Living in a complex social world: The influence of cultural value orientation, perceived control, and racism-related stress on coping among African-American adolescents

This study was guided by four primary objectives: (a) to examine to what degree African American adolescents endorsed a Black/Afro and mainstream/Anglo value orientation and if this endorsement influenced the strategies used to cope with perceived everyday racism; (b) to examine the degree to which racial stressors were perceived as controllable and if perceived control influenced the use of approach and avoidance coping strategies; (c) to examine whether the level of stress associated with perceived everyday racism experiences influenced the use of approach and avoidance coping strategies; and (d) to examine whether a Black/Afro value orientation and mainstream/Anglo value orientation influenced coping over and above background characteristics and race-related factors.;The theoretical framework that served as the basis for this study was Triple Quandary which posits that the African American social experience is complex and simultaneously transverses three distinct social realms: minority, mainstream American, and Black. Triple Quandary theory was operationalized through the Cultural Questionnaire for Children that assessed the degree to which values distinctive of Black culture (affect, communalism, and spirituality) and mainstream American culture (competition, effort optimism, and individualism) were endorsed. Using a median-split criterion on the Black/Afro and mainstream/American value orientation scales, 139 African American adolescents between the ages of 14 to 18 were classified as high or low in these orientations as well as either mainstream-oriented, Black-oriented, bicultural, or marginal in their value orientations. Based on previous studies on the influence of perceived control and stress level on coping, African American adolescents were similarly classified as high- or low in perceived control over racial stressors and racism-related stress using a median-split criterion.;The results indicated significant variability in the degree to which participants endorsed a Black/Afro value orientation and mainstream/Anglo value orientation. The degree of endorsement of both value orientations and their interaction was related to coping in complex ways. Consistent with previous research on stress and coping, high perceived control over racial stressors was significantly and positively related to the use of approach coping strategies but not avoidance coping strategies. A high level of racism-related stress was significantly and positively related to greater use of internalizing and externalizing coping strategies and less use of self-reliance/problem solving coping. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that greater endorsement of the values distinctive of mainstream American culture was related to greater use of self-reliance/problem solving coping over and above background characteristics and race-related factors. The results also indicated that greater endorsement of the values distinctive of Black culture was a significant and negative predictor of externalizing coping over and above background characteristics and race-related factors. The implications of findings for individual, group, and community practice and programming with African American adolescents and recommendations for future research are discussed.