African American Youth Development, Cultural Influences

Scyatta A. Wallace

Black American youth constitute 16% of the U.S. population under 18 years of age (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2003). Due to the growing need for practitioners, educators, and policymakers to better serve diverse populations, there has been an increase in the number of studies examining Black child development. This entry describes potential areas for future research, which may be useful in guiding applied developmental scientists conducting research with this population. These areas of research include (a) the impact of ethnicity and immigrant status on Black child development; (b) the mechanisms and processes of culturally relevant factors (e.g., extended family support, racial socialization) related to Black child development; and (c) the inclusion of culturally specific approaches to the design and content of childand family-focused interventions targeting Black populations. Researchers studying ethnically diverse populations often use race as a factor in data analysis. The use of race in psychosocial research often ...

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