Owens Institute for Behavioral Research at The University of Georgia
The theoretical and empirical work by Dr. Sherman James informs the research undertaken by CFR scientists on how stress gets under the skin and into the brains of African American young people and adults. In this new video from CFR, James shares how the idea came about and how it continues to influence thinking today. See also our complete resource on John Henryism.
CFR has begun recruiting participants for its P50 study referred to as, “HARP,” or the “Health and Resilience Project.” The study involves understanding the effects of stress on cardio-metabolic health among African Americans in two groups: young adults between 18 and 20 years of age and families with youth 11 to 13. Learn more and help us recruit participants on our HARP page.
The Family and Community Health Study (FACHS), one of the ongoing research projects of CFR, was recently awarded the “Inclusive Voices Award” from the American Association for Public Opinion Research. The award recognizes “the important data sets, research, and survey methods that have improved the ability to study complex social phenomena related to understudied populations,” and is presented “to the scholars/researchers, organizations, or institutions who have produced the scholarship (including data collection, methodological approaches, or publications).”
The FACHS project, on-going since 1996, has worked to understand the effect of family processes, neighborhood characteristics, and other contextual factors on African American parents and their children. Congratulations to the entire team from CFR and associates around the country on the recognition of the importance of this work from AAPOR.
Much of the work of CFR in recent years has focused on the concept of skin-deep resilience–the idea that Black Americans who strive for success through adversity appear resilient on the outside, but underneath, suffer long term, physical consequences from the stress of their striving to succeed. The idea was first labeled in a CFR paper in 2013, and since then, our researchers have deepened their understanding of this phenomenon. In this new, CFR-produced video, Dr. Edith Chen, a professor at Northwestern University and collaborator with CFR, explains the concept succinctly. For more, see our Research Digest on Skin-Deep Resilience.
Recent CFR work was featured in a UGA Today publication that describes a newly published paper the demonstrates the effectiveness of SAAF and SAAF-T. Read it here: Programs can reduce impact of racism on Black youth (uga.edu)
The Chess and Community program, led by CFR associate Lemuel “Life” LaRoche, expands its scope of work into robotics. Read about how the program will support STEM education for Clarke County youth.
CFR’s Drs. Steven Beach and Ron Simmons delivered their Regent’s Charter Lectures April 6. The lectures are part of the celebration of those named as Regent’s Professors by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. Dr. Simmons was appointed as a Regent’s Professor last year and Beach this year (read more about Beach’s recent appointment here).
In these online lectures, Beach describes recent work at CFR with special attention to the ProSAAF intervention designed to help protect Black families (couples and kids) from the negative effects of financial strain on the family and individuals. Simmons explains the effort to better understand biological aging as a precursor to improving outcomes for individuals. Watch both below, or see the entire series of lectures here: 2021 Charter Lectures – YouTube
CFR’s Dr. Gene Brody and Dr. Tracy Anderson were featured in an “Athens News Matters” story highlighting recent research that demonstrates the efficacy of SAAF and SAAF-T programs. Listen here: Athens News Matters: Family Prevention Programs Empowering African American Families | WUGA | University of Georgia
Newly published research by CFR “shows that receipt of high levels of warmth and emotional support and parental involvement provides a shield that allows young Black people to better cope with the negative and pernicious effects of racial discrimination.” The research explores the efficacy of two CFR interventions: SAAF-T and AIM. This work, in a just-published paper by the Journal of American Medical Association Network was featured in a story by UGA Today.
CFR associate Lemuel “Life” LaRoche was recently featured in a story about how he works with local youth through a community based project.
See Lemuel ‘Life’ LaRoche: The Game of ‘Life’ – Georgia Magazine (uga.edu)
