Psychology& African Americans (Pan-African Studies) Research Paper
Topic: young men and women losing parents and how it effect them later on in life? and early in life? What were positive outcomes and negative outcomes
Paper instructions: Your research paper for this course should focus on any topic related to African/Black identity or mental health. For example, your paper could deal with: racial identity and academic achievement among Black high school students; culturally relevant curriculum and academic identity among Black college students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities; impact of Afrocentric therapy on the mental health of African American substance abuse clients; or the impact of spirituality on South African perceptions of Mental health. Browse the course textbook and the library database to identify potential topics that spark your curiosity and motivation as long as they are related to African/Black identity or mental health. However, no matter what topic you choose, be sure to make every effort to ensure that your approach is culturally relevant, acknowledging the unique experiences of people of African descent, their unique histories and cultures, and the work of Black Studies scholars and Black Psychologists on your topic.
- 8 and 10 pages long (not including the works cited section and appendices). The text of your paper should be, double spaced, in times new roman 12 point font only, with margins that do not go beyond 1” on all sides. Regarding your research, you should have at least 6 peer-reviewed sources from the library database.
Basic Structure of Your Paper
Introduction
The purpose of your introduction is to create interest and/or concern in the aspect of Black idenitty or mental health you are writing about. After reading your introduction, the readers/listeners should know the topic you are researching is, why it is important, and why research on that topic is necessary. They should know why it is important for Pan African Studies, people of African descent and humanity in general. Your introduction should include a statement of the problem. To demonstrate this problem, you may want to establish the importance of the subject(s), topic(s), or issue(s) you are investigating. You can also cite other researchers who agree that the issues you are researching are important. Also, be sure to engage any relevant research of those who disagree. Be sure to be realistic and don’t exaggerate the importance of your research topic. Your introduction should also include an explanation of the purpose of your paper. This explanation of purpose should explain why your research is important vis-à-vis the problems you have stated. This statement should explain how you think your presentation may contribute to or lead to addressing the mental health and identity-related solutions, challenges, or experiences you have explained in your statement of the problem. The statement of purpose should include your research question. For example, if I am interested in the Black racial identity, I might ask the question: How do Black students who take Pan African studies classes understand their racial/ethnic identity compared to non-majors/minors?
After you have stated your research question provide a short outline of the structure of the rest of your presentation/paper. The body of your paper will be divided into several subsections because you will break down your paper into subsections each with their own headings. In the last part of the intro, explain what topics will be covered in the sections of the body of your presentation. When you explain the structure of the rest of the presentation, your roadmap for the rest of the presentation, you can start by using language such as: “This analysis will cover…”, “In this presentation, several topics will be addressed, including…”, or “in this presentation, I will address…”.
Something to add once you finish your paper: There are many approaches to the thesis statement. You can add it after the paper is completed. One of the last parts of the introduction of your presentation should be your thesis statement. The thesis statement should be one single sentence that makes a clear declaration or claim, which is specific and arguable. This statement should capture or represent your answer to your research question. Remember it should represent your own unique perspective. For example, my thesis statement might read as follows: Pan African Studies curriculum, faculty, and teaching approaches support the development of positive racial identity in African/Black students. Be sure that you have evidence (research) to support your thesis. However, you do not present the evidence in the introduction (you explain all the evidence in the body of your paper and summarize it in your conclusion).
The Body of Your Paper
The body of your paper should follow the exact structure or roadmap that you laid out in your introduction. The body of your paper should demonstrate how you arrived at your thesis. You can do this by breaking the body of your paper into several subsections, in which you make several claims about what you did research on. You should have done your research before developing your thesis statement. If you have done this, you have probably come to several conclusions or main points related to your research question. These conclusions or claims should support your thesis statement. A helpful way of thinking about how to organize your subsections and paragraphs is the P.I.E. format. Based on this format, each subsection, main point, or topic in the body of your presentation should begin with a statement that clearly states what the main point is about or will demonstrate (The Point). This first statement should capture the overall claim you want to make about your topic, and what the rest of the discussion will justify. The discussion of each subsection or topic should include information in your research that provides the evidence which led you to your conclusion (Illustration). The illustration or the body of the paragraph should contain evidence in the form of examples, quotes, statistics, testimonies, facts, or other forms of evidence that contradicts or supports your claim. Remember to be sure to address any viewpoints or evidence to the contrary. Address any contradictory viewpoints or disagreements you come across as long as they are relevant to your research question. Lastly, explain how the evidence you have provided supports your point and the overall thesis of your paper (Explanation). Do not forget to engage any perspectives (viewpoints) or evidence to the contrary and why you believe the claim you are making is more supported or more justified than other perspectives or whether they are equally valid. Do not ignore differing viewpoints. In these last few sentences, you should explain how the evidence you have provided supports the claim you are making.
Evaluate the body of your presentation by doing the following:
Are the claims I am making supported by evidence?
Am I being critical of the sources that I have evaluated?
I am not just summarizing other people’s ideas, I am providing my own unique analysis?
I am citing my sources?
Do I need to reevaluate my thesis due to the evidence I have presented in the body of my paper?
Note: You often don’t know your thoughts on your topic until they are written out in front of you. It is normal for you to change your mind about your thesis, so you can go back and make adjustments.
Conclusion
Remember this, your introduction tells your reader what is coming, but your conclusion tells them what to remember. In the conclusion explain how your results or claims taken together answer the main research question you posed. Use the sources you found in addition to your textbook to help provide a logical explanation for what you found. Use this section to give a greater explanation of your thesis statement. Discuss how all of the claims you have made in the body of your paper lend validity to your thesis and any other alternative perspectives. Make suggestions for future researchers and future research questions. Discuss, in this section of your presentation, how the results can be used by individuals, professionals, families, communities, or institutions to improve the lives of people of African descent or a specific population of people of African descent. Discuss how the knowledge from your presentation can be used to advance the discipline of Pan African Studies. It may help to explain the consequences of failure to acknowledge the results of research like yours.
The effect of parents’ death on young African Americans
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Introduction
In developed countries, approximately 3% to 4 % of children experience the loss of a parent before attaining 18 years (Bergman et al., 2017). The death of both or one parent is associated with a higher vulnerability for young adults, both from a short and long term perspective. Numerous studies have shown an increased risk of mental health problems, physical illness, traumatic grief, and perceived lack of control over their lives (Boyd-Franklin, 2013; Umberson and Chen, 1994; Van and Meleis, 2010). However, the effects of parents’ death on young African Americans are of great interest due to unique aspects of their culture and experiences. A chief element of that experience is the elevated rate of mortality within the African American community. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of parents’ death on young African Americans. In doing so, the research may identify gaps that have not been addressed by other studies while also enhancing Pan-African literature. The research question is; what is the negative/positive outcome of parents’ death on young (adults) African Americans?
In this research paper, several topics will be addressed including the mortality rate of African American parents, family ties, African-American beliefs on death, negative outcomes (mental problems, traumatic grief, and physical illness), positive outcomes (increased mental stability and becoming more responsible), and how health professional can use cultural and family information while treating young African Americans. The paper will conclude by providing a summary of the findings and questions for future research. The death of parents results in mental problems and physical illness in some young African Americans while increases mental stability in others.
Parents’ death and family ties
It is well established that young African Americans experience tremendous pain after the loss of their parents than white Americans. The difference in pain experienced is rooted in higher death rates and strong family connections among African Americans. In the African American community, families are tightly organized into social units, which by historical account originated from the institution of slavery (Jones, 2012). These ties are well explained by the Attachment theory, which describes family connections as lasting and deep emotional attachments that connect one individual to another across space and time. While Attachment theory indicates that the connection does not have to be reciprocal, African Americans exhibit mutual connections that exist even after death. As a result, African American parents remain a vital resource to their children form early adulthood into middle and late adulthood regardless of how vertical family structures have become.
Despite the happiness that originates from strong family ties, young African Americans are likely to experience disruption due to death. Since the 1980s, young African Americans are three times more likely to experience a mother’s death and twice as likely to experience a father’s death (Umberson et al. 2017). Rather than moving on with their lives, they are also more likely to preserve ties with the dead and be bothered over the loss. This is a representation of the resilience of family ties among African Americans. Due to this resilience, young African Americans, especially men, avoid talking about their parent loss in both personal and professional contexts. The silence is associated with cultural values that distinguish strong young men from weak ones. However, such cultural values lead to greater grief intensity and severe negative outcomes in the long-term.
Parents’ death and cultural aspects
Due to strong family ties, African American youths may engage in suicide or intentional get involved in an accident hoping to reunite with their parents. However, the motivation to reunite with parents is not only influenced by strong family connections, but by also cultural aspects. Among African Americans, life is perceived as cyclical rather than linear. This belief originates from slavery when masters prohibited slaves from participating in the funerals of their loved ones. As a result, African Americans started perceiving death as some form of freedom rather than punishment or suffering (Parkes, 2015). After death, people live in a spirit world where they receive bodies that have supernatural powers. Therefore, becoming a spirit or a supernatural being is an enviable objective of every African American. However, African Americans believe that the status of a spirit can only be attained if an individual lived a fulfilling life or had his life cut short by an accident (Parkes, 2015). Therefore, African American youths may willingly subject themselves to harm such as accident hoping to die and reuniting with their parents.
Negative outcomes
* Mental problems
The few scholars who have evaluated the effect of parent loss and mental problems in young African Americans have established that parental death leads to mental issues. To young African Americans, the loss of both or one parent is viewed as the worst period in their existence and a loss like no other for which they were unprepared. After the death of parents, mental issues in young African Americans start when they convey feelings of vulnerability, shock, guilt, and self-blame. Even though other races experience these feelings and pain, they are prevalent in young African Americans because the loss continues to resonate later in life. According to Boyd-Franklin (2013), short term implications of the mental issues in young African Americans after the death of parents may disappear after 2 to 3 years. This is the shortest period in which the bereaved can resume undertaking normal activities. The short term period is longer than 13 months required by young Caucasians adults to overcome mental issues related to parental loss.
The escalation of mental issues in young African Americans after parental loss is also influenced by the realities of daily lives. In lower-income families, the mental state of the young adults may be severely impacted by thoughts related to burial expenses and living arrangements. The mental state of young adults who work may also be impacted by poor working conditions, loss of employment, and insufficient time to mourn the loss of the deceased. Furthermore, research projects, college assignments, and class attendance may worsen the psychological state of African American students. According to Umberson & Chen (1994), the psychological state of African American students is more vulnerable after the death of their parents because they are required to act normal yet they are susceptible to racial profiling.
The lack to effectively deal with initial mental issues results in long-term problems that completely affect the functioning capability of the brain. In young African Americans, the total collapse of the brain occurs when various negative factors emerge and combine immediately after the death of parents. According to Van & Meleis (2010), the total mental breakdown in young African Americans women mostly occurs when the remaining parent fails to recover from the loss of his/her partner. When the remaining parent is overwhelmed by grief, it significantly amplifies the grief experienced by young adults. If not addressed quickly, such mental state may push them to commit suicide or run away from home.
Additionally, severe mental problems suffered by young African Americans may be explained by strong family ties within their community. These ties provide some form of protection and identity, especially to young adults. However, when these young adults witness cruel events that lead to their parents’ death, they end up experiencing traumatic grief and eventually mental breakdown. Traumatic grief is experienced by all individuals irrespective of their race or nationality. However, the strong family ties in African American families evoke the desire of reuniting with the dead rather than accepting the loss. As a result, young African Americans are likely to have intrusive thoughts that revolve around thinking and seeing the deceased parent everywhere they look. If the parent’s death relates to hist...
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