Culturally Informed Interventions for African American Women with a History of Sexual Abuse in North America

Authors

  • James Smith Columbia University, New York
  • Billy Jeffrey Columbia University New York

Abstract

This paper evaluated the best interventions for childhood sexual abuse and how these interventions can best be applied to African American women to ensure that they are able to effectively deal with the mental health complications that result from being sexually assaulted as children. The inclusion criteria used was to find articles addressing the effects of physical, emotional or sexual abuse on the mental health of women over 18 years leaning towards those prioritizing African American women and childhood abuse. The exclusion criterion was to avoid all articles prioritizing men or featuring women aged below 18 years. The researcher initially intended to only focus on articles discussing articles featuring African American women aged 18-26, but after failing to find articles meeting these specifications, the researcher extended the scope. This review is of significant as it gives shine to African American women; women who have been sidelined due to sexism, rami and classism. It can influence practice in that it can encourage more research to be done to develop interventions best suited for the needs of African American women.

Keywords: African American Women, Sexual Abuse & North America.

Author Biographies

James Smith, Columbia University, New York

Columbia University, New York

Billy Jeffrey, Columbia University New York

Columbia University New York

References

Akers, A. Y., Yonas, M., Burke, J., & Chang, J. C. (2011). “Do you want somebody treating your sister like that?”: Qualitative exploration of how African American families discuss and promote healthy teen dating relationships. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26(11), 2165-2185.

Bryant-Davis, T., Ullman, S. E., Tsong, Y., Tillman, S., & Smith, K. (2010). Struggling to survive: Sexual assault, poverty, and mental health outcomes of African American women. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80(1), 61.

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Kaslow, N. J., Leiner, A. S., Reviere, S., Jackson, E., Bethea, K., Bhaju, J., & Thompson, M. P. (2010). Suicidal, abused African American women’s response to a culturally informed intervention. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 78(4), 449.

Meston, C. M., Lorenz, T. A., & Stephenson, K. R. (2013). Effects of expressive writing on sexual dysfunction, depression, and PTSD in women with a history of childhood sexual abuse: Results from a randomized clinical trial. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 10(9), 2177- 2189.

Tillman, S., Bryant-Davis, T., Smith, K., & Marks, A. (2010). Shattering silence: Exploring barriers to disclosure for African American sexual assault survivors. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 11(2), 59-70.

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Published

2021-08-07

How to Cite

Smith, J., and B. Jeffrey. “Culturally Informed Interventions for African American Women With a History of Sexual Abuse in North America”. Journal of Sociology, Psychology & Religious Studies, vol. 3, no. 3, Aug. 2021, pp. 7-14, https://stratfordjournals.org/journals/index.php/Journal-of-Sociology-Psychology/article/view/861.

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Articles