African American Single Mothers Essay

Chapter 1: Introduction

The strengths and resilience of African American single mothers has historically changed families and communities for the better. However, African American single mothers are often a vulnerable population at risk for poor physical and mental health with negative outcomes outweighing both their female and male counterparts (Hatcher, Rayens, Peden, & Hall, 2012). There has been numerous race comparative self-esteem studies and research on the effects of single parenthood on child and adolescent self-esteem. Yet few studies focus on the factors that impact both positive and negative self-esteem exclusively in African American mothers apart from their children. Most of what we know about the self-esteem of African Americans

With African American single mothers having unique needs due to their daily struggles with discrimination, social obstacles, and experiences with environmental barriers while parenting on their own (Dickerson, 1995; Hatcher et al., 2012). Additionally, negative views of African American single mothers and the lack of research focused on the resiliency of these women and their families have diminished the strengths of these family types and the mothers who work simultaneously to meet their individual and family needs (Atwood & Genovese, 2006; Murry,

Low-income single African American mothers of young children report higher levels of stress, more depressive symptoms, and are less likely to receive services than their White counterparts (Chazan-Cohen et al., 2009; Courtney & Barth, 1996). African American single mothers are also less likely to seek mental health services thus facing increased psychological distress and anxiety caused by the social and economic challenges they face on a daily basis (Davies, Avison, & McAlpine, 1997; Murry, Bynum, Brody, Willert, & Stephens,