Several theories of stress exposure, including the stress process and the family stress model for economically disadvantaged families, suggest that family processes work similarly across race/ethnic groups. Much of this research, however, treats African-Americans as a monolithic group and ignores potential differences in family stress processes within race that may emerge across ethnic groups. This study examines whether family stress processes differ intraracially in African-American and Black Caribbean families.
Examines the presence of father figures in the lives of African American, Caribbean black and non-Hispanic white American males until the age of 16; assesses the current socio-demographic factors of these men as adults; and explores whether these factors lead to variations in mental health outcomes.
Examines if commonly used distress measures, rates of psychiatric disorders, and chronic health conditions are affected by alternate measures of race-ethnicity for African Americans and Caribbean blacks.