HDFS Term Test 3 - Quiz Questions

How did gender roles in African American families change during the post-emancipation era?

Many families migrated to the northeast, and women found it easier to obtain employment than men. Thus women began to take on some of the bread winning role; gender roles were relatively egalitarian.

Your friend knows a Native American who live in Saint Louis. She says that her Native-American friend frequently gets in trouble with the law and abuses drugs. What is her Native-American friend's most likely acculturation status?

Marginal

What can be said about marriages of Native-Americans to non-Native-Americans, and the implications of this phenomenon?

Marriage rates to non-Native-American are quite high; to the point where many Native Americans are worried about Native-American culture disappearing.

While poverty rates in African American families are an important issue that is discussed by politicians, the media, and researchers, there are some problematic aspects regarding the discussion. Which of the following was a problem that was discussed in the lectures?

A focus on poverty can cause us to forget successes.

Wilkinson says that non-impoverished African American families have many aspects in common. What are some of these aspects?

An emphasis on education, extended family involvement, and a positive attitude toward having children.

What was said in the lectures about Native American Spirituality?

As compared to mainstream culture, Native American spirituality tends to be experienced much more as a part of daily life.

It was said that in the early 1800's and beyond, the government tried to promote a certain pattern of acculturation in Native American tribes. What was this pattern?

Assimilation

Cultural variant researchers argue that is is important to examine variation within families from non-majority groups (ex. African-Americans, Hispanic-American, Asian-American). Why do they say that is is important to do so?

Because families from non-majority cultural groups might have their own ways of achieving success that differ from European-American families and it is important to determine what these ways are.

The cultural variant approach tends to emphasize the role that contextual influences play in influencing the ways that families of different subcultures function. Why is this an important contribution?

Because if we ignore contextual factors that influence families from different subcultures, we cannot adequately help families of those subcultures to succeed.

Which of the following statements is most true of Native American Elderly people?

Compared to European American elderly people, in Native American communities, elders, tend to be shown more respect. However, they also have more difficulty with poverty.

In the lectures, a study by Brody and Flor was mentioned, where no-nonsense parenting in African American families was associated with a certain child outcome. What outcome was it associated with?

Better self-regulation skills in children.

You have a Native-American friend, Tom, who lives in Columbia and is studying to be an architect. He travels back frequently to visit his family on a reservation, and tries to participate in traditional ceremonies when he is there. Wha is Tom's most likely acculturation status?

Bicultural

Of the following, which description of Schwarz's values best applies to the traditional values of most Native American groups?

Conservatism/Collectivism and Harmony tend to be emphasized.

Of the following, who was mentioned as an example of African American success in business?

Corey Booker

Of the following, who was mentioned as an example of African American success in politics?

Corey Booker?

Moynihan was a US senator who argued that there are high rates of poverty in African American families because African American families have gender roles that depart from mainstream value. What type of approach does this thinking best reflect?

Cultural Deficit

A researcher conducts a study where she observes parents and children interacting. She finds that when parents acknowledge their children's feelings in conversations, children are more open about their own opinions than when parents don't acknowledge children's feelings. Her sample was comprised of 80% European-, 10% African-, 7% Latino-, and 3% Asian-American families. Her conclusions were derived from the entire 100% of families and cultural status was not examined. What research approach does this most resemble, as mentioned in the lectures?

Cultural Equivalent.

A researcher is examining parents and children within a subculture of the USA (group X). She is assessing levels of academic achievement, and is trying to determine what factors are associated with academic excellence for children from group X. Her working assumption is that the things that predict academic success for European-Americans don't necessarily predict academic success for people from group X. What research approach does this most resemble, as mentioned in the lectures?

Cultural Variant

Garcia Coll summarized research, and that certain ways of dealing with discrimination tend to be associated with better developmental outcomes for African American children. What did she say?

Emphasizing pride in one's culture and the people in it is very helpful for children's developmental outcome.

You are a social worker dealing with a Native American family whose child is having difficulties at school. The mother, who lives with the child, seems to be unaware of the child's difficulties. How would you interpret this apparent lack of awareness?

Even though the mother lives with the child, her lack of awareness might exist because she is not the child's primary caregiver.

What point was made about cultural diversity in African American Families?

Families may be comprised of people from the Caribbean, South American, Europe, and Africa, as well as people who have ancestors who were slaves.

What types of gender roles did slave families bring with them from Africa, and how did slavery influence gender roles in America?

Gender roles in Africa were quite traditional, but males could not perform the typical role of protector and provider in the USA. Instead, males provided emotional support and helped with domestic activities.

What point did John Hope Franklin make about African American culture and mainstream culture?

He said that the two are strongly interwoven and one cannot consider one without also considering the other.

We discussed a study where the researchers (Fazio et. al.) assessed racial "attitudes" in two ways. One was through a self-report measure of what people though of the Rodney King trial (a legal trial involving racist behavior by police officers). The other was an African American research assistant's ratings of how friendly and interested people seemed in what she was saying. What type of racism predicts the latter type of attitudes -- how friendly people were?

Implicit racism.

You are talking with a friend, and she tells you that there is a Native American student in her class who doesn't talk much. Your friend thinks the Native American student is not interested in interacting with her. What would you tell your friend?

It could be that this person is not talking much because in her culture of origin, it is normative to speak unless you really have something to say.

Which of the following most accurately describes Native American males and their roles in families?

In some tribes the father is the leader and in other tribes the mother is the leader, but males are always involved in socializing children in some way.

Moynihan argues that in African American families, slavery created non-normative gender roles, which in turn caused families to break up, and poverty rates to rise. What is a major problem with his argument?

In the period following emancipation, almost all African American families were nuclear.

How does the cultural deficit approach explain higher rates of poverty in African American families?

It argues that males do not have a strong role to play in families, which leads to marital instability and high rates of poverty.

A fair bit of research regarding family relationships tends to examine middle-class samples. Often, the samples contain percentages such as the following: 75% European American, 10% African American, 8% Latino-American, 5% Asian-American, and 2% other. Differences between cultural groups are not examine; instead, generalization about families in general are made from the research. What is a problem with this approach?

It assumes that families from all cultures are equivalent.

A fair bit of research finds that children from cultural group X have lower rates of academic achievement than children from European-American families. He explains that children from group X tend to have lower levels of academic achievement because their parents don't value education as much as parents from European-American families. What is a problem with this explanation, according to the lectures?

It ignores contextual influences that might be influencing the findings.

Moynihan was a US senator who argued that there are high rates of poverty in African American families because African American families have gender roles that depart from mainstream values. What is a major problem with this line of reasoning?

It ignores the role that discrimination plays in poverty rates.

While it is a generalization, what was said in the lectures about Native American families and their attitudes toward mainstream healthcare?

Native Americans are typically willing to receive mainstream healthcare but sometimes might want to engage in their traditional health-care practices first.

Nawat is a nine-year old Native American boy. His parents expect him to take care of his 6-year-old sister, Winona, while they go out shopping. Parents in mainstream USA typically don't have this expectation until the older child is around 13. What is the best explanation of this cultural difference?

Native Americans expect children to care for younger siblings at earlier ages because it fits with expectations regarding the collectivist value of children helping to achieve familial goals.

Moynihan was a US senator who argued that there are high rates of poverty in African-American families because African-American families have gender roles that depart from mainstream values. What was the specific chain of events that he said led to this situation?

Non-traditional gender roles led to marriages being weak, which led to higher rates of single female families, which led to poverty.

Often when people discuss poverty in African American families, people focus on the high rates of single female families as being the "cause"" of poverty. Of the following, what is one valid qualification that was mentioned in the lectures?

Not all single female families are impoverished and not all impoverished families are single female.

Two groups of people formed the early post-emancipation African-American middle class. What were these groups?

People who came as indentured servants, and slaves (and their descendants) who ere freed by their "owners".

What is implicit racism?

Racist or (negative) stereotyped assumptions are made automatically, without conscious awareness.

A researcher examines school achievement in European-American and Latino families. She also measures the parenting styles of their children. She finds that children in Latino families have higher high school dropout rates than children from European-American families. She also finds that Latino parents are less likely to engage in authoritative practices than European-American parents. She concludes that the reason that Latino children drop out of school at higher rates is because their parents don't engage in authoritative parenting as much as they should. What type of research approach to studying subcultures within the USA does this reflect?

The cultural deficit approach.

You are a social worker, and a colleague comes into the office looking disconcerted. She was visiting with a Native American Family, and she says that the family is not interested in working with her. You ask her how she knows this, and she says that though the father and mother answered her questions, they avoided looking at her directly, as if they were bothered by her presence. What would you tell your colleague that might help?

The family might actually be interested with the social worker but might be avoiding eye contact with her because this is a way that Native Americans often show respect.

You are a speech therapist who is talking with a Native American father of a child who has a speech disorder. You are asking the father different questions about the child, in order to better understand the nature of the child's problems. The father tends to look away from you toward the mother when he answer's your questions. How should you interpret this behavior?

The father is most likely showing you respect by not looking directly at you.

Of the following, which is the best definition of acculturation?

The process of cultural change when coming into contact with another culture.

What can be said about Native American single female families and poverty rates?

The rates of poverty in Native American single female families are much higher than the poverty rates in mainstream single female families.

Which of the following most accurately describes Native American females and their roles in families?

The role of female varies from tribe to tribe, but in all tribes, the female's roles is given a higher status than in mainstream society.

Your friends knows a Native-American male, Agwe, who comes from a tribe where they have a green corn ceremony in May. He says that Native-American tribes revere corn. What would your first response be to his statement?

There are a lot of different Native American tribes, and what happens in one tribe doesn't necessarily apply to all tribes.

You know a Native American family who lives in your city. They try to practice the cultural traditions of their tribe, and speak their tribal language. They also spend a fair bit of time visiting other people from their tribe on a nearby reservation. What implications does this have regarding the family's experiences with mainstream culture?

There are no implications that this has for the family's experiences of mainstream culture. Participation in one's culture of origin and the mainstream culture are two separate issues.

Which of the following is the best description of the traditional values of most Native American groups and Schwarz's dimension of Hierarchy vs. Egalitarianism?

There is no clear evidence regarding this dimension that applies to all tribes.

Over the last 40 years, what have the trends in poverty rates been for African American families?

They have declined.

In the lectures, we briefly referred to Wilkinson, who discusses different groups of non-impoverished families. What different groups does she refer to?

Upper-, Middle-, and working-class families.

What can be said about gender roles in African American Families?

While gender roles in African American families have been viewed as a problem, the egalitarianism and flexibility of gender roles can be considered to be a strength.

Is no-nonsense parenting a strength of African American families? Why or why not?

Yes, it is a strength. It is associated with better self-regulation skills in African American children.