‎

African American Families Strength and Strategies LAB

WE FOCUS ON THE UNIQUE CHALLENGES OF BLACK AND AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

Human Development and Family Studies | African American Families Strengths & Strategies Lab | Research

Research

Research Goals

Remain at the forefront of research in prevention and comprehensive treatments for/with African American youth.
Foster awareness about the roles of race and ethnicity in understanding the impact of these factors on development in the conducting of research.
Examine factors that contribute to the complexities of psychological processes and are of vital importance to the understanding of culturally diverse populations.
Integrate existing and new knowledge on culture, ethnicity and race with intervention efforts aimed at preventing and treating child mental health problems and fostering competence and well-being.
As evidenced-based interventions are applied to children within diverse families, schools and communities, the understanding of culture and how specific culture-related factors influence implementation, acceptance and outcome become paramount.

BLACK ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT

African American Families Strengths and Strategies Lab

ABOUT THE BOOK

Black Adolescence is a sole authored book in development (Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group).

The book sheds light on

the influence of cultural context on adolescent behavior
unique development trajectories
and offers alternative perspectives and successful pathways Black adolescents navigate

The focus of this text is normative development among Black adolescents in the US.

This book represents a labor of love in that it has been years in the making and is finally nearing completion.

Contact Dr. Stephanie Irby Coard at sicoard@uncg.edu for more information.

BLACK PARENTING STRENGTHS AND STRATEGIES

Black Parenting Strengths and Strategies (BPSS) is an evidence-based culturally relevant parenting program for African American families for preventing and managing common childhood behavior problems.

Black Parenting Strengths and Strategies – Child (BPSS-C) is a strength- and culturally-based program that aims to promote cultural, social, and emotional health and academic success within African American children.

ABOUT THE PROGRAMS

The BPSS programs have been developed to incorporate the most successful strategies used by parenting and child development specialists, while drawing on the

strengths
unique parental strategies
processes inherent in Black families (e.g., racial socialization).

Contact Dr. Stephanie Irby Coard at sicoard@uncg.edu for more information.

PUBLICATIONS

Coard, S.I., Wiley, K.C. & Evans, A.G. The Black Parenting Strengths and Strategies Program–Racialized Short (BPSS-RS): “Real-World” Dismantle, Implementation, and Evaluation. ADV RES SCI 2, 235–245 (2021).
Coard, S.I., Foy-Watson, S., Zimmer, C., & Wallace, A. (2007). Considering culturally relevant parenting practices in intervention development and adaptation: A randomized control trial of the Black Parenting Strengths and Strategies (BPSS) Program. The Counseling Psychologist 35 (6), 797-820.
Coard, S.I., Wallace, S., Stevenson, H. & Miller Brotman, L. (2004). Towards culturally competent preventive interventions: The consideration of racial socialization in parent training with African American families. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 13 (3), 277-293.

GIVING FATHERS’ VOICE

Our work to support parents of color includes providing targeted support to Black fathers.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Giving Fathers Voice (GFV) is a related project to BPSS designed to give Black fathers voice as it relates to their unique parenting role and the challenges they uniquely experience in rearing Black children to be socially, emotionally, and culturally well-adjusted in a racially conscious and often hostile society.

Thus, providing a more in depth theoretical and clinical understanding of Black father parenting roles and racial schemas that impact their communication with their school aged children.

Our work in this area represents an important step in understanding first-hand the unique experiences of Black fathers and their contributions to the lives of their children, thus providing a more legitimate narrative on Black fatherhood and father-child relationships.

The Giving Fathers Voice project seeks to avoid the ‘motherfication’ of fathers (i.e., use of mother-based paradigms and perspectives) towards a father-based lens.

Contact Dr. Stephanie Irby Coard at sicoard@uncg.edu for more information.

RACE TALK

BACKGROUND

Racism experienced by Black students is known to directly impact academic success outcomes and psychological well-being. As a result, public discussions about race and racism have increased in volume and intensity. There is a heightened sense of responsibility to bring these topics up for discussion in homes, classrooms, and community spaces.

ABOUT THE STUDY

To fully understand and support youth having these conversations, RACE TALK seeks to understand the lived experiences of black youth as it relates to race, discrimination, and racism.

The study seeks to elucidate the complexities of Black youths’ experiences and identities to inform the creation of a youth directed psychoeducational racial socialization intervention for coping with racial stress and building cultural connections to buffer the impact of race-related stress.

RACE TALK is a mixed methods study (focus groups and pre-post survey data) that gives voice to Black youth experiences with discrimination and racism.

RACE TALK is now recruiting middle and high school students!

Contact Dr. Stephanie Irby Coard at sicoard@uncg.edu for more information.