Exploring Racism in the Lives of African American Boys

The experience of racism is a complex phenomenon that§has been §found to have negative outcomes among African§American adults. §There has been a gap in the empirical literature§regarding the §effects that racism may have on children s§psychological well-being §and behavior. In an effort to address that gap, this§book examines §the relations among experiences with racism,§psychological well-§being, and behavior among African American boys. §Results §demonstrate that both personal experiences of racism and §perceptions of institutional racism related to§aggressive behavior. §Moreover, personal incidents with racism related to§self reported §internalizing behavior problems, lower self-esteem§and higher §levels of hopelessness. The results suggest that the§experience of §racism is a real occurrence for the African American§boys who §participated in this study and that racism was§associated to their §psychological well-being and behavior. The results§also illuminate §the complexity of the experience of racism. This§book should be of §interest to those in the psychological and counseling§fields or to §anyone concerned with the role of racism in the lives§of children.