NYU Applied Psychology OPUS by NYU Applied Psychology OPUS

OPUS

online publication of undergraduate studies Department of Applied Psychology Fall 2012

EDITORS Kara Duca Caila Gordon-Koster Coralie Nehme FACULTY MENTORS Dr. Catherine Tamis-LeMonda STAFF WRITERS David Freedman Alfredo Novoa Mercedes Okosi Nina Schneider CONTRIBUTORS Scarlett Wang Chanel Donaldson SECRETARY/TREASURER Esther Song PUBLICITY CHAIR/ DEPARTMENT LIAISON Scarlett Wang LAYOUT DIRECTOR Amelia Chu SPECIAL THANKS NYU Steinhart Department of Applied Psychology Dr. Gigliana Melzi FOUNDERS Vanessa Victoria Volpe Jackson J. Taylor Sibyl Holland Applied Psychology OPUS was initiated in 2010 by a group of undergraduate students in NYU Steinhardtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Department of Applied Psychology. The ideas and opinions contained in this publication solely reflect those of the authors and not New York University. All work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial No Derivative Works License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org

Cover Photo by Christine Campo

nyu applied psychology

OPUS

online publication of undergraduate studies Volume III Fall 2012

Contents LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Caila Gordon-Koster Kara Duca Coralie Nehme| 4 STAFF ARTICLES Spaces for Young Women of Color’s Trauma Meaning Making and Identity Development Mercedes J. Okosi | 6 Investing in Chinese Women: A Poverty Alleviation Empowerment Model Nina Schneider | 11 “Show Me Where It Hurts”: Treating the Wounds of Our First Responders David Freedman | 16 Mechanisms of Liberation: Towards an Inclusive Pedagogy Alfredo Novoa, Andrew Greene & Rosa Hwang | 20 SUBMISSIONS Hair Alteration Practices Amongst Black Women and the Assumption of Self-Hatred Chanel Donaldson | 29 How Stereotypes of a U.S. Degree Impacts One’s Reentry Experience in China Scarlett Wang | 33

STAFF & CONTRIBUTOR BIOS | 37

Letter from the Editors | 4

Letter from the Editors From inception to publication, the journey of an idea is arduous. It begins as merely a thought and throughout rounds of edits, sleepless nights of philosophizing, and dinners spent debating, the idea transforms into a theory backed by the latest research in the field. As young researchers, the amount of psychological theory set before us is daunting, yet with each new class we beg once more: think of something new. During a time in which traditional higher education is facing an evolution, and where an undergraduate degree is standard, the Applied Psychology department at New York University continues to uphold its students to unparalleled levels of undergraduate research. The Applied Psychology undergraduate program does not merely produce graduates; it produces some of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finest young scholars in the field. Twice a year, OPUS, the Online Publication of Undergraduate Studies, showcases outstanding work of our underclassmen. The research presented in this volume of OPUS is especially multidisciplinary and diverse. From emergency medical trauma, to Chinese poverty alleviation and hair alteration practices of Black women, there is a wide array of populations and topics upon which this issue touches. The publication of this collected work would not be possible without the efforts of our dedicated senior and junior staff, contributors and the support of our faculty mentor Dr. Tamis-Lemonda as well as the department of Applied Psychology at large. This issue is unique because of the circumstances under which it was created. During the Fall of 2012, students at New York University were asked to not only rise to the academic occasion, but also to withstand a historic breakdown of the entire city during Hurricane Sandy all the while pushing intellectual limits and some trying to stay, literally and figuratively, afloat. The publishing of OPUS was a feat and it is with great pride that we present to you our latest issue. We sincerely thank you for your interest in the undergraduate research of the Applied Psychology program at New York University.

Kara Duca

Caila Gordon-Koster

Coralie Nehme

STAFF ARTICLES

Okosi: Spaces for Trauma, Meaning, and Identity | 6

Spaces for Young Women of Color’s Trauma Meaning Making and Identity Development Mercedes J. Okosi

ost people experience at least one traumatic event over the course of a lifetime that is violent in nature, disorienting, and/or life threatening (Manici & Bonanno, 2006). Trauma, broadly defined, can encompass a wide range of direct or indirect negative life events that influence an individual’s ability to adapt (Dill, 2011; Mackay, 2002; Manici & Bonanno, 2006; Park & Ai, 2006). Healthy adaptation after trauma, however, is not a discrete event; it is both an outcome and process of development in the face of adversity conceptualized as resilience (Bonanno, 2012; Dill, 2011; Lynch, Keasler, Reaves, Channer, & Bukowski, 2007; Manici & Bonanno, 2006; Singh & McKleroy, 2011; Zhang, DeBlois, Deniger, & Kamanzi, 2008). Such a transformative personal process often impacts an individual’s sense of identity and relation to other people depending on the interpersonal nature of the trauma. Although trauma literature describes the process of resilience and identity formation from various perspectives, there is a failure to acknowledge specific populations. For example, young women of color may experience trauma and resilience in a distinct manner linked to their social identities. Research about the nature of their specific trauma may have implications for cultural sensitivity in community organizing and treatment.

Nature of Traumatic Events Traumatic events are often framed as objectively clear adverse events such as combat experience or sexual assault. Recently, more subjective personal and interpersonal experiences are labeled as trauma in order to acknowledge an individual’s unique perception of an experience. Many traumatic events can occur in the context of an instable family environment (Dill, 2011; Park & Ai, 2006). These include interpersonal conflict within a family, which is viewed as a betrayal of trust

and comfort. Other examples of subjective traumas and their contexts include parental mental illness, maltreatment, chronic illness, catastrophic life events, socioeconomic status disadvantage, and community violence (Dill, 2011). Much of the literature is centered on violent trauma because it is the most tangible and has both a physical and psychological effect on an individual. Violent trauma calls into question one’s vulnerability, self worth, and perception of a just world (Mackay, 2002; Manici & Bonanno, 2006; Park & Ai, 2006). An individual who experiences violent trauma is no longer oriented to their physical space in the previous manner because they may perceive greater thereat and may feel insecure in interpersonal interactions. Reaction to trauma depends on the strength of self-concept and its ability to withstand adversity which changes as individuals develop new cognitive and emotional strengths. An analysis of the trajectory of research in resilience claimed that children and adults experience similar exposure to potentially traumatic events (Bonanno, 2012). This idea becomes an area of conflict in the literature because the position of adolescents in this paradigm is obscured or lost. Qualitative studies of adolescent narratives and correlational studies demonstrated that youth experienced and enacted violence disproportionately (Dill, 2011; Mackay, 2002). Adolescents seem to be more vulnerable to trauma, especially that which is violent in nature. The volume of potentially traumatic events may be a risk factor for the way in which adolescents conceptualize their environments and perceive their opportunities. Adolescents are at a developmental period in which cognitive abilities allow them to perceive trauma in a different way than children (Mackay, 2002). Social location is a concept that describes the inextricable link of one’s identity demographics such as age to one’s perception and interaction with the environment.

7 | Staff Articles The period of adolescence is a distinct social location, worthy of further research. Qualitative analysis of narratives of transwomen of color demonstrated that social location (i.e., race, age, gender, and socioeconomic status) shaped experience and reaction to trauma (Singh & McKleroy, 2011). This concept of social location is also linked to the experience of broader groups. Women in general reported more interpersonal trauma that had fear inducing capabilities compared to men (Cromer & Smith, 2009). One’s disadvantaged social position influences vulnerability and reaction to trauma. Results of a correlational study with a diverse, although mostly white, sample reveal that there were interaction effects across different social locations in the outcome of wellbeing after trauma. Women of color had lower scores on well-being; yet racial minority status was a positive predictor of well-being (Ryff, Keyes, & Hughes, 2003). Race is a social location inextricably linked to class and physical location. The processes of gentrification, urban renewal, and deindustrialization relocate people of color and result in a concentration of poverty, violence, and disease (Dill, 2011). The potential for traumatic events is increased and processes of meaning making recovery are threatened due to the chronic nature of a dangerous environment, yet racial identity development can serve as a protective factor.

Meaning Making Processes Resilience as an outcome and process is accompanied by meaning making. Individuals have a manner of meaning making through which they understand experiences. Global meaning consists of beliefs, or schemas through which an individual interprets experiences, goals toward which an individual continues to strive, and subjective feelings of meaning or sense of life purpose. Trauma can shatter this system of meaning (Park & Ai, 2006). For example, death of a family member challenges the idea of invulnerability and exclusion from the possibility of experiencing death of a close one. When trauma is repetitive or chronic, the effects are especially harmful. Negative schemas, or cognitive organizing mechanisms, can be a result of this cumulative strain on global

meaning (Cromer & Smyth, 2010). Thus, the process of meaning making and development of resilience are an avenue of restructuring. Meaning making describes the process of rebuilding global meaning and reestablishing consistency in one’s beliefs, goals, and purpose (Park & Ai, 2006). Meaning making also functions as an avenue for autonomy because it can be a purposeful, emotionally engaging act that reframes the traumatic event (Park & Ai, 2006). Global meaning is made more flexible to accommodate these potentially traumatic events and is stronger because it withstood the aftermath. Due to its productive and adaptive function, researchers agree that having a sense of meaning is essential to survival of trauma, (Park & Ai, 2006; Ryff, Keyes, & Hughes, 2003). Certain personality characteristics aid in this process and act as protective factors, or buffers, of the effects of trauma. Protective factors or processes include self-concept, sense of control, and future orientation (Dill, 2011; Lynch et al., 2007; Manici & Bonanno, 2006; Pace & Zappulla, 2009; Zhang et al., 2008). An individual who has a strong sense of self and has concrete goals or aspirations for the future can focus on productive activity and withstand the effects of trauma. Commitment to self-reflection, tolerance for negative emotions, and meaning making were associated with resilience (Lynch et al., 2007) but rumination or dwelling was viewed as nonproductive and motivated by fear (Luyckx et al., 2007). Additional characteristics of people who achieve this resilience include flexible adaptation, or the ability to change behavior in the face of a challenge, and pragmatic coping which is the use of practices that can be maladaptive under different circumstances. Examples include repression, dismissive attachment, and self-enhancing biases (Manici & Bonanno, 2006). Behavioral flexibility allows the “shattering” of one’s global meaning to be less intense because these actions facilitate meaning making. Thus restructuring is not as difficult and the process of resilience is facilitated. For example, dismissive attachment can be helpful for someone who has experienced trauma in an interpersonal context. Although dismissive attachment can be an effective mechanism for resilience, the process

Okosi: Spaces for Trauma, Meaning, and Identity | 8 of resilience does not have to unfold individually. Resilience is often constructed as a self-generating and self-reproducing concept because of the correlated traits such as autonomy, self-efficacy, and sense of purpose, but this definition fails to acknowledge other mechanisms and organizational structures for resilience (Zhang et al., 2008). With a stronger self-concept, an individual also conceptualizes interpersonal relationships differently, especially if the trauma they experienced was interpersonal in nature. An individual who made meaning of a traumatic event feels empowered to demand reciprocity and respect in future relationships and reconstructs the idea of attribution and responsibility in old ones (Lynch et al., 2007). Meaning making, thus aids in the eradication of negative outcomes such as self-blame and low self esteem. Regarding young women of color, a strengthbased approach is encouraged to explore competencies and skills (Singh & McKleroy, 2011; Zhang et al., 2008). Strength based treatment is often manifested in the form of staff of community agencies. Young people gain access to recreational and career oriented services that act as protective factors (Dill, 2011; Lynch et al., 2007). Meaningful participation provides young people with a sense of purpose and achievement that can strengthen global meaning. Young people of color also have the opportunity to share narratives of racial and ethnic challenges that can function as opportunities for meaning making

Autonomy and Identity Development Meaning making of trauma can lift a weight from the individual that then allows for constructive identity development and achievement of tasks such as autonomy that are hallmarks of adolescence. Adolescence is recognized as a unique developmental stage meant to organize self-concept and purpose (Mackay, 2002; Sandhu & Tung, 2006). A sense of self during adolescence is linked to the way in which one experiences family dynamic and oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relative independence from the family unit. A warm, supportive, cohesive family environment enhances identity formation but some conflict may be necessary

for separation and autonomy (Mackay 2002; Mullis, Chaterjee Graf, & Mullis, 2009; Sandhu & Tung, 2006). In other words, the family can provide a type of scaffolding for the development of individual identity and internal conflicts can illustrate to adolescents that they cannot be entirely dependent on family members. It is also important to note that conditions in which young women of color in urban areas live may not nurture a warm family environment from the start, so supportive families can be valid but not sufficient to the process of identity development. Perception of parents also influences autonomous identity formation. Individuation and perceiving parents as people with multiple roles and flaws are important processes in autonomy (Sandhu & Tung, 2006). In addition to the condition of separation from parents, the quality or nature of the separation is significant. High levels of identity commitment and separation from parents are related to better emotional adjustment but unhealthy detachment is related to maladjustment (Sandhu & Tung, 2006). Detachment connotes a different meaning than separation and has a different influence on well-being. However, trauma can be interpersonal and family-based causing a young person to detach from parents but this does not mean that she cannot process the trauma and emotionally adjust. The relationship between family structure and autonomy can be complex so external resources such as community organizations are helpful. In the process of identity development and achievement of autonomy, young people often take the initiative to utilize community resources. Young women of color can capitalize on organizations such as youth centers or after school programs focused on building strengths. Social capital describes interpersonal structures that provide resources and protect against negative effects of poverty, but marginalized groups like women and people of color have unequal access to these structures (Dill, 2011). The idea of young women of color reaching out on their own after experiencing trauma and navigating unequal distribution of resources speaks to autonomy. Interpersonal social capital often exists in the form of mentorships. Young people seek safe spaces and adult mentors for social mobility (Dill, 2011; Lynch

9 | Staff Articles et al., 2007). Embedded in an atmosphere of rich social capital, young women of color can feel safe to process traumatic events because they are allowed to be removed from the immediate context of the trauma. Mentors act as secure bases outside of the family that can foster identity development and support young people while encouraging autonomy. Another aspect of identity related to autonomy and well-being was positive racial identity (Dill 2011; Singh & McKleroy 2011). Racial minority status and strong racial identity may act as a protective process and lead to well-being after trauma. The concept of eudaimonia is a measure of well-being through engagement in life challenges, purpose, growth, autonomy, mastery, positive relationships, and self acceptance (Ryff et al., 2003). African Americans, and Mexican Americans whose scores were mediated by education level, have higher average levels of the autonomy element of eudaimonia than white subjects (Ryff et al., 2003). These findings have implications for safe community spaces for the processes of meaning making and identity development after trauma for young women of color.

Implications for Safe Spaces Facilitating Identity Development It is important that any approach to identity development of young women of color be grounded in their narratives and perspectives. An examination of the way these young women tend to think about the world can be helpful for aiding them in discovering their position in the world. A qualitative study of narratives of high school young women of color found that they plan a future for themselves that contrasts with prevalent images in the media of dependent, materialistic women, yet they often doubted their capacities to fulfill their dreams (Schultz, 1999). For example, many young women did not prioritize marriage or finding a partner. Instead they envisioned a future in which they provide for themselves autonomously. That future is difficult to imagine when placed in a social context of negative life events and trauma. Thus young people in urban environments experience discrepancies between what they are told they can accomplish and what they

view as possible in their unique social context (Pastor et al., 2007). It takes a great deal of personal strength to set goals for oneself that have no precedence in one’s surroundings because one must have courage and determination in the face of doubt from others. For example, many young women took the initiative to be the first in their families to complete high school and pursue college (Pastor et al., 2007). This goal setting is an act of resistance that allows young women to form their own identities. As young women negotiated the two worlds of empowerment and powerlessness as a result of becoming subjects of their circumstances, they performed acts of resistance against futures others had imposed upon them or predicted for them (Schultz, 1999). For example, despite having a child at a relatively young age, many participants refused to drop out of school like others thought they would, or as they saw other girls do in the past. These identity formation processes take place in the contexts of what are called homeplaces. A study of young women’s narratives defines the concept of homeplaces as comforting, safe spaces in areas such as social movements, institutions, or schools (Pastor et al., 2007). Young women actively search for places to feel at home where their voices will be heard and their lived experiences taken into consideration. However, the process of homemaking is not without challenges. Pastor et al. explains “urban girls of many colors cannot simply pursue autonomy, freedom, and independence as Erikson (1968) theorizes. The challenges of racism, sexism, classism, and cultural hegemony profoundly interfere” (2007). So traditional models of development organized based on the experience of white males is not generalizable to everyone. Systems of oppression are additional hindrances to adolescent identity development. Yet the challenges help young women of color develop a critical consciousness with which they can see faults in society and assert themselves in white, male-dominated institutions not designed to promote their interests or protect them (Pastor et al., 2007). The creation of homespaces that are sensitive to race, gender, and class issues then becomes a protective factor promoting resilience. Young women of color have adverse reactions

Okosi: Spaces for Trauma, Meaning, and Identity | 10 to institutional spaces not designed to meet their needs. There is a feeling of surveillance that many adolescent girls experience when they experience metal detectors in their schools for example. They feel monitored but not considered. They avoid revealing personal narratives in spaces where “their lives feel invaded but not engaged” (Pastor et al., 2007). There is a distinction between a unidirectional process in which the young person is passive, and a bidirectional process in which a young person is engaged and encouraged in the process of identity building and goal setting. Mentoring relationships embody the latter. Community mentors, who take into consideration multiple and shifting identities of ethnicity, gender, and class, play an important role in helping to shape identities and helping young women formulate and reach goals (Dill, 2011; Pastor et al., 2007; Schultz 1999). This may be the most adaptive model for young women of color. This population is disproportionately effected by violence which has the potential to become interpersonal trauma. Community workers who share an understanding of the environment in which these young women live can provide strategies and support to prevent negative life experiences and trauma before it happens. A safe space can keep young women of color away from potential trauma. Culturally sensitive community mentors also act as an audience to listen to and facilitate the meaning making processes of young women of color. At community organizations based on mentorship, young women are more likely to feel that their voices are heard instead of studied and monitored. Mentors also act as examples of successful professionals who can model autonomy and positive sense of self to young people while they scaffold identity development. Future research on this subject should provide additional support for the implementation of mentorship programs in communities of people of color and develop strategies to build the most effective programs.

References Bonanno, G. A. (2012). Uses and abuses of the resilience construct: Loss, trauma, and health-related adversities. Social Science & Medicine, 74(5), 753-756. Cromer, L. D., & Smyth, J. M. (2010). Making meaning of trauma: Trauma exposure doesn’t tell the whole story. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 40(2), 65-72. Dill, L. J. (2011). Routes to resilience: Mechanisms of healthy development in minority adolescents from high-risk urban neighborhoods. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B. Sciences and Engineering, 3469252. Luyckx, K., Soenens, B., Berzonsky, M. D., Smits, I., Goossens, L., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2007). Information-oriented identity processing, identity consolidation, and well-being: The moderating role of autonomy, self-reflection, and self-rumination. Personality and Individual Differences, 43(5), 1099-1111. Lynch, S. M., Keasler, A. L., Reaves, R. C., Channer, E. G., & Bukowski, L. T. (2007). The story of my strength: An exploration of resilience in the narratives of trauma survivors early in recovery. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 14(1-2), 75-97. Mackay, J. L. (2002). A psychodynamic understanding of trauma and adolescence: A case study. Southern African Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 14(1), 24-36. Mancini, A. D., Bonanno, G. A., Brown. (2006). Resilience in the face of potential trauma: Clinical practices and illustrations. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(8), 971-985. Mullis, R. L., Chatterjee Graf, S., & Mullis, A. K. (2009). Parental relationships, autonomy, and identity processes of high school students. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 170(4), 326-338. Pastor, J., McCormick, J., Fine, M., Andolsen, R., Friedman, N., Richardson, N., . . . Tavarz, M. (2007). Makin’ homes: An urban girl thing. In B. J. Ross Leadbeater, & N. Niobe (Eds.), Urban girls revisited: Building strengths (pp. 75-96). New York: New York University Press. Pace, U., & Zappulla, C. (2009). Identity processes and quality of emotional autonomy: The contribution of two developmental tasks on middle-adolescents’ subjective well-being. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 9(4), 323-340. Park, C. L., & Ai, A. L. (2006). Meaning making and growth: New directions for research on survivors of trauma. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 11(5), 389-407. Ryff, C. D., Keyes, C. L. M., & Hughes, D. L. (2003). Status inequalities, perceived discrimination, and eudaimonic well-being: Do the challenges of minority life hone purpose and growth? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 44(3), 275-291. Sandhu, D., & Tung, S. (2006). Role of emotional autonomy and family environment in identity formation of adolescents. Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research, 21(1-2), 1-16. Schultz, K. (1999). Identity narratives: Stories from the lives of urban adolescent females. The Urban Review, 31(1), 79-106. Singh, A. A., & McKleroy, V. S. (2011). “Just getting out of bed is a revolutionary act”: The resilience of transgender people of color who have survived traumatic life events. Traumatology, 17(2), 34-44. Zhang, X. Y., DeBlois, L., Deniger, M., & Kamanzi, C. (2008). A theory of success for disadvantaged children: Reconceptualization of social capital in the light of resilience. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 54(1), 97-111.

11 | Staff Articles

Investing in Chinese Women: A Poverty Alleviation Empowerment Model

Nina Schneider

or the rural female villager, China has become an impoverishing place to live. In the eyes of Western media, China is a mighty, developed “dragon economy”. However, per-capita indicators have led the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank to deem it a “developing” nation with a sub-standard quality-of-life (OECD, 2008). This categorization is especially true of in-land agricultural provinces (e.g., Shanxi, Hunan, Anhui). Within these provinces, the poorest and hardest-hit are the female villagers. To be female in 21st century China is challenging. Men in the Chinese culture are much more privileged, both financially and socially, whereas women are continuously sent both implicit and explicit messages to remain docile. For example, only male family members receive a share of inherited family property (Murphy, 2006). In contrast, society values the domestic and agricultural work of female offspring over their education, which results in higher rates of illiteracy among women (Luo, 2009). As a result of these social norms, China’s OneChild Policy has led to an increased rate of abortions of female fetuses (Chang, 2008) and higher levels of suicidality among females (Farley, 1998). It is clear that the feminine voice in rural, provincial economics and policy is openly oppressed, a clear departure from western ideals in which women are represented in most areas of industry. There is a pervasive cultural notion of filial piety in which women, being more maternal and empathetic, are expected to take care of her family’s emotional and physical needs, while also contributing to her community’s culture. There are severe social repercussions if a woman chooses to behave in ways that self-serve and/or benefit the immediate family. She and her family members will likely be ostracized and denied community capital such as playmates for the child, employment opportunities for the adults, and especially non-specific forms of capital such as connections, re-

lationships, and friendships. It is in her benefit to contribute in a tangible manner to support her village first and then her family, friends, and finally, herself. It is paradoxical that women are silenced in Chinese culture, but at the same time, they are the primary financial supporters of elderly individuals and rural villages due to the onslaught of men joining the rural-to-urban migration movement (Chang, 2008; Fan, 2006; Luo, 2009). Faced with little financial prospects and earning potential in their home villages, Chinese men migrate into urban cities with the goal of securing gainful employment which would allow them to remit earnings back home, in theory. While there is significant research indicating that Chinese women tend to either save or reinvest earnings into the family in forms such as education, nutrition and skill-set development, whereas men tend to indulge in nihilistic pleasures such as liquor, gambling, and purchase of sexual services, in essence “squandering away their salaries” (Fan, 2006; Loftstrom, 2010). In other words, as women become more financially empowered, they reinvest income into their own family resulting in a positive cycle away from poverty. These findings are congruent with policy research indicating that women’s participation in employment, politics, and social and public policy has significantly inspired sustainable economic development (OECD, 2008) and poverty alleviation (Rashid & Cyprian, 2011). Thus, gender equality may be a means toward achieving lower poverty rates (Dannecker & Sieveking, 2009; Morrison, Raju, & Sinha, 2008). Women are the most oppressed figures in Chinese society. There is a glass ceiling, preventing them from succeeding past a certain level. At the same time, for the advantage of the country and of rural communities, it is necessary for women to achieve gender equality. As such, this literature review proposes a three-part intervention model (graduating in scope: psychological, social, and financial) aimed at empowering rural Chinese women to

Schneider: Investing in Chinese Women | 12 revitalize rural economies, establishing a standard of living that can have widespread implications for societal development, permanently lifting other families out of poverty. Zhang, Yong, and Hulme (2002) call for a bottom-up approach, explaining that poverty alleviation must begin with changing the individual woman’s mentality, and then that of the community and further on, that of the nation. This model assumes that women are trained in their home villages, travel to the city for skill-set and business training, and return home after three years to encourage entrepreneurship. Though the target population is quite specific, the significance of the proposed intervention model is substantial. If successful, it will encourage dormant or low-activity economies through the organizing of confident, young rural Chinese women who have internalized a positive sense of self-worth and resilience, and are highly suitable for various occupations as evidenced by their newly acquired skill sets. The hope is that by targeting one small village - Changsha city of Hunan province - the effects of this case study will spread, systematically affecting each in-land rural village with similar stagnancy. Rural-to-urban migration flows have been known to (unnecessarily) deplete villages of valuable financial resources (namely, the males of the village). The women, in fact, are much more capable of supporting their communities and families than traditional Chinese society allows.

Improving the Chinese Woman’s Psyche The psychological component of the current intervention model stems from Dannecker’s (2009) and Rashid & Cyprian’s (2011) perspective that poverty alleviation is impossible without a psychological change in the mindset of the target population. In this case, the rural Chinese women must understand that they themselves are a crucial tool in alleviating their own impoverished situation. The intervention model proposes a two-step program: reducing internalized oppression and launching gender-awareness training for both men and women. Firstly, it is important for women to attain an adequate level of self-confidence and efficacy, as this confidence will better equip them emotionally to push against the glass ceiling. Such qualities are

characteristic of singleton daughters, a term coined by Fong (2002) to describe rural female only-children in the One-Child Policy era. They enjoy a lack of competition for familial resources (e.g., education, intellectual stimulation, attention) compared to female offspring with male siblings. As a result, they are assertive in temperament, outspoken about their needs, and go on to achieve higher levels of education and higher-skilled employment. In order to understand the need for rural Chinese women to achieve self-confidence, it is important to realize their paralyzing historical context. The Chinese woman’s present-day subordinate position was inspired and is perpetuated by Confucian principles and cultural expectations that the woman should be an extension of the man, whenever appropriate. She “should not stand, separate from the man she is upholding” (Koo, 1985). The woman, having been saturated with explicit and implicit messages to remain obedient, quiet and supportive, eventually develops an “internalized oppression,” a term coined by Pyke and Johnson (2003) to explain how the dominant culture imposes an inferior criterion for behavior and identification for the secondary culture. As the Chinese woman is continuously informed of her lack of self-worth, she begins to assume this stance as her own. Aronson and McGlone (2009) have branded the effect of internalized oppression as “stereotype threat,” explaining that when a target population is made aware of a negative stereotype against them, the ensuing anxiety and frustrations impair performance at a specified task. Rural Chinese women experience a non-academic form of stereotype threat. Their passive and obedient Chinese social identity is made salient to them, effective to the extent that they cannot perform outside of the stereotype’s “guidelines.” Fortunately, there are threat-reducing interventions, the most effective being exposure to a role-model that visibly counters the negative stereotype (Aronson & McGlone, 2009). This intervention model proposes a program that exposes rural Chinese women to successful women who are financially sustainable, self-confident, and most importantly, a critical disconfirmation of the passive stereotype that plagues Chinese women. The second step of the psychological compo-

13 | Staff Articles nent of the proposed intervention is gender-awareness training for both men and women. This idea is informed by Yang’s (2012) finding that attempts at financially empowering women fail if there is not a simultaneous gender-awareness training informing the community of the feminine potential and ability to control finances. It is meant to reinforce the rural woman’s self-confidence by confronting her primary threat: men and traditional family structures. Rashid and Cyprian (2011) have found that parents are reluctant to educate their daughters, a sentiment echoed in the Farley’s (1998) research with one participant remarking, “Raising a daughter only to marry her off to another family [is] like fattening a hog for someone else’s banquet.” By reforming the attitudes of traditional Chinese family structures, the woman can achieve greater familial standing and confidence. There has been a significant lack of research regarding how such training ensues, but the goal is clear: to educate both men and families, allowing them to appreciate the benefits associated with supporting and empowering the rural Chinese woman.

Capacity Building and Resilience Training Rural Chinese women are typically low-skilled and low-paid workers. Capacity building, also known as skill-set development, involves teaching and training the women in order to add new skills to their existing repertoire. Capacity building can embolden women with the skills necessary to financially sustain themselves, their families and their communities. Though this is a relatively simple stage, it is critical as it builds self-efficacy and expands confidence in their chosen field. This intervention model suggests the addition of Mandarin (read: Putonghua) Chinese and Cantonese language capabilities as well as public speaking to their skill set. Putonghua is the lingua franca across the country and rural migrant villagers are mostly fluent in the language though it has been observed that regional dialects are preferable. Miao and Li (2006) found that in formal situations (e.g., work, hospitals), Putonghua spoken without an accent is viewed most favorably and with more authority/power, as compared to the Can-

tonese “conditions”. However, if the woman decides to relocate to the southeastern coastal region, especially to the Guangdong province, learning Cantonese can increase her employment attractiveness. For a rural Chinese woman, there are two options in terms of mobility. She can choose to remain in the rural village and attempt to attract employment opportunities or, she can choose to relocate to a coastal, urban city for work. This intervention model assumes that the woman will choose the second option, bringing her newly acquired skills home and sparking micro-economies in her home community by training villagers to develop their rural livelihoods, and encouraging entrepreneurship. Chang (2008) informally interviewed several Shenzhen and Dongguan young female migrant workers over the course of three years. Her qualitative data suggested that however prepared the migrant women felt they were, there was still a degree of acculturative stress and separation anxiety from familiar village life. As the author remarked: I came to like Dongguan, which seemed a perverse expression of China at its most extreme. Materialism, environmental ruin, corruption, traffic, pollution, noise, prostitution, bad driving, short-term thinking, stress, surviving, and chaos: If you could make it here, you’d make it anywhere (p. 27)

Because of the transient life the rural Chinese women must live as migrants, they must be trained in resilience theory. Resilience is the “normative expression of human capacity to cope and thrive after the most extreme life events” (Mancini & Bonanno, 2006). In other words, resilience can help the individual reduce the chances of mental/emotional degeneration (break-down) and burnout. Resilience also can mitigate existing depressive symptoms (Wingo et al., 2010), suggesting that it is effective as a psychological preventative measure and as a therapeutic tool. Mancini and Bonanno (2006) realized that coping can lead to the development of resilience and that there are two types of coping techniques: flexible adaptation and pragmatic coping. Flexible adaption is a social by-product of the environment, personal affect and disposition. Hopefully, by teaching the rural Chinese women methods to counter threats to their identity, they will have developed the behavioral elasticity, characteristic of

Schneider: Investing in Chinese Women | 14 flexible adaptation. Pragmatic coping is similar to cognitive-behavioral therapy in that it suggests goal-oriented, systematic procedures to address maladaptive habits and negative, dysfunctional emotions/cognitive processes.

Micro-Credit and Entrepreneurship The final stage of the intervention model is heavily centered on Polak’s (2009) ideology that capitalism can allow individuals to escape poverty permanently. He emphasizes that “to move out of poverty, poor people have to invest their own time and money.” In essence, this intervention model suggests that rural Chinese women create an economy for the items and services that they need. For example, if the community requires health services, the woman should petition in their village for low-cost medical services, especially for the uninsured. This is, perhaps, the most difficult stage of the intervention model because it asks the rural Chinese women to band together as one entity, simultaneously ignoring the communist/capitalist-sentiments of the Chinese government and create a local economy that meets their needs. It is also difficult because of the lack of specificity. It is difficult to specify the exact steps the rural Chinese women should take in order to encourage enterprise. The goal, however, is simple: to encourage sustainable economies using the fortes that they possess, acquired from a psychological change and migrating to the urban city. Polak (2005), in “The Big Potential of Small Farms,” explains that the addition of new technology and information can make a marginally-profitable infrastructure much more efficient. His research on small Zimbabwean farms revealed that by introducing low-cost treadle pumps, the farmers were able to more efficiently irrigate their small plot of land, yielding almost double the annual harvest. Given that the women come from communities in which the mainstay is agriculture, it would be a viable option for the rural Chinese women to introduce new ideas and infrastructure to activate the already existing small enterprises. The goal is not to compete with national brands, but rather to create the means for sustainable income through capitalism. Another method to encourage economy in the

rural villages is entrepreneurship. Li, Gan and Hu (2011) collaborated with the Rural Credit Cooperative (RCC) to create a micro-credit program for eligible females from two Chinese rural inland villages in which 80% of households are financially disadvantaged. They found that when micro-credit loans were provided to women for sustainable entrepreneurial projects, they experienced spousal reverence and had greater familial standing. Additionally, there was a positive relationship between the level of economic and social empowerment experienced and the cumulative threshold. Rates of default among the participants was <10%, indicating that they were very good credit risks. If the women used these microcredit loans as well as their business acumen resulting from their migration to urban cities in entrepreneurial ventures, they could substantially increase the overall financial well-being of their community. OECD (2008) explains that entrepreneurship represents an increasingly viable option among rural women, as the time flexibility and ownership over capital can visibly empower a woman as her financial status increases. Historically, China has enjoyed above-average economic rates and consequently, a rich industry and quality-of-life for residents in coastal cities such as Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing. However, as one ventures further inland towards cities such as Changsha, Chengdu, and Kunming, there is a sharp drop in the condition of housing, transportation, and education. The wealth circulates just beyond the grasp of rural in-land villagers, both figuratively and geographically. This three-step intervention model releases the untapped earning potential of rural female villagers by improving their human capital capabilities and harnessing them in the form of entrepreneurship. The goal is to revitalize rural economies via micro businesses headed by women. This has both a financial and psychological effect for the women. It empowers them to rely less on men in their community, as generational rural-to-urban migration flows will often attract men away from the villages into the cities. If successful, this intervention model will mold an independent, assertive Chinese woman who can successfully turn the tide on the financial situation of her community, reversing poverty and helping to support her family.

15 | Staff Articles References Aronson, J., & McGlone, M. S. (2009). Stereotype and social identity threat. In Handbook of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination (pp. 153-178). New York, NY: Psychology Press. Aronson, J., Jannone, S., McGlone, M., & Johnson-Campbell, T. (2009). The Obama Effect: An experimental test. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(4), 957-960.

Pyke, K. D., & Johnson, D. L. (2003). Asian American Women and Racialized Femininities: “Doing” Gender across Cultural Worlds. Gender and Society, 17(1), 33-53. Rashid, S., & Cyprian, J. (2011). Impact of Poverty on Women: A Worldwide Overview. Nice Research Journal, 4, 85-109.

Chang, L. T. (2008). Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China. New York, NY: Spiegel & Grau.

Wingo, A. P., Wrenn, G., Pelletier, T., Gutman, A. R., Bradley, B., & Ressler, K. J. (2010). Moderating effects of resilience on depression in individuals with a history of child abuse or trauma exposure. Journal of Affective Disorders, 126, 411-414.

CHINA: Mass migration shapes economic demographics (2005, July 12). In Oxford Analytica Daily Brief Service. Retrieved October 24, 2012

Yang, L. (2012). Empowered or Disempowered? Women’s Participation in a Development Project in Rural China. Asian Journal of Women’s Studies, 18(3), 38-67.

Dannecker, P., & Sieveking, N. (2009). Gender, Migration and Development: An Analysis of the Current Discussion on Female Migrants as Development Agents. COMCAD Arbeitspapiere, 69, 1-14.

Zhang, Y., Young, J., & Virginia, H. A. (2002, May). Hope for China’s Migrant Women Workers. The China Business Review, 29(3), 30-36.

Dannecker, P. (2009). Migrant Visions of Development: A Gendered Approach. Population, Space, and Place, 15, 119-132. Fan, M. (2006, August 1). Two Chinese Villatges, Two Views of Rural Poverty; Women on Their Own and Men Who Sit Idle. The Washington Post, p. A1. Farley, M. (1998, November 22). Women in the New China: Earnings of ‘excess women’ are helping pull rural areas out of poverty. Once thought worthless, women are now leading a social revolution. In Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 24, 2012 Fong, V. L. (2002, December). China’s One-Child Policy and the Empowerment of Urban Daughters. American Anthropologist, 104(4), 1098-1109. Gender and Sustainable Development: Maximising the Economic, Social and Environmental Role of Women. (2008). OECD, 1-77. Koo, L. C. (1985). The (non) status of women in traditional Chinese society. Bulletin of the Hong Kong Psychological Society,14, 64-70. Lofstrom, A. (2010). Gender equality, economic growth and employment. Swedish Ministry of Integration and Gender Equality, 3-46. Li, X., Gan, C., & Hu, B. (2011). The impact of microcredit on women’s empowerment: evidence from China. Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, 9(3), 239-261. Luo, B. (2009). The Impact of Rural-Urban Migration on Familial Elder Care Doctoral dissertation, Georgia State University, Atlanta Mancini, A. D., & Bonanno, G. A. (2006). Resilience in the Face of Potential Trauma: Clinical Practices and Illustrations(pp. 971-985). Miao, R., & Li, J. (2006). Urban migration and functional bilingualism in Guangdong Province, China. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 1, 237-257. Morrison, A., Raju, D., & Sinha, N. (2008). Gender Equality Is Good for the Poor. Poverty in Focus (International Poverty Centre), 13, 16-17. Murphy, R. (2006). Domestic Migrant Remittances in China: Distribution, Channels, and Livelihoods Doctoral dissertation, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Bristol Polak, P. (2005, August 22). The Big Potential of Small Farms. Scientific American, 84-91. Polak, P. (2009). Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail (pp. 27-48). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Freedman: Show Me Where It Hurts | 16

“Show Me Where It Hurts”: Treating the Wounds of Our First Responders

David Freedman

e arrived on scene to find the patient: 92, female, breathing irregularly, making gasping sounds and without a palpable carotid pulse. Her nursing aid presented us with her medical booklet and said “This is the patient’s Do Not Resuscitate order” and we transferred the patient to the floor in the supine position. At this point the patient’s daughter arrived in distress. She pleaded with us to leave her mother alone and to let her die in peace, but we could not do so; the Do Not Resuscitate page was blank. My crew chief ordered me to begin compressions. I was scared, this was the moment I was waiting for, wasn’t it? I placed the heels of my hands on her sternum and pushed. With each successive push I felt and heard pops, like the cracking of very large knuckles, and her chest moved more and more. This was the sound and feeling of her ribs separating from her sternum, as her cartilage was too brittle to survive the compressions. Paramedics were on the scene, and they hooked up and EKG to the patient. With every compression, I could see her hear beat on the monitor. We continued to work on her for half an hour, using an automatic external defibrillator and paramedics pushing drugs to restart her heart, but we could not revive her. When I am not in school, I volunteer as an Emergency Medical Technician. On Thanksgiving morning of 2011 I was working on the ambulance and we received the above call for a cardiac arrest. This moment - my first serious call - was a moment I had anticipated with great excitement. After all of the months training and a dozen or so boring calls, I thought I was ready. For the first few days after the incident I felt distant from my friends, disconnected from my life, and downright sad. For the next few months, I had a visceral reaction to the memory, which caused further disturbance. Despite my love for the job, like many EMTs, I experienced post-traumatic stress from my first major call. Luckily, I was able to benefit a bit from

a wealth of the usual social support (i.e., talking about my experience with colleagues, a therapist, and my family) but surprisingly, I experienced the most relief by expressing this experience and another distressing experiences through creative writing. While trauma and acute stress is a common topic with the military population, this paper explores the role that traumatic experiences play in the Emergency Medical Services profession. In their study, “Identifying, Describing, and Expressing Emotions After Critical Incidents in Paramedics”, Gurevich et al. (2012) studied the role that emotional expression plays in acute stress reactions (ASR) to critical incidents among emergency medical personnel. Critical incidents are defined as “calls that have generated unusually strong feelings, either because of the incident itself, or how it was handled or some other reason”(Gurevich et al., 2012, p.112). In terms of emotional expression, the participants were asked about the types of social contact they had post-incident, the helpfulness of each type of contact, and their degree of emotional expression within the interaction. To gauge effects of the incident, the participants were asked about post-incident ASR, alexithymia, burnout, depressive, posttraumatic, and physical symptoms. Gurevich et al. (2012) states that Alexithymia is the process of identifying and describing emotions (Gurevich et al., 2012). Alexithymia was associated with decreased expression of feelings post-incident and burnout, depressive, physical, and symptoms, but not decreased contact of finding it helpful. The degree to which respondents expressed their emotions was positively correlated with their number of post incident contacts. The results indicate that the ability to identify emotions plays an important role in managing stressful situations for paramedics, but that the actual expression of emotions has no effect either way. Thus, even though the ability to identify emo-

17 | Staff Articles tions is a strong predictor of post-traumatic symptoms, including burnout, depressive, and somatic symptoms, post-incident expression of emotion is not a good predictor of these symptoms. In other words: identification of the problem is not the same as resolution. It is at this diversion where we I call for more research. Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) has become the most common form of response to acute stressors for institutions that employ large atrisk populations, such as police, fire departments, and emergency medical companies. It is the most widely used treatment strategy by large emergency medical institutions, including the FDNY. CISM is effective because it emphasizes pre-incident education, and post-incident emotional expression in the form of group therapy sessions led by peers. It is based on the idea that traumatic experiences can be rewired in the days following the incident through emotional expression and destigmatizing of the incident and the associated emotions. CISM emphasizes the importance of post-incident emotional expression in mitigating post-traumatic symptoms, but, as this study demonstrates, post-incident emotional expression does not have any effect. In many institutions, CISM is compulsory after particularly stressful incidents, such as the death of a coworker. Stephen A Pulley, D.O. (2005), likens CISM to immunization against ASR, with pre-incident education providing initial resistance, and debriefing boosting that resistance: “Certain animal bites require rabies immunization in an accelerated fashion. Similarly, even after the fact, psychological immunization may help prevent a full-blown reaction” (Pulley, 2005). In certain types of dirty wounds, a tetanus booster is administered to provide a boost to the protective effect of the immunization. Likewise, after a suspected critical incident has occurred, the team interacts with the individuals involved to further boost their resistance. CISM involves pre-incident education, incident support, debriefing, post-debriefing support, and a follow-up. Pre-incident education involves learning tools to deal with stress, how to prepare for stressful situations, and destigmatizing acute reactions to stress. Incident support is caring for the immediate physical and emotional needs of the responders, including

nutrition, rest, and immediate post-incident tools for stress reduction. Debriefing occurs within the first two weeks after the incident, is peer-led, and supervised by a trained professional. Debriefing involves discussing the incident, in particular the thoughts and emotions associated with it, and any symptoms the responders are experiencing as a result. Post-incident support is support from family, friends, and coworkers who are assisted by CISM team members to be supportive and manage their own stress as a result of the incident. Follow-up involves ensuring that the responders are recovering well, and if they are not referring them for psychological care (Pulley, 2005). Dr. Bryan E. Bledsoe has conducted a literature review (2002) of extant studies on the efficacy of CISM. Through an extensive meta-analysis, he has identified two studies (Rose et al., 2002; Van Emmerik et al., 2002) which have found that CISM and single session psychological debriefing had little to no effect on the onset or treatment of PTSD symptoms, and may inhibit normal recovery (Bledsoe, 2003). Most literature supporting CISM is published by the main developer and purveyor of CISM - George Everly. Based on case studies involving psychological debriefing for the treatment of PTSD, it is accepted that CISD intended to treat PTSD, but to prevent its onset (Bledsoe, 2003; Everly, 2002). Although CISD was properly used in these studies, there was no randomization and all of them involved small sample sizes (Bledsoe, 2003). In his review of individual randomized, comparison, and control studies, Bledsoe found that psychological debriefing had no effect on PTSD related symptoms, and some studies found it to have a paradoxical effect. Most of the positive articles on CISM “Are published in the International Journal of Emergency Medical Health, which is edited by Everly and published by Chevron Publishing Corporation” (Bledsoe, 2003, p.276). Everly owns the Chevron Publishing Corporation. The International Critical Incident Stress Foundation was co-founded by Everly, and is the main backer of the Chevron Publishing Corporation (Bledsoe, 2003). Said literature trusted by Bledsoe found that CISM negligible or even paradoxical effects on post-traumatic symptoms. Literature that found that CISM had a positive effect was typically published in the Interna-

Freedman: Show Me Where It Hurts | 18 tional Journal of Emergency Medical Health, a journal whose legitimacy Bledsoe calls into question due to the conflict of interest that Everly may have. It is problematic that CISM is the most widely used treatment strategy because it has not been proven to be effective and it does not address the most important predictor of PTSD (identification of emotions) and only focuses on emotional expression. Current mental health care for first responders is therefore not based on scientific evidence, but on what has been used for the past thirty years and early biased anecdotal evidence. The effectiveness of CISM needs to be further explored, but preliminary results indicate that it does not achieve its goal of reducing the incidence of PTSD. On the other hand, in her dissertation “The Change in First Responder’s Trauma Symptoms After Participation in a Residential Recovery Program”, Sally Ann Cantrell assessed police, firemen, and emergency medical personnel’s trauma symptoms before and after participation in a six-day residential treatment program and provides an example of a highly successful treatment program, and the approaches it emphasizes can be extrapolated to treatment on a larger scale. Cantrell found that after involvement in a six-day residential treatment program that incorporated the experience with the patients’ pasts using CBTT and NET, and goal setting in order to help the patients utilize the experience to move forward with their lives, the first responders PTSD symptoms improved markedly. The residential treatment program utilized a varied treatment strategy, using both group therapy and individual therapy with multiple methodologies. Cantrell’s assessment consisted of an intake interview, the Detailed Assessment of Posttraumatic Stress, and a Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI) that was used for pre and post comparison. The retreat used a multifaceted approach to treating the first responders, utilizing psychological debriefing, Cognitive Behavioral Trauma Therapy (CBTT), Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET), group therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR). The psychological debriefing used by the retreat differs from CISM in that it occurs months after the initial trauma, and the debriefing goes on over the course of several days (Cantrell, 2010). CBTT seeks to

reduce the dissonance that occurs in the patient because of the traumatic incident. The CBTT conducted on the retreat is exceptional in that it also seeks to integrate the trauma with the patient’s overall life story. NET seeks to create a life narrative of the patient, habituating emotional reminders to the traumatic event. Group therapy can be particularly effective for groups of first responders, as they have been trained to work in groups. EMDR seeks to alter the way that the traumatic memories are stored in the brain, and in the process alleviate somatic symptoms. Goal setting is also emphasized as important for the participants’ recovery. Goals are important for an individual’s mental well-being, and the significant nature of the participants’ experiences often change aspects of their world views. The study found that all ten TSI subscales were significantly reduced after the retreat (Cantrell, 2010). The current treatment widely available to first responders is woefully inadequate compared to what is currently available. Effective treatment of traumatic symptoms require not just an expression of the emotions associated with the event, but an integration of the event with the rest of the patient’s life narrative. All too often patients become “stuck” in the traumatic incident, and are unable to move past it. The treatments studied by Cantrell served to integrate the traumatic experience with the patients past, and encouraged the patient to focus on the future. Further research is needed to find a way to make these techniques more readily accessible to first responders and to utilize them on a larger scale. Research should also be done on whether continuous construction of a life narrative and goal setting has any preventative effect on acute stress reactions. Improved mental health for first responders is essential in the continuing improvement of the emergency response system. Emergency medical technicians experience very high levels of occupational stress, stemming from varying sources (Cydulka et al., 1989). Finding a way to deal the occupational stress that is inherent in the emergency medical field is essential in reducing burnout; improving patient care and the overall stability of the emergency response system. In addition, first responders return home to their friends and families after their jobs are done, oftentimes bringing

19 | Staff Articles with them the stress of their jobs. Improving the mental health of first responders improves the lives of everyone they affect, both professionally and socially.

Novoa, Greene & Hwang: Mechanisms of Liberation | 20

Mechanisms of Liberation: Towards an Inclusive Pedagogy

Alfredo Novoa, Andrew Greene & Rosa Hwang

“We didn’t land on Plymouth rock, Plymouth rock landed on us.” - Malcolm X

arginalization of the peoples of North America dates back to the first landing of European colonists, when indigenous peoples lost the rights to natural, political, economic, and educational resources. History is littered with examples of how a population’s ability to thrive is dramatically stunted when it is denied access to basic resources (Bell, 1992). Particularly for children in urban communities, these inequitable circumstances have a greater presence in the educational system (Blanchett, 2006). Indeed, some social scientists hypothesize that schools replicate principles and ideologies of the dominant culture. The reinforcement of Eurocentric societal norms limits children’s capacities for self-expression (Wynter, 1990) and cultural exploration. Through what has been termed “generations of consent,” schools transmit ideologies of a Eurocentric culture through generations of teaching (Bordieu & Passeron, 1977). Such covert pedagogical practices are considered divergent from history’s unconcealed forms of force and coercion to instill the values and beliefs of the dominant group into non-dominant groups (Fairclough, 1995; Mason & Ernst-Slavit, 2010; Swartz, 1992). An example of covert indoctrination appears early on in the educational system with expectations for preschool children to adhere to or adopt Euro-American narrative styles (Schick & Melzi, 2010). Narrative styles are but a single example of classroom generations of consent that inculcate Eurocentric ideologies. Exemplar privileging of the dominant culture highlights the neglect of non-Eurocentric students. Shirking non-Eurocentric identities may also have adverse effects on psychological development beyond

academic achievement. Educators and researchers have raised various concerns about preventing and combating the problematic psychological development of non-Eurocentric students in America’s educational system with limited success. The challenge of improving psychological health might prove more surmountable if approached from a holistic perspective that considers overall well-being through the implementation of emancipatory curricula.

Theoretical Frameworks In an effort to explore emancipatory factors of Black and Latino students influenced by traditional education curricula, the current paper will draw upon three frameworks: (1) critical social theory, (2) standpoint theory, and (3) critical consciousness. A complex set of ideas must intersect with one another in order to analyze the importance of relevant cultural history. A balanced viewpoint is possible by placing the students in the role of researchers, and thus assuming an emic approach to the development of emancipatory curricula. The main component of critical social theory (CST) is the idea that criticism is the defining aspect of a quality education (Leonardo, 2004). By maintaining an overarching stance on critical thinking, the educational content becomes contingent upon how deeply students can dig into the analysis based on their resources. CST emphasizes liberating students from the barriers of common sense by critiquing dominant societal norms, providing students the opportunity to produce novel understandings (Freire, 1970; Leonardo, 2003). Enabling students to critique cultural or struc-

21 | Staff Articles tural resources beckons a shift from a position of inferiority and orients them as active participants whose experiences are actively incorporated into the learning process. Standpoint theory as a pedagogical approach enriches the phenomenon of liberation that CST targets by placing a primary emphasis on student perspectives. Two major components of standpoint theory inform a pedagogical application. The first tenet holds that a person’s life experiences influence his/ her social world (Littlejohn & Foss, 2005). Additionally, life experiences can inform the reciprocal relationship between the individual and society, whereby each entity possesses the power to influence the other in powerful ways (Hallstein, 1999). Second, to advance knowledge in an objective way, standpoint theory consistently privileges the local wisdom and narratives of marginalized groups, equating local knowledge with the academic knowledge of the researcher (Harding, 1997; Harding, 1998; Rodriguez, 2011). In socially reconstructing value from a group perspective, standpoint theory provides a framework for increasing the knowledge-base of students’ developing perspectives and viewpoints of society’s educational structure (Littlejohn & Foss, 2005; Hallstein, 1999; Hallstein, 2000; Harding, 1998). To create the contextualized knowledge of standpoint ideologies, however, researchers must adapt the critical consciousness framework to incorporate the historical, political, and socioeconomic inequalities of those most marginalized. Local knowledge privileged through standpoint theory, together with a critical consciousness orientation, teaches oppressed or marginalized people to critically scrutinize their social conditions (Freire, 1970; Watts, Diemer, & Voight, 2011). In doing so, they effectively empower themselves in their abilities to act and effect social and political changes. Critical consciousness aims to build one’s view of oneself in societal context. Societal context is constructed through a process of historical reflection, political and social efficacy, and personal or group action toward discriminatory or inequitable social features (Martin-Baro, Aron, & Corne, 1994; Watts et al., 2011). Historical reflection refers to the in-depth analysis of historical structures, policies, and biases that promote socioeconomic and educa-

tional disparities. Political efficacy, in turn, refers to individual or group-level beliefs in one’s ability to effect change in society. Critical action, the final component of critical consciousness, posits that individuals will take personal or group action to change features of society that they consider to be discriminatory or inequitable (Watts et al., 2011). These components of critical consciousness can provide an in-depth process to recognize and expose oppressive mechanisms of society such as master scripting, or Eurocentric education that leads to the devaluing of other cultures (Swartz, 1992). At an institutional level, master scripting manifests in the pedagogy, practices, and theoretical patterns that confirm voices of the dominant group while simultaneously attenuating the voices of non-dominant groups (Swartz, 1992). Applying critical social theory, standpoint theory, and critical consciousness to create a foundational concept of “for the students, by the students” enables the potential for liberation from practices of master scripted pedagogy (Freire, 1970; Leonardo, 2004; Martin-Baro et al., 1994; Watts et al., 2011). Drawing upon critical social theory, standpoint theory, and critical consciousness, the current project implemented a social justice curriculum in the participating New York City urban middle school. University undergraduate and 8th grade students assumed the role of co-researchers, examining historical events leading to outcomes affecting today’s educational systems. Together they examined fundamental economic, cultural, and political issues as they relate to education for Blacks and Latinos. As a launching point, we will enumerate a historical connection between the participating middle school and civil rights movement in order to establish local knowledge and build upon the foundation set forth by the students’ predecessors. The present study asked the question: How does the current social justice curriculum influence the development of liberation ideologies in Black and Latino students? We hypothesized that the Black and Latino students exposed to a social justice curriculum would critically scrutinize the education, incorporate their lived in experiences into the learning process, and act collectively and/or individually to address the inequitable factors in their school.

Novoa, Greene & Hwang: Mechanisms of Liberation | 22 Revisiting Barriers for Blacks and Latinos in Education Traditional pedagogical perspectives in American schools struggle to incorporate multicultural and equitable principles and content in curricula and policy (Fuller, 2003). By privileging historical content crediting European or White accomplishments, the system reproduces power dynamics between different cultures, particularly between European children and Black and Latino children (Blanchett, 2006; Swartz, 1992). Latino and Black children together are projected to make up forty four percent of the American student population by 2030 (Hernandez, Denton, & Blanchard, 2011), outnumbering the percentage of White children. Due to the racial/ethnic heterogeneity of students in America’s future educational system, educators and policy makers should place greater consideration on factors such as self-efficacy, student personal experience, and classroom diversity when implementing new curricula in an era of globalization. Much of the emerging research on Black and Latino students focuses on educational disengagement and/or school drop out, as well as an array of adverse risk factors (Fine, 1991; Finn, 1989; Suaréz-Orozco, Pimentel & Martin, 2009). Many current educational and research approaches to promoting school achievement, however, tend to overshadow a deeper conversation in education. The focus for many working in the field of education on Black and Latino students has been on increasing test scores through increased discipline. A number of others, however, have focused on the education system as a mechanism for liberation and equity (Banks, 1996; Blanchett, 2006; Freire, 1970; Leonardo, 2004; Martin-Baro et al., 1994; Swartz, 1992; Wills, 2001; Wynter, 1990). Educational discussions such as these have prompted attempts to integrate historical perspectives of inaccurately represented groups (Bolgatz, 2007), yet its myopic extension of history positions students as cultural “tourists,” or distant outsiders, to their own roots (Banks, 1996). In school, Blacks and Latinos learn about specific historical events (e.g., sitting in the front of the bus, “I Have a Dream” speech) and selected individuals of their cultures, who are cast as heroes (e.g., Rosa Parks, Cesar Chavez, Martin Luther King Jr.). This practice often separates the events and individuals from the historical struggle of the en-

tire group. Such historically selective education conveys both an implicit and explicit message of isolated heroism rather than courage and resilience as collective group traits. The censoring of multicultural perspectives into singular “exceptions” also blurs Black and Latino students’ capabilities for critically understanding social circumstances and historical inequalities (Wills, 2001; Wynter, 1990). Shirking historical contributions of other cultures is one of the strategies the current education system embraces to create master scripted Eurocentric perspectives (Swartz, 1992). Master scripting often decontextualizes and misrepresents the narratives of minority groups’ historical leaders in education (Banks, 1996; Wills, 2001). Rather, historical minority narratives are often framed as “ethnic” contributions by exceptional individuals, which further marginalizes their significance by portraying them as exceptions and not elements of an entire group’s struggle for equality (Blanchett, 2006; Swartz, 1992). The phenomenon of master scripting obscures the positive effects of cultural affirmation and liberation ideologies in Black and Latino school experiences, thus limiting students’ abilities to scrutinize and challenge ingrained cultural misrepresentations and inaccurate accounts within existing power structures (Nieto, 2000). Embedding hegemonic ideologies of a dominant culture in the intellectual schemata of marginalized students hinders their ability to fully believe in or grow from their own personal experiences (Freire, 1970; Martin-Baro et al., 1994; Woodson, 1977). The effects of such practices disconnects students from their ancestral struggle for equality. In order to counteract this disconnection and foster a strong sense of efficacy within marginalized groups, researchers must understand the ways that members of these groups communicate and interact with the world (Harding & Wood, 2003). Black and Latino students are socialized to internalize the lens of the dominant culture’s worldview, which hinders them from critiquing and challenging the systems that discourage academic and social progress for less privileged groups (Blanchett, 2006). Therefore, developing liberation ideologies is a necessary first step in promoting social justice and inclusion among members of our society. Teachers must also highlight the importance of

23 | Staff Articles encouraging Black and Latino students to confront and reevaluate the pedagogy of master scripting (Freire, 1970; Martin-Baro et al., 1994; Watts et al., 2011).

Critical Social Studies and its Liberating Influence on Black and Latino Students The effort to restore life into a marginalized group calls for a strategic approach and application of liberating principles (Grant, Finkelstein, & Lyons, 2003; Freire, 1970; Martin-Baro et al., 1994; Moane, 2003; Watts & Serrano-Garcia, 2003). Latin American social scientists, educators, and revolutionaries (e.g., Paulo Freire, Orlando Fals Borda, and Ignacio Martin-Baro) are credited with defining liberation as a construct. A liberation curriculum provides three essential elements in constructing meaning: (1) practices implemented must speak to the population majority while co-constructor(s) simultaneously sacrifice their own personal gains and social status, (2) a grounded theory approach favoring ideologies of the oppressed population while re-creating a new truth through participatory action research, and (3) the process sheds subjectivity by collaborating and empathizing with the perspectives of the marginalized group (Luque-Ribelles, Garcia-Ramirez, & Portillo, 2009; Martin-Baro et al., 1994; Moane, 2003; Watts & Serrano-Garcia, 2003). The principles of liberation place particular emphasis on underlying the oppressed groups’ innate resiliency to survive tyrannical and traumatic events (Martin-Baro et al., 1994). When implementing practices of liberation, the marginalized group must recover a comprehensive historical knowledge detailing all perspectives of experience. Black and Latino students can gain historical knowledge through exposure to multiple perspectives and interpretations of historical events (e.g., Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the “New World”). Including the indigenous people’s and captives’ narrative to the already established dominant narratives of the very same story might produce a different, richer understanding of history. Including the standpoint knowledge of marginalized students often leads students to de-ideologize the dominant culture’s traditional doctrines. Revisiting history in a holistic form

provides a foundation for “counter-scripting,” the process of empowering oppressed populations to re-create new meanings and societal norms. Furthermore, historical understanding of society’s infrastructure and its institutions affords insight on why and how many of today’s injustices and inequalities persist (Freire, 1970; Malcolm X, 1967). Dialogues of historical events from such a perspective ultimately redirect accountability back onto the educational system for its historical exclusion of Black and Latino bodies, experiences, and narratives in the learning process. (Fine et al., 2004). Maintaining this perspective might reduce the blame that Black and Latino students subconsciously or consciously have placed on themselves. Building on the fundamental aspects of liberation, educators of social justice education must render some of their traditional power as instructors (Freire, 1970; Martin-Baro et al., 1994). Under this orientation, a teacher’s role is interchangeable with that of the student, and the teacher often privileges student perspectives. This kind of reflexive learning cognitively engages students, making them masters of their own thoughts (Freire, 1970). Autonomy and agency in the learning process self-implicitly reinforces students’ self-confidence as they become stakeholders in their own education (i.e., through their alternate role as the educator, where they have a say in lesson plans and class structure). A curriculum that is cognizant of students’ various experiences, realities and cultures creates a platform for critical dialogue (Woodson, 1977; Freire, 1970). A liberating framework encourages radical inclusion, where students facilitate dialogues about their development (e.g., school dropout and engagement) and the relation to academic achievement and liberation. This inclusiveness integrates students into dialogues usually reserved for social scientists, educators, politicians, and other societal elites (Torre & Fine, 2011). Through active dialogue, students’ standpoints and experiences are privileged in the process. Constructing curriculum from the standpoint ideologies of oppressed students allows them to more effectively facilitate liberation (Fine, 2006) re-shapes education as a totally democratic process (Torre, Fine, Stoudt, & Fox, 2012). Education promoting dialogue between

Novoa, Greene & Hwang: Mechanisms of Liberation | 24 students and teachers provides students with the voices to rename their worlds, create new meanings, and escape the narrow interpretations of the dominant cultureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perspective.

Curricular Correlates Education

Social Justice

Teachers and theorists have been exploring ways to implement social justice and critical consciousness in the classroom for some time (Freire, 1970; Mason, & Ernst-Slavit, 2010; Quinn, 2006). Driven by the search for equity in our classrooms, the current paper seeks to expand and increase the level of transparency behind master scripting (Swartz, 1992) in order to contribute to the process of democratization in the education system. Researchers have posed various explanations for the achievement gap, namely inadequate curricula (Black, 1998). One area where liberation theories seem to be most relevant and applicable is in social justice programming (Mason & Ernst-Slavit, 2010). Social justice programs aim to incorporate students as active participants in problem solving of their everyday experiences (Gutstein, 2003). Drawing once again from critical consciousness theory as it pertains to liberation, understanding these injustices requires a deep consideration of the condition students currently live in, as well as the social, economical, and political activities of their world (Gutstein, 2003; Mason & Ernst-Slavit, 2010). As such, when students achieve a greater sense of critical consciousness, they will be better prepared to promote equity as it pertains to their local context. A number of scholars have highlighted the need for implementing social justice, cross-cultural education, or multicultural education to understand inequities of the larger society (Beyer & Apple, 1998; Bolgatz, 2007; Gutstein, 2003; Mason & Ernst-Slavit, 2010), with little success in the political structures of educational systems. The implementation of social justice education beckons a different instructional approach. It would behoove educators to approach social justice education as a form of promoting psychological well-being and positive development for Black and Latino students. It is evident that internalization of societal norms and

stereotypes often occurs in Black and Latino students, which increases their susceptibility to pernicious psychological and behavioral consequences (Fine, 1991; Pahl & Way, 2006; Romero & Roberts, 2003; Steele, 1997; Steele & Aronson, 1995; Watts & Serrano-Garcia, 2003). Research has linked these internalizing effects to Black and Latino studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lack of school engagement and mistrust of school personnel (Aronson & Inzlicht, 2004). Being cognizant of the possible negative outcomes and taking steps to prevent them allows educators to focus more on de-ideologizing societal appropriations. Breaking down hidden social norms limits the possibility of recycled oppression or the reification of inequality that currently exists. Social justice education seems to be most effective in classrooms where teachers conceptualize it as something to be conveyed both explicitly and implicitly (Bomer & Bomer, 2001; Pelo, 2008). Teaching social justice explicitly includes creating awareness of the needs of other individuals and the community beyond the classroom (Eisenberg & Mussen, 1989). Through prosocial education, students explicitly develop a greater capacity for empathy, which promotes sensitivity in understanding other studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; social behaviors (Findlay, Girardi, & Coplan, 2006). In order to establish empathic and sensitive awareness of the greater community and society, teachers must first foster a sense of togetherness within the classroom. Qualities of social justice are transmitted implicitly through subtle alterations to the classroom environment (e.g., debates, socratic discussions, circular seating arrangements). Through implicit teaching, a facilitator focuses on fostering cooperation and safety enhancing the level of trust in the classroom environment (Lickona, 2004). Establishing a sense of community and safety provides a structural foundation to explore liberation ideologies.

METHOD Research Setting and Participants A social justice curriculum was implemented once a week during a 45-minute class period in an urban middle school in New York City. The classroom was arranged in a large circle in which three facilita-

25 | Staff Articles tors, not including the class instructor, led discussions connecting historical educational events in America to the local educational history of the particular school. The facilitators also taught students the basics of research and civic action. The current participants were part of a convenience sample, selected from a classroom in a school that was chosen based on its historical past as the site of a teachers’ strike centered around race and progressive education. The class consisted of approximately thirty 8th grade students ages 12-14, and the class was considered mixed-behavior (public schools in New York City rank and organize their students by level of behavioral competence and academic ability). Attendance fluctuated due to school administrators adding and removing students to and from the class. The majority of the students were Black and a few were Latino (98% black, 2% Latino), which reflects the general makeup of the school. Procedure The data in this study were obtained from researchers’ field observation notes as well as a mapping activity completed by students. Identity maps provided a qualitative mean for pictorial depictions of the students’ perceptions of a researcher. Students were provided with a brief prompt asking them to draw maps regarding their perceptions of a researcher. The facilitators coded the maps based on the way the students integrated their personal selves with social constructions of researchers and effective teaching and learning. Whereas maps provided a structured format, the facilitators’ field notes covered their observations of students’ one-on-one conversations, class feedback, and Socratic discussion, indicating a more fluid approach. The field notes were coded using theoretically anticipated themes, including liberation in education, prosocial behaviors, political efficacy, and critical action. The majority of the criteria were drawn from readings of social justice education, liberation psychology, and standpoint theory.

Results and Discussion The current study sought to explore how a social justice curriculum influences liberation ideologies

and was organized around common themes based on theoretical assumptions from the qualitative data we collected in the classroom. We collapsed the data from maps and field notes rather than analyzing them separately by methods. It is important to note that this is a preliminary analysis of the current study. Other constructs such as liberation in education, pro-social behaviors, and critical action have not been evaluated, and data is still being collected. A total of 20 maps were analyzed. An additional ten maps were missing due to absences or student failure to complete the activity. After analyzing mapping data concerning the perceptions of researchers, two themes were identified that encapsulate general perceptions of researchers and illustrated students’ notions of political efficacy. The following coding schemes were also used to develop inter-rater reliability. The first theme, “disconnected-researcher” reflects the degree to which the maps did not portray aspects of the students’ identity in the researcher. The second theme, “integrative-researcher” reflects the degree to which the maps portrayed integrated aspects of the students’ identity in to the researcher. Among the 20 maps, the facilitators discovered 11 “integrative-researchers” and nine “disconnected-researchers”. During the “draw a researcher” mapping activity, we also asked students to discuss their maps and a number of conversations arose regarding the students as researchers. Mario, age 12, explained his map, “This is me doing research, while eating chicken because I do my best research while eating chicken.” Another student – John, age 12 - added, “This is me doing work on my computer because researchers do that, they sit at computers.” Many students later agreed that research could be conducted by anyone with the right tools. These student narratives suggest an awareness of their self-efficacy to gain knowledge and be a potential resource for social change. We interpreted the eleven “integrative-researcher” maps as students’ self-perceptions of themselves as catalysts enacting social change. Conversely, the nine “disconnected-researcher” maps were interpreted as students’ beliefs of others, not specifically themselves, as catalysts enacting social change. It should also be noted that without the final results from additional measures, we cannot

Novoa, Greene & Hwang: Mechanisms of Liberation | 26 truly gauge each student’s level of liberation and critical action.

Limitations and Future Directions One of the foremost limitations to the present study is the use of a highly convenient sample, as the nature of the selection criteria affected the level of participation among participants. The presence of the class instructor seemed to hinder the effort to create an equitable atmosphere because the instructor discouraged certain conversations regarding faculty practices. For future directions, facilitators may benefit from limited presence or a complete absence of school personnel. Another factor that might have influenced our outcomes is retention of the learned material over time. The facilitators would administered only one session per week for 45 minutes. A more frequent exposure to the curriculum material may allow for an increased sustainability of liberation and critical action. Understanding or exploring other ways the curriculum can have a continued presence in the classroom would be beneficial for the retention of information among students. A longitudinal design would provide a more indepth analysis, and future studies should explore the long-term effects of curricula similar to the one used in this study. Another future direction might be the construction of a shared framework between the researchers and the students in order to better understand the process of how they conceptualize and internalize critical consciousness. Overall, the project did show promise in establishing students’ ability to openly and critically identify and discuss issues within the educational system. The students displayed critical thought when participating in curriculum dialogues and embraced their role as both students and facilitators.

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SUBMISSIONS

29 | Submmissions

Hair Alteration Practices Amongst Black Women and the Assumption of Self-Hatred Chanel Donaldson

Both academic research and popular culture often assume that Black women who alter their natural hair to make it straight are practicing a form of self-hatred (Banks, 2000; Thompson, 2009). The assumption is that hair straightening practices are “indicative of a hatred of black physical features and an emulation of white physical characteristics” (Banks, 2000, p. 43-44). In other words, Black women alter their naturally ‘kinky’ or ‘nappy’ hair because they want to distance themselves from an African heritage to appear White. In the United States, the White social position holds the most power and has the most privilege; being White means being automatically associated with positive characteristics, whereas being Black means being associated with negative characteristics. The social hierarchy that places Whiteness at the top and Blackness at the bottom makes logical the assumption of hair straightening as an attempt to associate oneself with Whiteness. However, it is erroneous to believe that hair straightening is a reflection of self-hatred and an attempt to be White in all cases. Though ‘looking White’ is often the assumed motivation, there are many more factors that play into a Black woman’s decision to straighten her hair. To dismiss all hair straightening practices as a form of self-hatred is an over-simplification that fails to take historical context and culturally embedded motivations into consideration. In order to come closer to a more complete understanding of the pervasiveness of hair alteration practices among Black women, five factors are addressed in this review: 1) slavery and internalization of White standards of beauty, 2) media and advertisements, 3) assimilation and economic security, 4) the easiness of maintenance, diversity in styles, and personal choice and 5) hair alteration as a cultural script. These five determinants play a huge role in a woman’s decision to alter her hair but are often overlooked. By highlighting the more nuanced, culturally

embedded motivations for hair alteration, one can better understand why the practice has continued to be an important part of Black women’s daily lives for the last century and a half. The following review paper looked to explore these often-unrecognized alternative explanations for hair alteration by asking: For what reasons, besides self-hatred, do Black women alter their natural hair?

Slavery and Internalization Standards of Beauty

White

Slavery, racism, and White supremacy have had lasting negative effects on Black identity. The devaluation of African physical features, including hair, came as a result of being thrust into a cultural context where Blackness exists as the antithesis of beauty. A hierarchy imposed on Blacks by slave masters privileged those with lighter skin, straighter features, and straighter hair over those that reflected more African features (Abdullah, 1998; Banks, 2000; Patton, 2010; Robinson, 2011; Thompson, 2009). As a result, many Blacks developed a color complex, representing an intragroup preference for features that minimize African ancestry (Robinson, 2011). The “incorporation of anti-self and alien-self attitudes” (Abdullah, 1998, p. 198) into how Blacks see their own beauty is representative of the internalization of White supremacy, as well as a daily struggle to fit Black hair into the paradigm of White standards of beauty (Robinson, 2011). The implication of the color hierarchy imposed on slaves has been the collective restructuring of Black beauty ideals to parallel White ideals, which do not include African-like features. The internalization of White beauty standards is particularly problematic for Black women because it acts as a barrier to attaining the ideal of femininity. The historically acknowledged picture of femininity in

Donaldson: Hair Alteration and Assumption of Self-Hatred | 30 American society – pale skin, long hair, and non-working – did not apply to most Black women (Weathers, 1991). American femininity has thus “existed where the Black woman is a backdrop, an antithesis to white women” (Weathers, 1991, p. 59). In an attempt to fit into the model of White beauty, Black women have taken part in many ‘Whitening’ practices that include hair straightening. Such practices allow Black women to come closer to, but still never actually attain, the type of beauty they desire. Hair alteration is effective in transforming the Black woman into something that is simply adequate or sufficient rather than beautiful (Banks, 2000). Despite White beauty being something that is unattainable for Black women (Rock, 2009), hair straightening techniques remain popular because they represent a chance to come a bit closer to the ideal. Beginning in the late 19th century, Black women (who have hair that is typically short and tightly curled into ‘kinks’ or ‘naps’) have resorted to the application of Sodium Hydroxide-based chemicals, which ‘relax’ or ‘perm’ the hair, heated tools such as hair irons or hot combs, or a combination of both to alter their hair. Since neither texture nor length of natural Black hair conforms to the traditional picture of American beauty, Black women must take drastic measures in order to come close to the dominant standards (Robinson, 2011). The internalization of White beauty ideals so thoroughly permeates Black women’s self-perceptions that hair alteration is more about feeling beautiful on a personal level than it is about looking White. Not necessarily self-hatred nor a desire to be White, hair alteration is about working within internalized beauty paradigms to attain one small piece of what society defines as beautiful.

Media and Advertisements The preference for straight hair that originated in the days of slavery is especially highlighted in the media and advertisements. When thinking of Black female celebrities, it is a challenge to pick out any that have kinky hair (or at least celebrities that wear their hair in its naturally kinky form instead of altering it). Black women who are glorified for their beauty tend to

have long, wavy hair, because American standards of beauty encourage an adherence to whiteness (Patton, 2010). Straight hairstyles are also privileged in advertisements and Black hair magazines, with very few, if any, showcased styles that do not require straightening (Patton, 2010; Rock, 2009). Not unique to the Black community, women and girls in all cultural groups draw upon images in the media to shape their definition of beauty. Media messages that promote straight hair include Black magazines and Black manufacturers of beauty products (Abdullah, 1998). The absence of celebrity role models and images of women in advertisements with kinky or natural hair subliminally links the natural image with non-beauty. The existing images reinforce a negative portrayal of Black women’s natural attributes by encouraging them to straighten their textured hair (Abdullah, 1998). If images of beautiful Black women with natural hair are few and far between, it is easy to understand why many women and girls could feel pressure to alter their own hair. Though hair alteration as a result of media and advertisements represents an emulation of White characteristics, it is not a direct reflection of self-hatred. In this case, hair alteration represents a means to emulate celebrity role models and mediated standards of beauty that fit within the framework of the dominant society’s standards of beauty.

Assimilation and Economic Security The example of altering kinky hair to emulate a celebrity role model can make it seem that hair straightening is always a free choice. However, in many cases the process is a social and economic necessity. Black women also use hair alteration techniques as an assimilation mechanism based on a “belief that on some level their daily lives could be affected in negative ways unless they straighten their hair” (Banks, 2000, p. 46). Historically, Black women adopted certain White cultural ideals such as the “groomed image of docility” as a survival tactic: they wanted to convey a non-threatening image to White society (Abdullah, 1998, p. 199). When interviewed for the documentary Good Hair (2009), actress Raven-Symoné related her understanding of hair straightening as a way to blend

31 | Submmissions in and make those unfamiliar with Black hair, especially Whites, comfortable; relaxing one’s hair, she says, is a way to make everyone around you relaxed. The continuation of hair alteration techniques reflects a continued effort on the part of Black women to assimilate into ‘normal’ society by blending in and embodying a non-threatening image. As an extension of the assimilation concept, hair alteration can also represent a woman’s attempt to remain attractive in the job market. In the professional world, a Black woman with natural hair is often deemed unkempt and unemployable (Abdullah, 1998; Badillo, 2001; Rock, 2009; Thompson, 2009). In fact, it is common for employers to take “punitive measures” to prohibit natural hair in the workplace (Thompson, 2009, p. 836). In one highly publicized case, Cheryl Tatum, a 37-year-old Hyatt cashier, was fired for refusing to take out her braided hairstyle. Her supervisor called the style “extreme and unusual” and considered it to be an overall breach in the company’s dress code policy (Byrd & Tharps, 2001; Shipp, 1987). If Ms. Tatum had chosen to straighten her hair, she likely would not have been fired. In instances where “the poor face serious obstacles and social insecurity,” a refusal to straighten one’s hair “can turn out to be expensive” (Badillo, 2001). In such circumstances, the decision of whether or not to alter one’s hair becomes rather involuntary. When the decision between conforming to the dominant standard of beauty through alteration and remaining natural is also the decision between economic security and destitution, it is easy to see why women submit to the pressure. Hair alteration practices by Black women can serve as an assimilation strategy as well as a representation of the lengths “black women in particular, have to go to in order to succeed” (Banks, 2000, p. 63). Rather than an action reflecting self-hatred, hair alteration can be a means of social and economic self-preservation.

Easy Maintenance, Diversity and Personal Choice

Styles,

Despite the overwhelming and sometimes oppressive pressure, Black women can also have a personal preference for straightening their hair. When Black

women who alter their hair are asked why they choose to do so, the overwhelming majority of women speak to the concepts of easy maintenance, diverse styles, and personal choice (Banks, 2000; Robinson, 2011; Rock, 2009). Put simply, many Black women feel that straight hair is more manageable and easier to comb (Banks, 2000). Women with kinky hair are often looking for a quick fix: “coarse, tight coils” of kinky hair are more difficult to comb than straightened hair, which is looser and thinner, making the process of combing easier (Robinson, 2011, p. 368). Caring for natural hair generally requires more effort and is more time consuming than caring for straightened hair. In cases where women are motivated by easy maintenance, hair alteration makes hair styling quicker, easier, and in general more convenient. Just like women who alter for convenience, some women have a personal preference to alter their hair because they feel they can achieve a wider range of hairstyles. Arguably, kinky hair is more versatile than other types due to its unique ability to hold creative styles such as twists, braids, and curls (Robinson, 2011). Still, Black women often feel that there is a wider range of possibilities for styles with straight hair. Such a discrepancy is perhaps a result of the media bombarding women with images of straight hairstyles but not with natural hairstyles, which could make straight hair seem more versatile than kinky hair. Regardless, in this case the decision to straighten one’s hair is a direct expression of personal choice and preference. In addition to easy maintenance and versatility, hair alteration can be a process of individual affirmation (Weathers, 1991). The personal choice ideology says that the decision to alter hair or leave it natural is a personal preference based on personal desire (Banks, 2000). Some argue that “straightened hair should be considered just another option amid a plethora of styling options,” rather than being “critically evaluated” for its social implications (Thompson, 2009, p. 838). Quite different from self-hatred, Black women may feel that their own hair alteration practices are representative of a desire for convenience and an expression of personal style.

Donaldson: Hair Alteration and Assumption of Self-Hatred | 32

Cultural Script Though Black women articulate a personal desire for straight hair, it is important to acknowledge the larger cultural script at play dictating the practice as a norm. Hair alteration amongst Black women is, in general, an expectation; it is difficult to find a Black woman living in America who has never before relaxed her hair. As actress Tracie Thoms said of her natural tresses in Chris Rock’s documentary Good Hair (2009), “It is unbelievable to me that keeping my hair the same way that it naturally grows out of my head is something that is so revolutionary.” A three year old getting her second relaxer perfectly encapsulated this expectation when she told Rock, “Everyone is supposed to get a perm.” Hair alteration has become such an integral part of the Black female identity that it is done automatically, without much thought put into it (Banks, 2000). As a Black woman, to alter one’s hair is to follow the group standard. Like the three-year-old girl in the documentary, Black girls are coached from an early age about their hair. Dominant standards of beauty are so thoroughly internalized that most feel like the option to leave their hair natural does not even exist (Banks, 2000). Messages from the media, the normalcy of the practice, and the hair valuations of others (mothers in particular) help reinforce the concept that hair alteration is the only acceptable hair practice. To be accepted, to be beautiful, and to be desirable, Black women are told to alter their natural hair. As opposed to self-hatred, hair alteration embodies the mode of adherence to a strict and powerful cultural norm.

Limitations and Discussion The literature shows that “women with natural hairstyles [are] more likely to agree with the self-hatred theory, whereas those with altered hair [are] more likely to disagree” (Banks, 2000, p. 45). As a Black woman who alters her natural hair in order to make it straight, I am aware of a potential personal bias, and would like to make the readers of this review aware of it as well. Regardless of potential biases based on personal connection, this review provides numerous explana-

tions behind the popularity of hair alteration practices for Black women that are not related to self-hatred. To dismiss all hair alteration by Black women as an expression of self-hatred is not only offensive, judgmental, and a gross oversimplification, but it represents a total failure to take into consideration the many culturally embedded motivations and reflects a general ignorance of Black hair culture. Hair alteration takes place as a result of the combination of historical legacy, media images, economic security, the desire for easy maintenance, an adherence to cultural norms, and many other factors that were too numerous to quantify in this review. Understanding Black hair culture and motivations for alteration also inform our understanding of the unique, and frequently overlooked, identity struggles Black women face at the intersection of race and gender. In acknowledging these struggles, hopefully we will get closer to eliminating them altogether.

References Abdullah, A. S. (1998). Mammy-ism: A diagnosis of psychological misorientation for women of African descent. Journal of Black Psychology, 24(2), 196-210. Badillo, C. (2001). Only my hairdresser knows for sure: Stories of race, hair and gender. NACLA Report on the Americas, 34(6), 35-37. Banks, I. (2000). Hair matters: Beauty, power, and Black women’s consciousness. New York: New York University Press. Byrd, A. D., & Tharps, L. L. (2001). Hair story: Untangling the roots of Black hair in America. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Patton, T. O. (2010). In L. J. Moore & M. Kosut (Eds.), Hey girl, am I more than my hair? African American women and their struggles with beauty, body image, and hair. New York: New York University Press. Robinson, C. L. (2011). Hair as race: Why “good hair” may be bad for black females. Howard Journal of Communications, 22(4), 358-376. Rock, C., & George, N. (Producers), & Stilson, J. (Director). (2009). Good hair [Motion Picture]. United States: HBO Films. Shipp, E. R. (1987, September 23). Braided hair style at issue in protests over dress codes. The New York Times. Thompson, C. (2009). Black women, beauty, and hair as a matter of being. Women’s Studies, 38(8), 831-856. Weathers, N. (1991). Braided sculptures and smokin’ combs: African-American women’s hair-culture. Sage, 8(1), 58-61.

33 | Submissions

How Stereotypes of a U.S. Degree Impacts One’s Reentry Experience in China S W carlett

ang

Introduction Two Chinese international students at the University of Southern California (USC) were shot dead in a tragic, attempted armed robbery in April 2012 (Fong, 2012). The reactions from their Chinese homeland were shocking. The most common reaction in Chinese media was negative because they were “studying in America,” “driving a BMW,” “a male and a female alone in the car” (as cited by Fong, 2012) – all typically looked down upon within traditional Chinese value systems. The American reality was that the victims, Ming Qu and Ying Wu, were just like many other graduate students at USC; friends who were driving a reasonable second-hand BMW. The negative reactions, therefore, were rooted judgments that American educations and luxury vehicles automatically imply wealth and spoiling. Additionally, they were presumed to be promiscuous because the opposite sex friends were alone together in the car and not married. The negative reactions demonstrate the negative stereotypes within the Chinese society towards students who go to the U.S. for a higher education. Studying negative stereotypes are important to society on three levels. The primary and most broad aspect of negative stereotypes is that they lead to prejudice and discrimination. The second phase is that a person who encounters said negative stereotypes from the social environment around him/her will likely to encounter stress and anxiety, which can trigger larger clinical problems (Sirin & Fine, 2007). The third implication of these negative stereotypes on society impacts higher education as students who go to the U.S. for the higher education within Chinese society carry part of the negative stereotypes of American culture within Chinese society. Study results of the negative stereotypes that hash out and further explore the stigmas, judgments and associations can potentially benefit the

mutual understandings between the two cultures yet literature discussing the negative stereotypes in Chinese society against Chinese international students is scant. Rather, related themes in the literature are 1) first entry and culture shock related with the first entry, 2) cultural assimilation and third culture phenomenon, and 3) re-entry and reverse culture shock (Gaw, 1995, 2000, 2007; Huff, 2001; Leung, 2007; Tamura & Furnham, 1993; Wang, 1997). these three themes, the most related to negative stereotype are the concepts of re-entry and reverse culture shock because the re-entry and reverse culture shock experiences of international students include their perceptions of how they are perceived or judged. Therefore, this paper will cover studies of international students’ reentry and reverse culture shock (i.e., studies on Missionary Kids and Third Culture Kids), with hopes to inspire a dialogue within psychological research about how negative stereotypes in Chinese society affect Chinese students, and students from other socially conservative countries, in the United States.

Reentry and Reverse Culture Shock Reverse culture shock is the widely accepted as the psychological and psychosomatic symptoms of the readjustment process back into one’s primary culture after a significant period of separation (Huff, 2001). Reverse culture shock impacts a person’s psychological well being and academic performance because of the re-acculturative stress (Gaw, 1995, 2000; Huff, 2001; Tamura & Furnham, 1993). The more reverse culture shock a person encounters, the more severe psychological problems are reported. It is accepted that culture shock will impact one’s mental health (Gaw, 1995, 2000; Huff, 2001; Tamura & Furnham, 1993) however, there seems to be disagreement within the literature about whether

Wang: Reentry and Stereotyping | 34 or not reverse culture shock can be beneficial. Some studies show that the more reverse culture shock a person encounters, the less student support service and medical help the person will seek (Gaw, 1995, 2000; Huff, 2001; Tamura & Furnham, 1993) whereas other studies pose that, in some Asian cultures, reverse culture shock can improve confidence in one’s academic performance and interpersonal relationships (Tamura & Furnham, 1993). Research on culture shock has a bright side; students who have experienced a second culture for a significant amount of time will have more confidence in academic performance and maintain better interpersonal relationships, when compared with those who have not experienced another culture for a significant amount of time (Tamura & Furnham, 1993). The positive effects of cross cultural experience can only be maintained if the experience is valued by the reentered society or community. The aim is then to remove the impeding effects of negative stereotype (e.g., of studying abroad) in the culturally liberal society (e.g., that of the United States) so that the shock of reentrance is lessoned.

Missionary Kids and Third Culture Kids Currently, no research explores stigma of students choosing long-term international study. Missionary Kids (MKs) and Third Culture Kids (TCKs) are specific terms used to describe children who were raised in a different culture than that of their parents (Huff, 2001; Taylor, 1976). For this review, highlighting the experiences of Missionary Kids and Third Culture Kids as they re-enter their primary cultures is used to shed light on potential experiences of international students and reintegration stigma faced by young scholars. Missionary Kids are children raised in a different culture than their parents’ home culture, and they are neither North American nor foreign, whereas the term Third Culture Kid refers to a child who has spent a significant amount of time in a culture that is not their parents’ home culture. Both Missionary Kids and Third Culture Kids have developed a culture that is neither their parents’ home culture nor the second culture, but a unique third culture that is different from the sum of both parts (Gaw, 2007; Huff, 2001; Taylor, 1976;

White, 1983). A major finding with these populations is that the reverse culture shock of Missionary Kids and Third Culture Kids can be more severe than the initial culture shock they encounter when entering the second culture (Huff, 2001; Leung, 2007; Tamura & Furnham; Wang, 1997). Research suggests that Missionary Kids and Third Culture Kids do not identify fully with the primary culture due to “the sense of loss” and “out of place-ness.” Socialization with peers from the primary culture can be difficult due to communication and value discrepancies therefore it becomes hard to establish a mutual understanding with the peers (Huff, 2001; Leung, 2007; Tamura & Furnham; Wang, 1997). The cultural reentrance experience can create difficulties socializing, communicating, and reaching out for help. Difficulties during adolescence and young adulthood can impede resilience. Additionally, negative views on socially liberal societies, such as the United States, stigmatize those who choose to go outside their culture for an education and discourage international scholarship. Negative judgments on the inherent values of culture should not be attached to students who choose to study within it; instead, cross-cultural experience should be valued and encouraged. The experiences of Missionary Kids and Third Culture Kids, and extant research on resilience teach us that interpersonal relationships are key to fostering stability and social support throughout a reentrance process.

Interpersonal Relationships and Academics Interpersonal relationships are crucial to fostering resilience throughout reentry and reverse culture shock. In addition to interpersonal relationships with peers, parental attachment of the Missionary Kids and Third Culture Kids, their perceived social support, and the adjustment process to college. Results show that there are no differences in parental attachment between Missionary Kids and Non-Missionary Kids (Huff, 2001) but most importantly, the more attachment the Missionary Kids and the Third Culture Kids have to their parents, the more they will perceive social supports from the environment within the primary culture. The more attachment the Missionary and

35 | Submissions Third Culture Kids have to their parents, the better they will adjust to college in all subjects (Huff, 2001). It is through this example that we see how negative stereotypes are related to stress cause by reentry and how social systems (e.g., families) can foster resilience and make this process positive. Parental attachment is positively related with positive coping outcomes dealing with reentry and reverse culture shock. Additional to parent-child relationships, studies have also looked at the relationship between clinical counseling and the psychological well-being of Missionary and Third Culture Kids (Leung, 2007; Wang, 1997). In general, comprehensive counseling services have shown significant results in improving the resilience of Missionary and Third Culture Kids when encountering reverse culture shock (Leung, 2007). As the study results imply, it might be helpful for schools and employers to provide effective counseling programs and interventions to prevent reverse culture shock (Leung, 2007). Schools and employers are more aware of initial culture shock than reverse culture shock, which contributes to a large number of effective programs and interventions to help reduce the negative impact of culture shock. Unfortunately, educational institutions and international corporations barely have support programs to prepare students for reentry into their primary culture (Wang, 1997). If proper social support is provided throughout the reentry process by destigmatizing what it means to leave one’s culture (e.g., pursue a US education), research supports the potential upside of cross-cultural exposure (Tamura & Furnham, 1993). Using the Chinese culture as an example to explore the effects of negative stereotyping, when a Chinese student finishes the degree in the U.S. and chooses to go back to China to work, they experience stereotyping as “promiscuous” and “spoiled,” because people in the culture tend to associate those who have made it to the U.S. as rich and sexually active. In Chinese culture, “sexually active” contains a negative connotation. Facing the stereotypes that may or may not be true, the students are likely to develop difficulty to transition back into the culture. The Chinese culture in this review serves as an example of a conservative culture with “traditional” values. Although the aforementioned tragedy regarding international students at the

University of Southern California happened to be two Chinese students, the phenomenon of negative stereotyping those who leave traditional cultures to pursue an education in the United States can be harmful to the mental health of individuals who reenter their more conservative societies.

Conclusion & Gaps in Literature The literature field of re-entry and reverse culture shock covers two major topics: reverse culture shock and the reverse culture shock of Missionary Kids and Third Culture Kids. Reverse culture shock has a negative impact on a person’s psychological well-being. However, there is little recourse available for people who encounter reverse culture shock. When the Missionary and Third Culture Kids encounter reverse culture shock, increased parental attachment is associated with greater feelings of acceptance in the primary culture (Gaw, 1995, 2000, 2007; Huff, 2001; Leung, 2007; Tamura & Furnham, 1993; Wang, 1997). All of the studies in the literature look at the phenomenon of reverse culture shock from the perspective of the population encountering the reverse culture shock. No studies have looked at the reverse culture shock from the societal perspective. However negative stereotypes in society can produce negative reactions similar to those encountered during the incident with two USC Chinese international students. If negative stereotypes and prejudice within a larger social group are held against a smaller portion of the population, there will consequently be negative impacts on the smaller group (Aronson & Dee, 2012; Sirin & Fine, 2007). Therefore the literature calls for well-conducted research to study the impact of reverse culture shock on international students by examining the negative stereotypes existing in the society.

Wang: Reentry and Stereotyping| 36 References Aronson, J., & Dee, T. (2012). Stereotype threat in the real world. In M. Inzlicht & T. Schmader (Eds.), Stereotype Threat: Theory, Process, and Application (pp. 264-278). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Fong, M. (2012, April 26), In China, Blame for the USC Victims. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from: http://www.latimes.com/ news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-fong-chinese-student-killings-20120426,0,5617529.story Gaw, K. F. (2000). Reverse culture shock in students returning from overseas. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 24(1), 83-104. Gaw, K. F. (2007). Mobility, multiculturalism, and marginality: Counseling third-culture students. In J. A. Lippincott, & R. B. Lippincott (Eds.) (pp. 63-76). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association. Gaw, K. F. (1995). The reverse culture shock experience of overseas-experienced American college students. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, 56(3-A). Huff, J. L. (2001). Parental attachment, reverse culture shock, perceived social support, and college adjustment of missionary children. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 29(3), 246-264. Leung, S. A. (2007). Returning home and issues related to reverse culture shock. In H. D. Singaravelu, M. Pope, H. D. Singaravelu & M. Pope (Eds.), A Handbook for Counseling International Students in the United States (pp. 137-151). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association. Sirin, S. R., & Fine, M. (2007). Hyphenated selves: Muslim american youth negotiating identities on the fault lines of global conflict. Applied Developmental Science, 11(3), 151-163. Tamura, T., & Furnham, A. (1993). Re-adjustment of Japanese returnee children from an overseas sojourn. Social Science & Medicine, 36(9), 1181-1186. Taylor, M. H. (1976). Personality development in the children of missionary parents. Japan Christian Quarterly, 72-78. White, F. J. (1983). Some reflections on the separateon phenolon idiosyncratic to the experience of missionaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and their children. Journal of Theology and Psychology, 11, 181-188. Wang, M. M. (1997). Reentry and reverse culture shock. In K. Cushner, R. W. Brislin, K. Cushner & R. W. Brislin (Eds.), Improving Intercultural Interactions: Modules for Cross-Cultural Training Programs, (pp. 109-128). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

STAFF & CONTRIBUTOR BIOS

| 38

Staff Bios Kara Duca - Editor kmd393@nyu.edu Kara Duca is a senior in the Applied Psychology department, with a minor in Italian. She is currently a member of Dr. Selcuk Sirin’s research team, where she is involved in an array of projects, both quantitative and qualitative, surrounding the acculturation experiences of immigrant-origin adolescents. She is in the process of completing her senior Honors thesis, which seeks to understand the mechanisms through which acculturative stress negatively impacts the mental health of immigrant adolescents. Her general research interests include the development of multiple identities as well as the impact of traumatic experiences on mental health. She is also the former President of the Applied Psychology Undergraduate Club. Upon graduation, she plans to attend a doctoral program in Counseling Psychology to pursue her research interests and expand her clinical experience.

Caila Gordon-Koster - Editor cgk238@nyu.edu Caila Gordon-Koster is a senior in the Applied Psychology department with a minor in Religious Studies. She also holds a certificate in Political Psychology from Stanford University. Her research fuses the two subjects of religion and politics by studying religiosity and justice as psychological constructs. During her time at New York University she has worked on the research teams of Dr. Niobe Way and Taveeshi Gupta, Dr. Jacqueline Mattis, and at the Stern School of Business as a consultant to Dr. Durairaj Maheswaran. She recently presented research at the American Psychological Association’s annual conference and at the National Multicultural Conference and Summit. She is interested in applying her psychology to political advertising post-graduation. In her free time, Caila is also a member of the New York University cross examination debate team.

Coralie Nehme - Editor ccn235@nyu.edu Coralie Nehme is a graduate of the Applied Psychology Program and is co-editor of OPUS. Her main research interests include trauma, anxiety and the effect of immigration on culture. She is currently exploring these interests on Dr. Erin Godfrey’s research team, looking at the American customs that immigrant mothers want their children to adopt. She spent her summer interning at the NYU Langone/ Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture working with refugees and would like to continue working with this population.

39 | Staff & Contributor Bios David Freedman - Staff Writer df1211@nyu.edu David Freedman is a Junior in Applied Psychology. David is interested in Clinical Psychology, Addiction Psychology, Child and Adolescent Psychology, and Psychoanalysis. After graduating he hopes to work in social services as a Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor before pursuing further education in psychology.

Alfredo Novoa - Staff Writer adn260@nyu.edu Freddy Novoa is a senior in Applied Psychology who transferred from Utah State University in 2011. While at Utah State, he gained a solid background in social justice through engagement in advocacy for reproductive justice as an education intern and campus representative for Planned Parenthood. Sex education sparked his interest in policy and education. His current research focuses on immigrant and minority experiences and how they influence educational outcomes. Freddy’s attraction to education is showcased not only through his academic pursuits but also his professional endevors. He currently works as a preschool teacher and camp counselor at multiple sites in New York’s Lower East Side. Additionally, Freddy is part of the Morris Justice Project which uses participatory action research to portray adverse or less-effective policing practices in low income neighborhoods. Combining his love of education with justice, he is interested in pursuing a PhD in Educational Policy or Urban Education to study the application of participatory action research with underrepresented adolescent populations.

Mercedes Okosi - Staff Writer mjo296@nyu.edu Mercedes J. Okosi is a senior in the Applied Psychology program with a minor in Spanish. She is a Clinical Research Coordinator in training at Fieve Clinical Research Inc., currently working on clinical trials for depression and anxiety. She also works as an Intake Counselor at The Door. Mercedes’ research interests revolve around mental illness and identity development of adolescents of marginalized populations including young women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community. Mercedes plans to pursue a Psy.D in Clinical Psychology upon graduation.

| 40 Nina Schneider - Staff Writer ns1538@nyu.edu Nina Schneider is a senior in the Applied Psychology department with a minor in Social Entrepreneurship. She is a member of Dr. Joshua Aronsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research team exploring the long-term effects of identity threat on at-risk populations and effective prevention techniques. Her research interests include minimizing the intellectual/social performance gap within low-SES communities, social policy for poverty reduction, and rehabilitating children with a history of severe emotional & mental trauma. Her professional philosophy focuses on gradual, sustainable economic developments with a social and spiritual emphasis. After graduating, she plans on furthering her research in southern China.

Esther Song - Secretary/Treasurer jhs489@nyu.edu Esther is currently a sophomore in the Applied Psychology program also pursing a minor in Music. Her research interests include how extracurricular musical involvement throughout the lifespan is related to career development and English as a second language. She aspires to use social science professionally in Market Research or Human Resources upon graduation.

Amelia Chu - Layout Director ameliachu@nyu.edu Amelia is a freshman in the Applied Psychology Program and is pursuing a minor in Anthropology. She is interested in Social Psychology and Child Psychology. In her free time, Amelia is on the design team of ISO, the Tisch Photography Magazine.

41 | Staff & Contributor Bios

Contributors Bios Chanel Donaldson cld323@nyu.edu Chanel Donaldson is a senior in the Applied Psychology program, with two minors in Sociology and Social & Public Policy. Her research interests include race and ethnicity, Caribbean immigration, K-12 education, and the American identity. Chanel currently interns with Dr. Brent Gibson and Dr. Fabienne Doucet at HaitiCorps International, a non-profit organization aimed at rebuilding Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake. Upon completing her bachelor’s degree, Chanel plans to pursue a master’s degree in Public Administration, Public Policy, or Education Policy. Her career aspirations are to work in the government or a non-profit organization that will allow her to fulfill a desire of decreasing the gap in living conditions between Americans. Chanel is also interested in pursuing a PhD in the future.

Andrew Green acg433@nyu.edu Andrew Greene is a senior in the Applied Psychology department at New York University and a consultant for the Public Science project at CUNY Graduate Center. Andrew has a passion for education reform and student empowerment which he pursues through his qualitative research on urban education, student experience and piloting intervention models. In his free time he runs an inner city mentorship program for young men called H.O.L.L.A! (How Our Lives Link Altogether) and is a resident assistant. His inspiration stems from his son Cory, his wife Teresa, his passion for societal equality, and his breadth of life experience.

Rosa Hwang rh1463@nyu.edu Rosa Hwang is a senior in the Applied Psychology program at NYU. She is currently involved with Inside Scoop!, the mentorship program, and with APUG as the event coordinator. She is also involved with Dr. Sumie Okazaki’s research team, working with Korean American home-stay guardians. Although she is in research right now, she hopes to broaden her horizons in the marketing and advertising world. Rosa’s interests lie in connecting the general public with the most current pop culture, art, and music. She enjoys filling her brain with trivial knowledge about elephants, listening to all genres of music, watching The Walking Dead, and eating.

Scarlett Wang sw1386@nyu.edu Scarlett Wang is a senior in the applied psychology program. Her research interests are cultural differences in children’s early development, and how to apply the cultural aspects to counseling of school-aged children. She’s currently an active RA in Center for Research on Culture, Development and Education, working closely with Dr. Catherine Tamis-Lemonda exploring the cross cultural similarities and differences of mother-child shared narratives.

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