COVID‐19‐related anxiety: How do coping and optimism relate to substance use in African–American young adults?

Singleton, Gwendolyn; Johnson, Leona; Singleton, Nkosi; Li, Huijun

doi:10.1002/jcop.22863

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…Furthermore, even when African American women are receiving trauma treatment, they may be less willing to discuss trauma exposures, such as sexual assault, particularly with a therapist who does not identify as African American [65]. To cope with trauma, women may employ maladaptive coping strategies, such as alcohol and marijuana misuse [66]. Given that women experiencing a trauma history were three times more likely to have poorer coping skills, coping skills education and support may be valuable additions to programs designed to help women who have experienced trauma.…”

Section: Implications For Clinical Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Association of Trauma History with Current Psychosocial Health Outcomes of Young African American Women

Xu,

Choi,

Capasso

et al. 2024

Youth

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African American women have a higher likelihood of experiencing lifetime trauma compared to other racial/ethnic groups. Trauma exposure may be associated with higher substance misuse and greater adverse sexual and mental health outcomes. This study expands upon previous empirical findings to characterize the effect of trauma history on substance use, sexual health, and mental health among young African American women. This study included 560 African American women aged 18–24 years in Atlanta, Georgia. Trauma history was defined as having ever experienced a traumatic event based on the Traumatic Events Screening Inventory (TESI). Relative to women not reporting a trauma history and controlling for age, education, and employment, women who experienced trauma were over 2.5 and 2.3 times, respectively, more likely to report alcohol misuse and marijuana misuse. They were 3.0 times more likely to experience peer normative pressure for substance use. Women who experienced trauma were 2.1 times more likely to have multiple sex partners, 2.9 times more likely to have peer norms for risky sex, 1.8 times more likely to perceive barriers to using condoms with sex partners, 2.1 times more likely to report lower communication frequency about sex, 2.0 times more likely to report lower self-efficacy for refusing sex, and 1.9 times more likely to report less relationship control. Women with a trauma history were also 5.0 times more likely to have experienced intimate partner violence, 2.1 times more likely to report high depression symptomatology, 4.0 times more likely to report high overall stress, 3.2 times more likely to have worse coping skills, and 1.8 times more likely to have poor emotional regulation. Findings suggest that trauma history may increase myriad adverse psychosocial health outcomes. Screening for trauma history may help inform the provision of services. Intensified TESI screenings may help identify a history of trauma and assist in identifying adverse health outcomes.

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Section: Implications For Clinical Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Association of Trauma History with Current Psychosocial Health Outcomes of Young African American Women

Xu,

Choi,

Capasso

et al. 2024

Youth

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A meta-analytic study (C. Wang et al 2021) focusing on the mental health status of college students reported elevated levels of anxiety, depression, and stress. Students experiencing more depressive and anxiety symptoms were also found to be more prone to using alcohol and other substances as a means of coping (Singleton et al 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Resisting Fear: The Role of Problem-Solving Appraisals in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression

Pretorius

Padmanabhanunni

2023

Social Sciences

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The COVID-19 pandemic represented a global public health emergency and was associated with adverse mental health outcomes. Individual differences in response to traumatic stressors can be attributed to subjective cognitive appraisals. The current study investigated the role of problem-solving appraisals in the association between COVID-19-related fear and mental health outcomes. Participants were university students (N = 322). They completed a web-based survey comprising the Center for Epidemiological Studies depression scale, the fear of COVID-19 scale, the problem-solving inventory, the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) checklist, and the satisfaction with life scale. Correlational analysis revealed that a heightened fear of COVID-19 was related to greater PTSD and depressive symptoms and a lower life satisfaction. Self-appraised ineffective problem-solving was associated with higher levels of PTSD and depression and a lower life satisfaction. Problem-solving appraisal moderated the relationship between fear of COVID-19, life satisfaction, PTSD, and depression, respectively. The findings suggest that problem-solving appraisals are a protective resource and have the potential to promote positive psychological functioning among young adults.

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“…Youths have been directly affected by social services and programs interruptions and disproportionately impacted by repressive measures (e.g., Gabriel et al, 2021). Beside these challenges, many young Black people have been impacted by the financial strain associated with COVID‐19 while facing exacerbated mental health challenges raised by the racial reckoning (e.g., Singleton et al, 2022).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The imperative to support Black youths in resisting low and limiting expectations

Debrosse

Kapo

Métayer

2023

American J of Comm Psychol

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Harmful narratives circulate about Black youths in North America. Deficit narratives portray them, their culture, and their communities as problems, narratives about policing encourage their control and punishment, color‐evasive narratives ignore how race shapes their experiences, and essentialist narratives erase their distinct and often intersectional experiences by presenting them as monolithic. Community psychology and allied fields do not escape these trends, which in turn infuse practice, research, and teaching involving Black youths. The present paper highlights four principles that community psychology and allied fields can adopt to support Black youths in resisting these negative and narrow narratives. They are: (1) emphasizing Black youths' and Black communities' strengths, (2) supporting their agency, (3) adopting culturally relevant practices, and (4) developing critical consciousness through reflections on and deconstruction of these narratives. We hope that the reflections shared in this paper will expand the perspectives infused by researchers and practitioners in community psychology, social work, urban studies, and allied fields who work with Black youths.

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COVID‐19‐related anxiety: How do coping and optimism relate to substance use in African–American young adults?

Cited by 8 publications

References 88 publications

Association of Trauma History with Current Psychosocial Health Outcomes of Young African American Women

Association of Trauma History with Current Psychosocial Health Outcomes of Young African American Women

Resisting Fear: The Role of Problem-Solving Appraisals in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression

The imperative to support Black youths in resisting low and limiting expectations

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