African American identity : racial and cultural dimensions of the Black experience / edited by Jas M. Sullivan and Ashraf M. Esmail.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part 1: Theoretical and Methodological Issues in African American Racial Identity -- Forty Years of Cross' Nigrescence Theory : From Stages to Profiles, From African Americans to All Americans / Frank C. Worrell -- The Conceptualization and Measurement of Racial Identity and Racial Identification within Psychology / Richard D. Harvey, Cathryn D. Blue, and Rachel E. Tennial -- African American Racial Identity Research in Political Science : The Need for a Multidimensional Measure / Jas M. Sullivan and Alexandra Z. Ghara -- Part 2. African American Racial Identity and Psychological Well-Being -- The Effects of Racial Identity on African-American Youth Well-Being : A Clarification of the Research and Meta-analysis / Corinn A. Elmore, Jelani Mandara, and Lauren Gray -- Black Identity and Well-Being : Untangling Race and Ethnicity / William E. Cross, Jr., Bruce Ormond Grant, and Ana Ventuneac -- Black Racial/Ethnic Identity and Its Impact on Well-Being : Bridging Identity Theory and Racial/Ethnic Identity Research / Donald C. Reitzes and Charles Jaret -- When Racial Identity Matters : Stressful Events and Mental Health in Rural African American Adolescents / Rosa Maria Mulser, Kyle Hucke, Angelique Trask-Tate, and Michael Cunningham -- Part 3. African American Racial Identity and Physical Health -- The Role of African American Racial Identification in Health Behavior / Vetta L. Sanders Thompson, Eddie M. Clark, and Jason Q. Purnell -- Vascular Depression and African Americans : A Population at Risk / Amanda D. Persaud, Deepika Singh, Susan Krauss Whitbourne, and Joel R. Sneed.

Part 4. African American Racial Identity Development and Effects on Parents and Children -- Black Like Me : The Race Socialization of African American Boys by Nonresident Fathers / Alvin Thomas, Cleopatra Howard Caldwell, and E. Hill De Loney -- Toward a Model of Racial Identity and Parenting in African Americans / Stephanie J. Rowley, Fatima Varner, Latisha L. Ross, Amber D. Williams and Meeta Banerjee -- African American Children's Racial Identifications and Identity : Development of Racial Narratives / Stephen M. Quintana and Aaron V. Smith -- Part 5. African American Racial Identity and Influence on Educational Behavior -- Racial Identity as a Buffer to Discrimination among Low Income African American Adolescents : An Examination of Academic Performance / Debra D. Roberts and Ronald D. Taylor -- The Congruence Between African American Students' Racial Identity Beliefs and their Academic Climates : Implications for Academic Motivation and Achievement / Christy M. Byrd and Tabbye M. Chavous -- The Influence of African American Racial Identity on Standardized Test Performance / Keena Arbuthnot -- An Exploration of Racial Identity among Black Doctoral Students Involved in Cross-Race Advising Relationships / Marco J. Barker -- The Relationship between African American Males' Collegiate Peer Support Groups and Their Racial Identity Development / Jonathan L. Johnson and Michael J. Cuyjet.

Jas M. Sullivan and Ashraf M. Esmail's African American Identity: Racial and Cultural Dimensions of the Black Experience, with a foreword by William E. Cross, Jr., is a collection that employs multiple perspectives across the social sciences to address the complex issues of race and identity. The contributors to this book tackle questions about what African American racial identity means, how we may go about quantifying it, what the factors are in shaping identity development, and what effects racial identity has on psychological, political, educational, and health-related behavior. African American Identity aims to continue the conversation, rather than provide a beginning or an end. It is an in-depth study that uses quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods to explore the relationship between racial identity and psychological well-being, effects on parents and children, physical health, and related educational behavior. From these vantage points, Sullivan and Esmail provide a unique opportunity to further our understanding, extend our knowledge, and continue the debate.