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Preserving Innocence: Ending Perceived Adultification And Toxic Masculinity Toward Black Boys, Erik M. Hines, Edward C. Fletcher Jr., Donna Y. Ford, James L. Moore Iii

Journal of Family Strengths

As early as the age of ten, Black boys are viewed as older, guilty until proven innocent by law enforcement (including school resource officers), and encounter a myriad of adverse racialized academic and social experiences (e.g., explicit and implicit biases) (Goff et al., 2014; Noguera, 2008). Dancy (2014) noted how Trayvon Martin, a Black male teen murdered for essentially being seen as threatening and intimidating, was viewed as adult-aged, deviant, troubled, and shiftless. Moreover, Black boys are expected to express minimum “signs” of weakness, vulnerability, and/or sensitivity. The aforementioned social persona may contribute to young Black men and boys not …

Making A Difference In Children’S Lives: Lessons Learned From Planning And Implementing A Virtual Summer Camp During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Andrea Mcdonald Ph.D., Camille Burnett, Sonia Boone, Angela Branch-Vital, Michael Mcfrazier

Journal of Family Strengths

Summer camps are known to increase knowledge and engage children during the summer holidays. However, the COVID-19 pandemic placed a freeze on all activities that required face-to-face interaction during the summer of 2020. The purpose of this paper is to describe the planning, implementation, and evaluation of a virtual summer camp for children. Our virtual camp “Whimsical Wednesdays" was hosted by a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) that is dedicated to changing children's lives and providing service to the community. We recruited children aged 6-12 to attend the virtual summer camp through informational flyers posted on the institution’s website, …

The Mediating Role Of Commitment And Relationship Satisfaction On Socioeconomic-Status And Stability, Timothy I. Lawrence, Logan A. Yelderman, Ariel Mcfield, Lasheka Allen

Journal of Family Strengths

Abstract

Predicting relationship stability has been studied in a multitude of ways; however, few articles examined the extent to which socioeconomic status, relationship satisfaction, and commitment associate with relationship stability guided by the investment model. Thus, using secondary data (N=331), Andrew Hayes’s PROCESS was used to assess whether relationship satisfaction and commitment mediated the relationship between socioeconomic status and stability while controlling for relevant relational and demographic characteristics. Results suggest that socioeconomic status was negatively related to commitment but not relationship satisfaction. Relationship satisfaction and commitment were both positively related to stability, but only commitment mediated the relationship between socioeconomic …

The Family-Directed Structural Assessment Tool: An Approach To Assisting Families Impacted By Covid-19, Tara Mclendon

Journal of Family Strengths

The COVID-19 pandemic jeopardizes many levels of society. The family unit, a foundation of societal structure and function, is particularly vulnerable to the unpredictability of this current crisis. The Family-Directed Structural Assessment Tool (FDSAT) offers a means by which service providers and families can reinforce structure within and around the family unit. This potentially offers a level of predictability and sense of safety during an extraordinarily challenging time. A brief history of the FDSAT is addressed, followed by an overview of tenets specific to the assessment tool. An in-depth case study is provided. This example demonstrates the use of FDSAT …