African American Female Adolescents: A Summary

In the words of C.J. Heck, “We are all products of our environments.” An individual’s behavior is largely influenced by the world in which they find themselves immersed in. This dictum is exemplified in “Identity-Based Motivation: Implications for Health and Health Disparities” by Daphna Oyserman, George C. Smith and Kristen Elmore and “Stress-Related Externalizing Behavior among African American Youth: How Could Policy and Practice Transform Risk into Resilience?” by Sonya S. Brady, Willie Winston III, and Sonia E. Gockley. Both of these readings explore how people’s daily choices are influenced by the society in which they find themselves in. “Identity-Based Motivation: Implications for Health and Health Disparities” delves into the social determinants and identify-based motivation and how it relates to identity-congruence. “Stress-Related Externalizing Behavior among African American Youth: How Could Policy and Practice Transform Risk into Resilience?” investigates how externalizing behaviors are largely influenced by factors that children find in their homes and communities. Both articles make the key argument that human beings are influenced by their surroundings. This conclusion comes based on the extrapolations they have made from their research. Overall, both articles explore the key theme of the impact of external influences by exploring identity, analyzing race, and scrutinizing what needs to be done by larger influences to mitigate these issues.

An African American teen, struggles to overcome the hardships of society, wishing to be wealthy. He struggles to overcome the hardships of society, having a lack of resources, few family members he can rely on, and has few friends that he can trust.

Many studies has revealed that children are not receiving information about sexuality and sexual behavior from their parents, do not have the availability of physicians to counsel adolescents and adult patients on measures to prevent STDs (primarily HIV), especially if they are treated once for infections in lower-income communities. There are other factors and measures that have been issued by a number of organizations that explain why African Americans and where they live makes them more susceptible to HIV infection and AIDS.

This article was a study of parenting styles that are found to be significantly effective in African American adolescence in impoverished neighborhoods. The focus was to determine if demographical circumstances influence parenting styles and adolescent academic success. The researchers want to determine if parenting styles that are common in European American families, yields the same outcome in adolescents in impoverished neighborhoods. The study was constructed to determine the correlation between adolescent outcomes and parenting in a sample of African American girls from high-poverty neighborhoods in the inner city.

Abdelmalek Bayout was an Algerian citizen living in Italy since the early 90’s. In 2007, he pled guilty to the first degree murder of Walter Felipe Novoa Perez, who had insulted him for the kohl eye make-up (worn for religious reasons) the Algerian had on. Bayout’s lawyer in turn filed an insanity plea, which resulted in a series of psychiatric tests and a final reduction in the sentence from twelve to nine years. However, two years later, an interesting turn of events lead to a further reduction in sentencing . Using brain imaging scans, a group of Italian researchers led by Pietro Pietrini were able to label several genes linked to violent behaviours—including a gene encoding a neurotransmitter-metabolizing enzyme: monoamine

Balaji, A. B., Oster, A. M., Viall, A. H., Heffelfinger, J. D., Mena, L. A., & Toledo, C. A. (2012). Role flexing: How community, religion, and family shape the experiences of young black men who have sex with men. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 26(12), 73-737.

“The spread of STDs is directly affected by social, economic, and behavioral factors. Such factors may cause serious obstacles to STD prevention due to their influence on social and sexual networks, access to and provision of care, willingness to seek care, and social norms regarding sex and sexuality. Among certain vulnerable populations, historical experience with segregation and discrimination exacerbates the influence of these factors” ‌(Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion [ODPHP], n.d., para. 8). Whites have been less likely to contract a STD, unlike other racial and ethnic groups such as African Americans, Hispanic and American Indians. Young men who have sex with the

Adolescence is the critical period when youth try to figure out who they are and where they fit into the world. Being a part of a minority group African American adolescents not only have to figure out their place in the world but also their place in their own ethnic group (Arnett). Charles (2003) essay is on the idea of low self-esteem and self-hate as the dominant reasoning for why Jamaicans bleach their skin. There is so much miseducation to youth in Jamaicans coming from older adults, peers, and music telling them that lighter is better (Charles 2003).

Sexually Transmitted Diseases are one of the most common infectious diseases in the world. These diseases are primarily known as “Venereal Diseases”. An estimated range of 333 millions new cases having curable sexually transmitted diseases are found among adults every year. The United State is ranking high by transmitting sexually transmitted diseases (STD), which is increasingly high than other nations by 100 times. More than 70,000 people in US are suffering from gonorrheal infections every year. According to the Disease Control and Prevention Centre, Young and Adult African – American females are infected a large. Excessive strides have been taken to reduce STDs in the last century towards treating and controlling.

The aim of the intervention program Sisters Saving Sisters (SSS) is to help prevent and reduce HIV and other STDs rates in young African American and Hispanic women. Sisters Saving Sisters aims to reduce the overall number of sexual partners adolescent women have to decrease their risk of contracting HIV or other STDs. Currently 1 in 4 cases of HIV/AIDS in the United States are in women. ("HIV/AIDS | womenshealth.gov", 2016) HIV disproportionately affects African American and Hispanic women compared to women of other races. ("Women | Gender | HIV By Group | HIV/AIDS | CDC", 2016) In 2013 it was estimated that 61% of women infected with HIV were African American and 17% were Hispanic. ("Women | Gender | HIV By Group | HIV/AIDS | CDC", 2016) HIV also significantly affects youth in the United States and in 2014 ages 13-24 accounted for 22% of new HIV diagnoses. ("HIV Among Youth | Age | HIV By Group | HIV/AIDS | CDC", 2016)

This paper examines five peer reviewed studies that report on results from research conducted about sexually transmitted diseases. The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between social disparities and sexually transmitted diseases in Dallas and Collin Counties. There are certain people who are predisposed to being at a greater risk for transmitting sexually transmitted diseases in the United States given their demographic and socioeconomic status. The studies have shown without access to health care, young men and women do not receive the necessary information or medical prevention devices they need for the prevention and/or transmission of such diseases. The data was descriptive comparative,

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are one of the most concerning health problems in the United States. It is a serious threat to the health of the population which could lead to severe complications if left untreated. According to the CDC, approximately 20 million new cases of sexually transmitted disease are reported throughout the nation. “Though constituting 25% of the sexually active population, youth account for nearly half of new STI cases which makes them the at-risk population” (“2014 Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance”, 2015). Research suggests this increase in cases among adolescents and young adults was attributed to the “combination of behavioral, biological and cultural factors” (“Sexual Health of Adolescents and

Several public health researchers have detected higher rates of both (STIs) and STI risk behaviors among MSM /MSMW (men who have sex with men and women) and WSW/WSWM (women who have sex with women and men). Subsequently those populations are compared to men and women who engage solely in opposite-sex sexual encounters (Everett, 2013). These results were concentrated among gay and bisexual identifiers who have reported both male and female sexual encounters. Recently, several studies have also been called into investigation by researchers to examine the sexual identity role in unification with sexual behavior in order to fully comprehend how STI disparities are distributed across the U.S population by sexual orientation (Everett, 2013).

Since adolescents are prone to contracting STI’s, it is important to set in place prevention programs that focus on adolescent-specific variables. According to Lesser and Smoots, “to effectively meet the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/STI prevention needs of all adolescents, programs should be developmentally and gender specific, should integrate an understanding of racial/ethnic culture, and should be open to variations in sexual expression” (Lesser & Smoots, 2005). Adolescents are experiencing huge emotional, physical, and hormonal development and changes. Lesser and Smoots believe adolescent development can “frequently lead to behaviors that appear self-centered” (Lesser & Smoots, 2005). This can lead adolescents to think that

Compared with other races and ethnicities, African Americans account for a higher proportion of new HIV infections, those living with HIV, and those ever diagnosed with AIDS. (HIV/AIDS Surveillance by Race/Ethnicity (2015). The fact that African Americans tend to have sex with partners of the same race/ethnicity means that they face a greater risk of HIV infection with each new sexual encounter. Base on this fact, African American female college students perceive themselves to be at greater risk of contracting HIV than