Strengths And Resilience Of African American Single Mothers

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The strengths and resilience of African American single mothers has historically changed families and communities for the better. However, African American single mothers are often a vulnerable population at risk for poor physical and mental health with negative outcomes outweighing both their female and male counterparts (Hatcher, Rayens, Peden, & Hall, 2012). There has been numerous race comparative self-esteem studies and research on the effects of single parenthood on child and adolescent self-esteem. Yet few studies focus on the factors that impact both positive and negative self-esteem exclusively in African American mothers apart from their children. Most of what we know about the self-esteem of African Americans comes from children …show more content…

Stigmatization and labeling of these women as deviant “welfare queens” that contribute to the increase in poverty rates and abuse of welfare aid in American society have also continued to be popular perspectives of this population(Hill, 2010). Differing from the American value of the traditional two-parent home, “single motherhood” often has a negative connotation in society (Dowd, 1997). African American single mothers in particular face discrimination, stereotypes, and negative attitudes throughout our society, which create a significant source of stress in their daily lives (Cozzarelli, Wilkinson, & Tagler, 2001; Klonoff & Landrine, 2000). Multiple oppressions such as sexism, racism, and classism are associated with chronic stress (Avison, 1995), depression, and poor self-esteem, and are experienced by African American single mothers in disproportionately higher levels. Higher rates of poverty, higher unemployment, lower than average earnings, overrepresentation in low-status occupations, lower than average levels of education, and poorer housing conditions are the common experiences of these single mothers (Brown & Moran, 1997; McAdoo, 1988; Napholz, 1999; Peden, Hall, Rayens, & Beebe, …show more content…

Low-income single African American mothers of young children report higher levels of stress, more depressive symptoms, and are less likely to receive services than their White counterparts (Chazan-Cohen et al., 2009; Courtney & Barth, 1996). African American single mothers are also less likely to seek mental health services thus facing increased psychological distress and anxiety caused by the social and economic challenges they face on a daily basis (Davies, Avison, & McAlpine, 1997; Murry, Bynum, Brody, Willert, & Stephens,

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