttraumatic stress disorder among various samples of
survivors.∗,9−13

*We use the term sexual violence to refer to a range of behaviors that are unwanted by the recipient, including, but not limited to, the
following: derogatory or insulting remarks about physical appearance; persistent sexual advances that are undesired by the recipient;
unwanted touching; and unwanted oral, anal, or vaginal penetration. These behaviors could be initiated by someone either known or
unknown to the recipient, including someone in an existing relationship with the recipient. We use the term relationship violence to refer to
a range of behaviors experienced in the con- text of any type of intimate relationship or friendship. These behaviors include use of physical
force or threats of force against a partner, such as slapping, punching, throwing objects, threatening with weapons, or threatening any
kind of physical harm. It can also include extreme emotional abuse such as intimidation, blaming, putting down, making fun of, and name
calling.

∗Although the terms victim and survivor are often used interchangeably,7 in the legal definition the term victim rather than survivor is
used to describe a person following an assault.8

201

mailto:sharyn.potter@unh.edu

Harv Rev Psychiatry
July/August 2012

Addressing Sexual and Relationship Violence in the LGBT Community 202

The extent to which campuses are working to prevent
these problems varies widely.4 Most efforts are aimed at
heterosexual women—statistically, the most highly
represented group. But this population is not the only one
for which sexual and relationship violence is an issue.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students
represent a marginalized population at the same14 or at
higher risk for sexual and relationship violence15−18 as their
heterosexual peers. Yet the 5%–10% of undergraduate
student populations who identify as LGBT19,20 are signif-
icantly underserved by colleges’ prevention strategies for
sexual and relationship violence.

Campus efforts to combat such violence have demon-
strated mixed results regarding effectiveness, particularly
over time.21 Some prevention strategies have been viewed as
directly or indirectly victim blaming.22 Others have focused
too much on individuals or small groups (such as athletes or
fraternity members), or on criminal justice policies rather
than wider social change.23,24 Some campuses have therefore
begun to utilize a bystander approach to engage the broader
campus community—in particular, bystanders—in efforts to
reduce sexual and relationship violence on campus. In this
article we examine the extent to which the published by-
stander prevention strategies have addressed sexual and re-
lationship violence in the LGBT community, and we provide
suggestions to improve bystander-intervention frameworks.

SEXUAL AND RELATIONSHIP VIOLENCE
EXPERIENCED BY LGBT COLLEGE STUDENTS

Campus Climate for Students Who Identify as LGBT

Sociocultural bias against LGBT people and cultures, known
as heterosexism and homophobia, can frame LGBT identi-
ties as sinful, sick, perverted, and a threat to the traditional
family.25−27 When heterosexuality is posited as the norm,
acts of violence at every level of society perpetrated against
LGBT people are justified or explained through reference to
such negative constructions.28 The climate of LGBT intol-
erance on college campuses has been well documented by
researchers.29−34 For LGBT students, college campuses are
often unwelcoming, unsafe environments, where they expe-
rience harassment,29−31 isolation, ostracization,32 and phys-
ical violence.33 LGBT students can face discrimination or
harassment from their peers (e.g., roommates, classmates,
teammates) and other members of the campus community,
including the professional staff (e.g., coaches, hall directors,
professors, administrators, campus safety, health services
staff). Harassment and discrimination from campus com-
munity members can not only make LGBT students feel
unwelcome but also reduce their self-esteem and prevent
them from seeking help from campus professionals.32,33,35

Perpetrator Tactics

Perpetrators most commonly use two tactics to control their
victims: threatening to or actually revealing the victim’s sex-
uality to others (“outing” the victim), or isolating the victim.
For many lesbians who report abuse, the abuse occurs dur-
ing their first relationship, when they are most vulnerable to
batterers who have the capacity to control or manipulate
information.36 For students the impact of outing may be dev-
astating and may occur on several different levels. Many stu-
dents experiment with their sexuality or come out in college.
They may not tell their parents for any number of reasons,
including being cut off from financial and emotional support,
losing parental housing during school breaks, or losing jobs
that might be their only form of support.37−40 The college
environment can offer students the opportunity to explore
same-sex relationships,36 but many such first relationships
are at high risk for relationship violence because the victims
want both to confirm their sense of self and sexual identity,
and to “fit in.” The victims may also lack confidence in what
behaviors are acceptable in intimate same-sex relationships
and may have no or minimal contact with LGBT friend-
ship/community networks, within which they could air their
concerns. The desire to fit in leaves victims vulnerable be-
cause they may take risks, explain away the violence, or lack
the vocabulary or life skills to identify, name, and act on the
violence. For those who might possess such skills and sup-
port and who might even be out, the embarrassment behind
feeling that they somehow are not expressing their sexual or
gender identities “correctly” contributes to their silence
around relationship violence and sexual assaults. These fac-
tors and the perpetrators’ awareness of them increase the
likelihood of relationship violence.41

Isolation—one of the most effective and common tactics
that batterers resort to in heterosexual relationships42—is
often easy to use against LGBT victims because they may
not be open about their sexuality and are therefore socially
isolated. Alternatively, they may have come out but been
rejected by their social groups or families. A variation on this
theme is for batterers to limit the circle of people who are
allowed to know about the relationship, as the batterer
claims that they are not “out.”41

Harv Rev Psychiatry
Volume 20, Number 4

Addressing Sexual and Relationship Violence in the LGBT Community 203

Barriers to Seeking Help and Reporting

The consequences and implications of sexual and relation-
ship violence in LGBT communities are both similar to, and
different from, those of the heterosexual community. Both
heterosexual and LGBT victims of sexual and relationship
violence who seek help must disclose the crime. Students
who identify as LGBT, however, may feel uncomfortable do-
ing so; the disclosure of the crime may also involve the dis-
closure of their sexual identities or gender orientations. For
students who are not out, their perceived need to hide their
sexual identities can be a barrier to seeking services. Peo-
ple who are just coming out or who are not accustomed to
talking about their sexual orientations may find the lan-
guage required to discuss their experiences inaccessible.43
Indeed, the language of sexual and relationship violence
tends to be extraordinarily gendered; female victims are
“attacked” or “abused” by male perpetrators, but fewer ex-
pressions are available to describe same-sex assaults. This
linguistic shortfall reflects common thinking; for instance,
some people cannot fathom or may explicitly deny that a
man can sexually assault another man. Even those who are
accustomed to speaking about same-sex situations on a va-
riety of levels may find it difficult to cross the linguistic gap
after a traumatic event. It can be all the more difficult for
someone who has not yet developed the confidence, let alone
the language related to his or her LGBT identity, to make a
report.

Male victims of sexual and relationship violence are often
blamed for not stopping an attack—which makes it difficult
for young men to speak of sexual or relationship violence
perpetrated by other men. Reporting requires them not only
to reveal very personal information but to frame acts of vio-
lence in a manner that makes sense in heterosexist culture,
in which victims are presumed to be heterosexual women.
Indeed, the current reauthorization of the Violence Against
Women Act faces opposition—for the first time—in large
part due to the addition of provisions for services address-
ing the LGBT communities. A gay man just coming to terms
with his sexuality may find it overwhelming to negotiate a
linguistic terrain that clearly marks him as gay and as a
victim of sexual assault.

LGBT individuals who identify as members of a racial or
ethnic minority can face additional burdens in facing stereo-
types of LGBT people as white and from Western cultures
when seeking help.44,45 Similarly, they face accusations of
being traitors to their racial or cultural identities for taking
on the LGBT identity.

Although all victims may face retribution from their
friends for seeking help or reporting the crime, on many
campuses the LGBT communities are small and insulated,
and the fear of retribution can be compounded. The actual
or perceived homophobia on college campuses may
prevent LGBT undergraduate victims of sexual and
relationship violence from seeking help.

As with other marginalized groups, LGBT victims may
choose not to report violence, thereby avoiding
further stigmatization of the LGBT community.46,47
Victims may be concerned that the identification and
labeling of same-sex perpetrators will further compromise
the perception of relationships that already involve
negative stereotyping.48 As members of marginalized
communities, LGBT individuals—for fear of
discrimination or harassment—often have serious
reservations about accessing authority figures or disclosing
their sexuality.49 Many LGBT youth attempt to access
services or safety nets such as religious figures, school
counselors, or the police, only to be told that their sexuality
—not the actual perpetration of the violence—is the issue.
For some victims the inability to obtain support from the
system only underscores their isolation and vulnerability.47

Existing Treatments

Services for LGBT and heterosexual victims of relationship
and sexual violence commonly take the form of one-on-
one counseling, advocacy efforts, and education. On college
cam- puses, collaborations with medical facilities,
law enforcement, and campus judicial boards may be
part of these services. In the United States, services for
victims of sexual and relationship violence are rarely fully
inclusive, and the funding of services to meet the needs
of LGBT victims, in particular, is typically
inadequate.47 At the present time lesbian victims of
relationship violence have fewer options than
heterosexual victims for accessing safe and effective
services.49 Other studies have shown that some crisis staff
view same-sex relationship violence as less harmful
than heterosexual violence—a result of the
stereotypes that men can defend themselves and women
are not violent.50 Because LGBT victims are often unwilling
to report violence, statistical data reflect lower rates
of incidence than would otherwise be the case, leading
to minimal funding for direct services, advocacy, and
prevention for LGBT communities. To be most responsive
and effective, direct services, advocacy, and prevention
efforts must proactively respond to the range of
vulnerabilities that offenders exploit.51,52

Harv Rev Psychiatry
July/August 2012

Addressing Sexual and Relationship Violence in the LGBT Community 204

USING BYSTANDER PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS
SEXUAL AND RELATIONSHIP VIOLENCE IN THE
LGBT COMMUNITY

In the social psychology literature, bystanders are defined
as individuals who witness criminal acts, emergency
situations, or instances where community norms are
violated.53−55 A bystander’s action or lack of action can
worsen, maintain, or improve the situation. Using research
on the effectiveness of prevention efforts, scholars and
practitioners have tried to engage bystanders as allies in
pre- venting sexual and relationship violence. Further
impetus for engaging bystanders comes from
research on perpetrator characteristics (e.g., hostility
toward women, victimization experiences)56 and situational
factors, such as community norms or community tolerance
toward sexual and relationship violence that can facilitate
or inhibit perpetrator behaviors;57−60 indeed, violence
occurs when there are motivated perpetrators, vulnerable
potential victims, and the absence of community
members who can or will intervene.61 Attention to both
perpetrator behavior and community responsibility can
facilitate effective community-level prevention efforts.
Bystander models focus on teaching bystanders active,
helpful behaviors to safely intervene in situations that
involve sexual and relationship violence.62

Although the use of bystander prevention strategies on
college campuses is growing, the majority of bystander
programs have not been formally evaluated, largely as a
result of limited funding and administrative time.63,64 Five
bystander programs for preventing sexual violence, as well
as one social-marketing campaign, have had evaluations
published in the peer-reviewed literature.65 The programs,
each of which utilizes a different approach, are currently in
place on college campuses in the United States and Canada.
The Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) model developed
by Katz in 1993 is one of the first violence prevention
programs using a bystander framework.66 The MVP pro-
gram, in addition to being used on college campuses, is used
with sports teams and with members of the U.S. military.
The program utilizes sports metaphors (e.g., a playbook) to
engage men in preventing violence against women.66 Since
its inception, the program has looked at the harassment of
gays and lesbians, and also at other heterosexist behaviors.
The occurrence of domestic violence and sexual assault in
same-sex couples is addressed, but the scenarios in the
play- book do not yet deal with bystander intervention
when the abuse is within LGBT relationships themselves
—but only when heterosexuals are abusing, harassing, or
talking in degrading ways about LGBT people (Jackson
Katz, personal communication).

The InterACT Sexual Assault Prevention Program is an
interactive skill-building program that seeks to increase
participants’ knowledge on the importance and effec-
tiveness of bystander interventions in preventing sexual

assault.67 While relationship and sexual violence within the
LGBT community is not a main focus, this phenomenon is
addressed during the program’s facilitated-discussion
component. InterACT has a separate program that is used to
address homophobia; its main focus is violence and bullying
aimed at LGBT people by heterosexuals, rather than
violence within the LGBT community (Marc Rich and
Courtney Ahrens, personal communication).

The Men’s Project68 incorporates discussion of bystander
techniques and utilizes a social-norms model of change,69,70
where peers’ perceptions of their peers’ attitudes and actions
are used to influence behavioral change. At the present time
this program does not address relationship and sexual vio-
lence in the LGBT community (Christine Gidycz, personal
communication).
The Men’s Program,71 a bystander program that utilizes
a film discussing a male-on-male rape as its focal point, does
not address sexual and relationship violence in same-sex
relationships (John Foubert, personal communication).

The Bringing in the BystanderTM in-person prevention
program trains participants to safely intervene when sexual
assault or relationship abuse is about to occur, is occurring,
or has occurred.62 The facilitator guide for this program in-
structs peer facilitators to explain that perpetrators and vic-
tims of sexual and relationship violence are not restricted to
particular sexual identities, relationships, or socioeconomic
backgrounds. “Its perpetrators and victims may be women or
men, young or old, gay, lesbian, straight or bisexual. Re-
lationship abuse affects people of all races, socioeconomic
backgrounds, and educational levels.”72

Most of the educational strategies for preventing sexual
and relationship violence are in the form of in-person pre-
vention programs, and the Know Your PowerTM Bystander
Social Marketing Campaign (developed in 2004) utilizes the
main tenets of the Bringing in the Bystander in-person
prevention program, in particular. The model of a social-
marketing campaign engages bystander behaviors when
sexual assault, relationship violence, or stalking is occur-
ring, is about to occur, and has occurred. The campaign, ad-
ministered campus-wide for a six-week period, utilizes 11′ x
17′ posters, bookmarks, table tents, full-side bus wraps,
computer pop-up screens, and products distributed with the
campaign logo.73 Studies have shown that participants who
have been exposed to, and who identified with, the
campaign images (compared to participants who report not
identifying with the images) were more likely both to believe
that they had a role to play in reducing sexual and
relationship violence and to have engaged in bystander
behaviors.73−75

During the running of a campaign, the images that ad-
dress relationship and sexual violence in the heterosexual
community (16 images) and the LGBT community (4 images)
are displayed together; the goal is to recognize that sexual
and relationship violence is not limited to heterosexual
relationships and to engage all community members to

Harv Rev Psychiatry
Volume 20, Number 4

Addressing Sexual and Relationship Violence in the LGBT Community 205

acknowledge and safely intervene in these situations. The
first LGBT image, developed in 2006, has two scenes. In the
first scene two friends realize that another friend is lying
about the source of the bruises on his arms. The friends
realize that the bruising is not the result of a skateboard-
ing accident but has been inflicted by the victim’s abusive
boyfriend. In the next scene one friend offers to take the
victim to the campus rape crisis center. In the second LGBT
image, developed in 2009, there are three scenes that il-
lustrate bystanders supporting their friends after the oc-
currence of a sexual assault. The first two scenes highlight
female victims. In the third scene a male victim discloses
that he has been sexually assaulted. His male friend tells
him that he believes him. In the third LGBT image, devel-
oped in 2011, a college party scene is taking place; a female
is being emotionally abusive to her girlfriend. In the image
the bystanders identify and label the abuse and devise a
strategy to safely intervene to help their friend. In the
fourth LGBT image, also developed in 2011, two friends are
sitting in a local pizza shop. One of them, a potential per-
petrator, describes how he has met a man online and that
he plans on “hooking up” with this man, regardless of what
the man wants. The friend labels his friend’s plan as the
perpetration of a sexual assault and tries to convince him to
change his mind.

The nascent field of engaging community members as
active bystanders to recognize and safely intervene when
they anticipate or witness sexual and relationship violence
provides an opportunity to prevent violence not only in the
majority campus community but also in marginalized cam-
pus communities (e.g., LGBTs and the disabled). Programs
that engage community members as both bystanders and
victims work to break down the isolation that threatens
potential victims.76 Anti-LGBT stigma may prevent non-
LGBT students from intervening, because of either fears of
association or an inability to identify violence in a situation
involving LGBT students. As college and university officials
continue to develop strategies to address relationship and
sexual violence in the heterosexual and non-heterosexual
communities, care must be taken that all members of the
larger community feel comfortable providing and seeking
help.

PROPOSED DIRECTIONS FOR THE FIELD, AND
CONCLUSION

Any bystander, whether LGBT or heterosexual, who en-
counters an instance of sexual or relationship violence in
the LGBT community should be able to recognize the vi-
olence and to intervene in situations where violence is
occurring—regardless of the sexual orientation of the vic-
tims and perpetrators. Bystanders who intervene must also
be taught, however, how to explain their empathic behavior
to their peers and family members (by suggesting, for exam-

ple, that LGBT relationships can be healthy and should be
respected), who may otherwise ridicule their choice to inter-
vene and may even see their advocacy as going against social
norms and supporting such relationships.77,78 Intervening
bystanders may be required to cope with guilt by association,
including potential violence directed toward them. In fact,
because of the potential for violence, agencies such as the
New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-violence Project send
outreach workers into the field in pairs (or more) as a safety
measure.

As college administrators implement prevention strate-
gies to reduce sexual and relationship violence in the LGBT
community, it must be remembered that these two types of
violence are not the same as hate violence. That said, within
marginalized communities, all three types of violence can be
intertwined; research indicates the prevalence of hate
crime–related sexual assault among gay or bisexual men
ranges from 3.0% to 19.8% of all such assaults and among
lesbian or bisexual women, from 1% to 12.3%.79 Sexual and
relationship violence and hate violence require unique
approaches, each with its own appropriate messaging and
effective interventions. While the strategies addressing the
different forms of violence cannot be interchanged, neither
should they be developed in isolation. Only if campus
administrators address these issues will all students be free
to pursue their optimal intellectual and emotional growth
during their college or university years.

Although some of the bystander prevention strategies ad-
dress the discrimination and bullying that is faced by LGBT
students,66,67 most do not. There are a few exceptions.62,73
These findings are problematic considering the prevalence of
sexual and relationship violence in the LGBT undergraduate
community and the unique barriers that LGBT students face
when seeking help. The use of strategies to engage members
of the broader community in preventing sexual and
relationship violence within and against the LGBT com-
munity needs to be increased. Furthermore, when victims
who identify as LGBT seek help, they often find counselors
that are ill equipped to offer support;14,48,80 counselors must
be trained to provide professional and culturally competent
services to LGBT victims. Finally, since the LGBT
community is heterogeneous, efforts need to be made to
understand why some groups access support and others do
not.81

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of
interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content
and writing of the article.

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permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

• SEXUAL AND RELATIONSHIP VIOLENCE EXPERIENCED BY LGBT COLLEGE STUDENTS

Campus Climate for Students Who Identify as LGBT
Perpetrator Tactics
Barriers to Seeking Help and Reporting
Existing Treatments

• USING BYSTANDER PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS SEXUAL AND RELATIONSHIP VIOLENCE IN THE LGBT COMMUNITY
• PROPOSED DIRECTIONS FOR THE FIELD, AND CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

Journalof Family Violence

(2011) 26:163–169 DOI

10.1007/s10896-010-9346-0

Predicting Officer Physical Assaults at Domestic Assault Calls

Richard R. Johnson

Published online: 18 January 2011 # Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2011

Abstract Police work is rife with the potential for physical harm, and domestic assault
calls are one source of assaults on officers. Inability to accurately predict what circumstances
might lead to an attack is one cause of officer cynicism and paranoia. Having the ability to
identify which suspects pose the greatest threat of assault would allow officers to take
appropriate protective measures. Using data collected from 1,951 domestic assault calls across
three cities, the present study compared characteristics and behaviors of the batterers with
whether or not the batterers physically assaulted the responding officers. Findings revealed five
significant batterer characteristics (employment status, shared residence with abuse victim,
alcohol consumption, property damage, and hostile demeanor toward officers) that
successfully predicted officer assaults. These risk factors may be incorporated into police safety
training in the response to family violence calls.

Keywords Domestic violence. Officer safety. Officer assaults

The potential for assaults on police officers handling domestic assault calls has been the
subject of some debate over the last few decades. While some studies have found that
domestic assault calls only contribute to a very small portion of the assaults that officers
experience (Garner and Clemmer 1986; Hirschel et al. 1994; Konstantin 1984), studies in
different communities have suggested that domestic assault calls are one of the three most
common situations where officer assaults occur (Ellis et al. 1993;

Stanford and Mowry 1990; Uchida et al. 1987). Even if other types of calls have higher rates of
officer assault, this does not necessarily mean that domestic assault calls are “safe.” On the
contrary, as FBI statistics indicate that from 1980 through 2003 more than 224,000 police
officers in the U.S. were assaulted while handling family disturbance calls (Johnson 2007, 2008).
Furthermore, while survival rate for officers assaulted in the U.S. has been steadily increasing
over the last 30 years, the survival rate for officers assaulted at domestic violence calls has
failed to increase for officers assaulted at domestic assault calls. It is the unpredictability and
constant potential for danger in the form of a violent physical attack that distinguishes the work
environment of the police officer. Inability to accurately predict what circumstances might lead

to an attack is suggested to be a primary cause of police cynicism and officer mistrust of the
public, causing officers to emphasize keeping their guard up at all times (Barker 1999; Skolnick
1966; Wilson 1968). This is impossible to achieve, however, and could lead to paranoia or
citizen complaints for overly aggressive behavior. Therefore, increasing an officer’s ability to
predict which domestic assault situations pose the highest potential for assault could be very
helpful. Being able to identify for officers which circumstances pose threats of assault would
allow officers to take protective measures. The present study sought to utilize characteristics of
the domestic batterer and the situational circumstances of the incident to predict assaults on
police officers attending domestic assault calls. This study extended the previous research on
police officer assaults by moving beyond simply searching for correlates of assault and
developing prediction odds ratios for assaults. A simple correlate usually refers to a factor that
occurs at the same time as the outcome, while predictor variables predict an increased
probability of the outcome (Loeber 1990). This study

Page 164

sought to predict increased probabilities of assaults on officers. Furthermore, this research
targeted assaults at domestic calls, which some previous research has suggested occur
somewhat differently than assaults on officers performing other duties (Johnson 2007, 2008). It
was hoped that key characteristics could be identified that would be useful in predicting the
likelihood of an officer assault and permit the utilization of proactive safety tactics by officers.

Literature Review

While there has been a fair amount of research on the correlates of police use of force
against citizens (see for example Alpert and Dunham 1999; Geller and Toch 1995; Terrill and
Mastrofski 2002), there has only been limited research on the correlates of physical assaults
against police officers. Meyer et al. (1979) reviewed the characteristics of assailants in 1,143
assaults on police officers from 37 municipal law enforcement agencies in five U.S. states. The
majority of the assailants in these assaults were young (between ages 18 and 25), male,
members of racial minority groups, unemployed, had been consuming alcohol, and had
displayed an angry or belligerent demeanor prior to committing the assault. A number of these
individuals also had personal problems such as a lack of a high school education, a criminal
record, and family relationship difficulties (Meyer et al. 1979). More recently, Pinizzotto et al.
(1998) reviewed the assailant characteristics in all law enforcement officer murders reported to
the FBI from 1985 to 1994. Again they found that the majority of the assailants were young
(between the ages of 15 and 29), male, members of racial minority groups, unemployed, low

socioeconomic status, unmarried, under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and had a criminal
record.

Other Western nations have also conducted similar studies and identified similar
assailant characteristics. Brown (1994), Moxey and McKenzie (1993), and Noaks and
Christopher (1990) analyzed data from officer assaults in the United Kingdom. In all three of
these English studies the assailants were found to be predominantly lower income males who
were unemployed, had a criminal record, and were consuming alcohol at the time of the
assault. Most were between the ages of 17 and 25, with an average age of 22 years old. In
Australia, Mayhew (2001) analyzed official police reports and found similar characteristics were
prevalent in those who assaulted officers in that nation. The Australian assailants were
generally young males of lower socioeconomic status who were intoxicated, with aboriginals
being over-represented among the assailants. In Iceland, Bragason (2007) conducted a survey
of assaulted police officers who described the characteristics of their assailants. Again it was
found that those who assaulted the officers appeared to be predominantly young indigenous
males who were unemployed, had a criminal record, and had been consuming alcohol. While
the previous research has done a fairly good job of describing the characteristics of the
assailants who attack police officers in many nations, they all failed to make any attempt to
predict officer assaults. While the person who is most likely to assault police officers is
described as a lower class, adolescent male who has been consuming alcohol, it could be
argued that this description fits a significant proportion of the citizens with whom the police
routinely interact. Yet only small fractions of the intoxicated, lower class, adolescent males the
police encounter actually assault them. So how do the assailants differ from the non-assailants
that officers typically encounter? The previous literature has been silent on this question.
Another weakness to the previous literature is an assumption that all assault incidents are
similar. Assailant characteristics are pooled across all types of officer assault incidents. Recently
there has been evidence to suggest that there may be differences in both offender
characteristics, and how assaults occur, across different types of officer assault incidents
(Johnson 2007). Previous studies failed to look specifically at physical assaults of officers
handling domestic assault calls to determine what characteristics offenders in these specific
situations have, and how these characteristics differ from batterers in domestic assault calls
who did not assault the police. The present study attempted to fill this void in the literature.

Method

Participants

Data used came from the pooling of datasets from three previous studies. A sample of
domestic assault calls was needed that contained descriptive information about the batterer
involved, and contained both cases that involved an assault on an officer and cases that did not.

Data from three well known domestic violence arrest experiment studies were used, the first
being the Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment (Sherman and Rogan 1984) which
involved official police reports in 1,250 domestic assault cases handled by the Minneapolis
Police Department. The second was a replication of the Minneapolis experiment that was
conducted in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, involving 921 domestic assault cases handled by the
Milwaukee Police Department (Sherman et al. 1991). The last study was a replication study in
Miami, Florida that involved 907

Page 165

domestic assault cases handled by the Metro-Dade Police Department (Pate et al. 1991). 1

Even though these data were collected in the 1980s, they remain relevant today for
several reasons. First, they continue to be used in research on family violence published in
prestigious social science research journals (Garner and Maxwell 2000; Hickman 2003; Maxwell
et al. 2002; Piquero et al. 2006). Second, since empirical evidence suggests that assaults on
officers at domestic calls, and officer survival rates from these assaults, have remained stable
for more than 30 years (Johnson 2007, 2008), there is little likelihood that any possible changes
in police tactics since the 1980s has occurred with respect to handling domestic calls. Finally,
the emphasis of this investigation rested on offender characteristics to predict offender
behavior, relating to innate human behavioral traits that are unlikely to have evolved
significantly over a few decades.

Data collection method used in all three of these studies was identical. The data about
the domestic assault incident came from official reports by police officers and from interviews
with the domestic abuse victims conducted by the research team within a week after the
incident. Information about the batterer’s behaviors before the arrival of the police was also
obtained in the abuse victim interviews. Finally, data about the batterer’s prior criminal record
was obtained from the state crime computer database (Pate et al. 1991; Sherman and Rogan
1984; Sherman et al. 1991).

After merging the 3,078 cases from these three studies it was discovered that 98 cases
(3.2%) involved a female batterer, none of whom had assaulted an officer. Because of this lack
of variation in the dependent variable for female batterers in the sample, the decision was
made to limit this analysis to only male batterers. In another 33.3% of the cases the batterer
had fled the scene prior to the arrival of the police, thus eliminating the possibility of an assault
on the officers. These 1,026 cases were therefore eliminated from the analysis, as were three
additional cases that involved an assault on officers by the abuse victim rather than the
batterer.2 The final dataset for the present study consisted of data on 1,951 incidents of
domestic assault that were investigated by the police.

The fact that so many cases were eliminated from the sample for this analysis could
raise questions of validity, especially if the batterers excluded from the analysis differed
significantly from those that remained. It order to determine the extent of this potential
weakness, basic demographic characteristics available for the batterers who remained in the
sample were compared with those who were excluded from the sample. These demographic
characteristics are displayed in Table 1 and suggest that there were surprisingly few differences
between the cases that were excluded and those that remained in the sample. In general, those
batterers that were excluded from the analyses were slightly more likely to be male, were
slightly younger, and less likely to be married.

Procedure

The dependent variable in this analysis was whether or not the official report indicated
the suspect had physically assaulted the officers handling the domestic assault call. Because the
data collected was focused primarily on the batterer and the abuse victim, details were not
available on whether or not the officers sustained injuries, the seriousness of the injuries,
whether or not the assailant used a weapon, or when during the encounter this attack took
place. While having this information would have permitted a richer analysis, the emphasis of
this study, however was the prediction of assaults, no matter how minor. Just as with victims of
abuse, assaults of any kind are a crime and place police officers at risk of injury and increased
stress. Data were available on 12 descriptive characteristics about the batterers in the domestic
assaults that served as the independent variables in this analysis. These variables and their
descriptive statistics are displayed in Table 2. The first independent variable considered was the
batterer’s age, and it was hypothesized that younger batterers would be more likely to assault
officers than older batterers. Second, whether the batterer was married to the abuse victim
was

Table 1 Comparison between sample and excluded cases
Sample Cases Excluded Cases
N 1,951 1,127
Percent male 100% 91%
Mean age 33.4 30.4
Percent married 51% 47%
Percent consuming alcohol 51% 49%
Percent using drugs 22% 23%
Percent damaged property 18% 16%
Percent struck abuse victim 94% 91%

Page 166

Table 2 Variable descriptive statistics (N=1,951)
Dependent
Variable N %

N % %

Batterer
physically
assaulted
officers

117 6%

Independent
Variables

Batterer’s age
Min 18 Max 79
Mean 33.4 SD
9.01

Min 18 Max 79 Mean 33.4 SD 9.01

Batterer married
to abuse victim

995 51%

Batterer’s prior
DV arrests

Min 0 Max 10 Mean 0.89 SD 1.08

Batterer
unemployed

702 36%

Batterer has
HS/GED

1,093 56% 56%

Batterer residing
with abuse
victim

741 38%

Batterer
consuming
alcohol

429 22%

Batterer using
drugs

429 22%

Batterer
damaged
property

351 18%

Batterer struck
abuse victim

1,834 94%

Batterer knew
police were
responding

1,034 53%

Batterer
displayed hostile
demeanor

1,073 55%

considered, under the assumption that married batterers may hold stronger views of privilege
to control their spouses and defend against outside interference by the police. Similarly, the
third independent variable was whether or not the batterer and abuse victim resided together.
It was hypothesized that batterers who reside with their abuse victims would be more
defensive of this territory being invaded by the arrival of an outside authority, such as the
police.

The fourth and fifth independent variables dealt with substance use issues, whether or
not the batterer had consumed alcohol prior to the arrival of the police, and whether the
batterer had used an illegal drug before the arrival of the police. Each of these variables was
expected to have a positive relationship with assaulting police officers.

The next three independent variables were believed to be measures of the batterer’s
level of aggression at the time of the incident. It was reasoned that whether or not the batterer
had damaged property as part of the domestic assault incident, and whether or not the abuse
victim had been struck by the batterer as part of the incident, would suggest how violently
aggressive the batterer was at the time of the incident. Whether or not the batterer displayed a
hostile demeanor toward the officers upon their arrival at the scene was also included in the
model to measure if the batterer’s level of aggression was still high when the officers finally
arrived.

Whether or not the batterer had been told the police had been summoned was also
considered as a possible predictor. When offenders are surprised by the appearance of the
police they may be more likely to resist or be antagonistic toward the officers. It was therefore
hypothesized that the batterer would be more likely to assault the officers if their arrival on the
scene was unexpected, allowing him less time to compose him, flee the scene, or formulate a
plan for how to respond to the officers.

The last three predictors in the model related to the batterer’s background, specifically
his prior history of domestic assault arrests, his employment status, and his education level.
Regarding the batterer’s prior record, all three datasets used for this analysis recorded the
number of prior domestic assault arrests the batterer had received. Unfortunately, not all of
the datasets included information on each batterer’s total number of prior criminal offense
arrests, (which may have been a better predictor of past criminality), or all prior violent
offenses (which may have been a better predictor of violent propensity). Whether or not the
batterer was employed was included in the model, as was whether or not the batterer had
attained a high school diploma or general education development (GED) diploma. It was
hypothesized that batterers with prior domestic assault arrests, those who were unemployed,
and those who had less than a high school education would be at greater risk for assaulting an
officer.

Results
Only 117 cases involved an assault on officers, thus supporting the previous literature

that domestic assault calls are not necessarily frequent events (Hirschel et al. 1994; Konstantin
1984; Garner and Clemmer 1986). Because the dependent variable was a dichotomous nominal
level measure, binary logistic regression was utilized to determine the significance of the
influence the independent variables had on the probability of whether or not the batterer
assaulted the police officers on the scene. The logistic regression technique also permitted the
determination of the odds each predictor had of increasing the likelihood of assault, while
controlling for the influence of all of the other predictors in the model. The results of this
logistic regression analysis are presented in Table 3.

As can been seen in Table 3, the model chi-square was highly significant (p<.001), indicating that the combined predictors in the model did a fair job of predicting whether or not the batterer would assault the officers. The Nagelkerke pseudo R2 suggests that the independent variables in the model explained more than a quarter of the variation between cases in the odds of the batterer physically attacking the police. Within the model, however,

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Table 3 Logistic regression of batterer characteristics on officer assault (N=1,951)
Variable Coefficient SE Odds Ratio
Batterer age −0.016 .020 0.984
Batterer married 0.070 .327 1.073
Prior DV arrests −0.126 .219 0.882
Batterer unemployed 0.542* .308 1.582
High school/GED 0.047 .308 3.165
Resides with abuse
victim

1.152** .342 3.165

Using alcohol 1.706*** .431 5.507
Using drugs −0.562 .459 0.570
Property damaged 0.652* .307 1.919
Abuse victim struck −0.656 .582 0.519
Hostile demeanor 2.530*** .480 12.555
Knew Police were
coming

−0.161 .298 0.852

(Constant) −5.792*** 1.029 0.003
Model Chi-square 122.843***
Nagelkerke Pseudo
R2

.276

Significance Levels: * p<.05; ** p<.01; *** p<.001

only five of the 12 independent variables were significant in predicting the odds of an assault
occurring.

The strongest predictor was whether or not the batterer displayed a hostile demeanor
at the arrival of the police. When the suspect displayed a hostile demeanor toward the police,
the batterer was almost 13 times more likely to assault the officers than if he did not display a
hostile demeanor. The next significant predictor in strength was whether or not the batterer
had been consuming alcohol prior to the arrival of the police. Batterers who had been
consuming alcohol were five-and-a-half times more likely to assault officers than those who had
not. If the batterer shared a residence with the victim he was more than three times more likely
to physically assault the police. Batterers who had reportedly damaged property during the
domestic incident were almost twice as likely to assault officers as those who had not damaged
property. Those batterers who were unemployed were about one-and-a-half times more likely
to assault the police as batters who were employed. Finally, all of the independent variables
that revealed significant relationships to the dependent variable displayed relationships in the
predicted directions.

To reveal the substantive significance these five variables had on predicting whether or
not an assault on the police would occur, the cases that bore all five predictors were compared
with the cases that lacked all five significant predictors. A total of 43 cases involved a batterer
who displayed a hostile demeanor, had been consuming alcohol, resided with his abuse victim,
had damaged property in the incident, and was unemployed. Of these cases, 25.6% (n=11)
resulted in an assault on the police. On the other hand, 263 incidents in the sample failed to
have any of the five significant predictor characteristics, and none of these incidents resulted in
an officer assault. Therefore, it appears that simultaneous presence of all five of these
predictors increases the chances of an officer being assaulted to better than one in four, while
the absence of all of these predictors reduces the chances of assault to less than one in 263.

Discussion and Conclusion

The purpose of this study was to attempt to identify domestic batterer characteristics
that helped predict whether or not batterers would assault police officers who responded to
their acts of domestic abuse. It was hoped that this exploratory analysis would reveal
characteristics that had predictive value in order to help police officers identify when they are
at increased risk of being assaulted by a male domestic batterer. It appears that this study took
a significant first step in identifying such risk factor characteristics.

As hostile demeanor and alcohol consumption were significant predictors of an officer
assault. Prior research has suggested that domestic batterers frequently act composed when
officers arrive and tend to act as if the abuse victim is the one who is acting irrationally (Buzawa
and Buzawa 2003; Walker 1989). Therefore, batterers who remain hostile in their demeanor
even after the police arrive appear likely to let their hostility turn to physical violence against
the officers. Thus encountering a batterer who still displays a hostile demeanor when the
officers arrive is an uncommon event and appears highly predictive of an impending assault.

As for batterer alcohol consumption, the prior research on police officer assaults
suggested that alcohol consumption is correlated with attacks on officers (Brown 1994; Meyer
et al. 1979; Moxey and McKenzie 1993; Noaks and Christopher 1990; Pinizzotto et al. 1998),
and the same was found here. Alcohol serves as a depressant, contributing to the batterer’s
negative mood, and may reduce the batterer’s inhibitions about using force against the police.
Alcohol consumption frequently coexists with domestic violence (Buzawa and Buzawa 2003;
Saunders 1995; Straus et al. 1980), and appears to increase likelihood of the batterer assaulting
the responding police officers.

Batterers who reside with their abuse victim are more likely to assault officers than
those who live apart from their victim. This may be due to impressions of territorial control.
Prior research has suggested that many batterers have heightened needs for dominance and
control in their relationships and their home (Buzawa and Buzawa 2003; Holtzworth-Munroe
and Stuart 1994; Walker 1989). They

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are threatened when they cannot successfully control the behavior of their intimate
partners, and appear to be even more threatened when the police enter their home and
interject themselves into the situation. In essence, the batterer has lost all influence over what
he views as his human and physical property when the police intervene. While this police
interference may be difficult for the batterer to accept at any location, it appears to be an even
stronger insult when it occurs in his own residence.

It may also be this emphasis on dominance, power, and control that results in
unemployed batterers being more likely to assault officers than batterers who are employed.
Unemployed batterers may be already struggling to maintain dominance in their home. Being
unable to provide for their families, they no longer have the option of using economic means to
control their abuse victims. Some abuse victims are willing to tolerate their abuse because of
the economic rewards afforded to her and her children if she stays in the relationship (Buzawa
and Buzawa 2003; Straus et al. 1980), but if there are very few financial rewards due to the
batterer’s unemployment, there are fewer incentives to stay. The batterer begins to lose some

of his power and control in the relationship. This situation can be aggravated further for the
batterer if it results in his abuse victim seeking employment to support the family, thus gaining
some economic independence that further threatens that batterer’s control. This situation may
make the batterer more volatile than normal when the police arrive to interject themselves into
that situation, and limit the batterer’s control to an even greater extent.

Destruction of property by the batterer prior to the arrival of the police was another significant
predictor of officer assaults. This may be an indicator of the degree of the batterer’s rage. While
whether or not the victim was struck was not a significant predictor, it is important to
remember how many batterers view their use of force. Their abusive behavior is used to
control their victim. When the abuse victim is completely compliant the abuse is usually very
minor, often only limited to insults and innuendo. When the abuse victim’s behavior is
perceived as less compliant, the severity of the abuse increases proportionally (Buzawa and
Buzawa 2003; Saunders 1995; Walker 1989). When the batterer damages property, especially
his own possessions, it is not a control technique as much as it is an expression of rage. This
rage is then turned on the police when they arrive.

These five significant predictors could be utilized by law enforcement agencies to screen
domestic assault calls for their level of danger. In many situations, police dispatchers can collect
details about four of these elements from the victim or witness who reports the crime. Even if
the caller is a neighbor, the dispatcher can often ascertain from the caller if the suspect resides
with the victim, if he has been drinking, and if he has damaged any property. If the caller is a
friend or family member, he/she should also be able to reveal if the batterer is unemployed.
The dispatcher could then warn the responding officers if these four assault predictors are
already present at the scene. The dispatcher can also assign additional units when these
elements are present. When the officers arrive, they can determine for themselves if the fifth
element, a hostile demeanor toward them, is present. If so, the officers can take defensive
measures to isolate the batterer and place him in a position of disadvantage (such as on his
knees with his hands interlaced on his head) before questioning him.

Finally, it is important to note for police training purposes that female victims and female
batterers in domestic assault situations assault the police only very rarely. Of the 3,078
domestic assault calls in the original sampling frame, only 98 (3.2%) involved a female batterer,
illustrating how rarely law enforcement officers encounter female perpetrators of domestic
assault. Of these 98 incidents of female perpetrated domestic assault, none of them resulted in
an assault on an officer. Three of the male perpetrated domestic assault calls did result in a
female abuse victim assaulting an officer. Of the 2,980 incidents of male perpetrated domestic
assault calls in the original sampling frame, less than 0.1% involved a victim assault on an
officer. In this dataset, only one in 1,026 domestic assault calls handled by the police resulted in
a female victim assault on an officer.

Several inferences can be drawn from the findings in this study. First, attacks on police officers
while they are handling domestic assault calls do not occur very frequent- ly. In the present

study, officers were assaulted in only 6% of cases in the sample. Nevertheless, due to the sheer
volume of domestic assault calls handled by the police in the U.S., there still is a significant risk
of assault. For example, if the odds of assault are truly only one in 33 (3%), and a patrol officer
in an urban area responds to at least two domestic assault calls per week, the officer is likely to
be assaulted at least twice per year. Obviously other factors are also at work here, however, as
the variables in the present study left more than 70% of the variation unexplained. While an
explained variance of 30% is common among social science studies of human behavior (Loeber
1990; Rosenthal 2001), more work needs to be done. Certain officer characteristics (such as
skills in interpersonal communication), or situational characteristics (such as the number of
backup officers present) may help further reduce the odds of being assaulted. Possibilities
should be pursued in future research.

Another inference to be drawn from this study is that the five predictors that were significantly
correlated with assaulting an officer may be reliable risk factors that officers may use to predict
their risk of assault. Whether or not the batterer at a domestic assault incident has most of
these five characteristics could easily be determined by a

Page 169

skilled police 911 dispatcher, provided that the caller has firsthand knowledge about the
incident and is being cooperative. If the batterer appears to have any of these five
characteristics, the responding officers could possibly be warned of this fact prior to their
arrival. Policies could also be developed to send more backup units than normally would be
sent if it is determined that the batterer has most of these characteristics. However, before
these characteristics could be reliably established as risk factors, replication of these findings
would be necessary.

As with all studies, this one had its limitations. First, because of the age of the data it may not
have accounted for any changes in police tactics that may have occurred over the last few
decades. Second, the data lacked information on the seriousness of the assaults on the officers.
It was unknown, therefore, if the victim officers sustained any injuries from these assaults, and
if the predictors varied by the seriousness of the assault. Finally, the data lacked information on
the interpersonal interactions between the officers and the batterer upon their arrival. What
the officers did and said at the scene may have had an aggravating of mitigating influence on
the potential for assault. These weaknesses need to be addressed in future research regarding
assaults on officers attending domestic assault calls.

References

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Predicting Officer Physical Assaults at Domestic Assault Calls
Literature Review
Method
Procedure
Table 1 Comparison between sample and excluded cases
Table 2 Variable descriptive statistics (N=1,951)
Results
Table 3 Logistic regression of batterer characteristics on officer assault (N=1,951)
Discussion and Conclusion
References