Health Disparities – Psychology Benefits Society

October 25, 2018October 25, 2018Administrator

APA Joins Forces with the CDC Tips From Former Smokers® Campaign to Reduce Smoking Disparities

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is continuing its national tobacco education campaign—Tips From Former Smokers® (Tips®)—with hard-hitting TV commercials that feature real people who have experienced the harms caused by smoking. The 2018 campaign ads are again highlighting the immediate and long-term damage caused by smoking, and strongly encouraging smokers to quit.

The American Psychological Association (APA) is one of a cadre of national organizations partnering with the Tips® campaign.

September 6, 2018Administrator

Black Boys and Men Face Daunting Odds, Here’s How We Can Promote Their Resilience and Future Success

When my son was just eight weeks and two days into his gestational period, I settled my anxiety of giving birth to a Black male. The night before I gave birth, unlike his twin sister, he was hovered up into the corner of my womb and his heart rate had begun to slow down. That following morning, he was born. Now 20, my Black son has dreams and aspirations but there is the threat of death in the air.

August 23, 2018August 23, 2018Administrator

Why We Need to Act Now to Address the Harmful Effects of Unemployment on Black Millennial Men

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for Black males between ages 20 and 24 is more than double the national average for this age group (14.3% vs. 7.1%). The APA report on “Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic and Sexual Minority Boys & Men” prompted a deeper focus on how these employment disparities lead to adverse health impacts, specifically amongst Black millennial men. An APA fact sheet examines this narrowed topic.

August 3, 2018August 3, 2018Administrator

What Can We Do to Combat the Maternal Mortality Crisis Affecting Black Women in America?

Alarmingly, maternal mortality rates for women living in the U.S. are the highest in the developed world with stark racial disparities. Black women specifically have the highest maternal mortality rate in the U.S. and are nearly four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes compared to White women.

June 29, 2018June 29, 2018Administrator

Depression in Black Boys Begins Earlier Than You Think

From 2001 to 2015, the suicide risk for Black boys between the ages of 5 and 11 was two to three times higher than that of White boys, according to a new research letter in JAMA Pediatrics (Bridge, 2018). This concerning trend continues through adolescence as reported by the Nationwide Youth Risk Behavior Survey (Kann et al., 2017). The rates of attempted suicide, including attempts that resulted in an injury, poisoning, or overdose, are 1.2x higher among Black males compared to White males.

June 5, 2018June 7, 2018Administrator

The Cost of Being Poor in a Warming World

f you don’t feel the impacts of climate change directly in your daily life, you probably aren’t poor.

Major news outlets regularly publish features on scientific studies by climatologists ringing the alarm on how many degrees global temperatures have increased, the rise in severity and frequency of natural disasters, and the dire future effects on the environment if human behavior does not change. However, most people aren’t climatologists or journalists. Climate change, for some folks, is an abstraction discussed over the dinner table or argued about in social media comment sections, or perhaps a notion thought about when presented with the choice of garbage or recycling bins.

December 1, 2017December 1, 2017Administrator

What Does Our Past Tell Us About Our Future? The Essential Role of Psychologists in Fighting HIV

Since the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, psychologists have been essential in the response to HIV. They offered mental health support for people living with, or at risk for, HIV—as well as for their families and communities, and those who provide HIV medical care and social services. Psychologists developed programs to educate people about HIV and motivate behavior change to reduce risk.

November 8, 2017November 8, 2017Administrator

Is Poking Fun at Birthdays a Harmless Way to Celebrate Them?

Have you ever noticed that the tone of birthday cards for children is upbeat with messages like, “way to go, you’re another year older”? Whereas that is rarely the theme in cards for adults older than 21, at least in the United States. Birthday cards and gifts that poke fun of older adulthood are communicating negative ageist stereotypes found in society…

November 1, 2017November 2, 2017Administrator

How Can We Better Protect LGBTQ Students: Psychologists Take Action

Over the last year, we have witnessed regular news media headlines coming out of Washington, D.C. with a state of shock, horror, and anger. Specifically, we have been alarmed by the rollback of protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth and students.

October 26, 2017October 26, 2017Administrator

A Fate Worse than Death? Being Transgender in Long-term Care

“I would kill myself.” This is what a 70 year-old transgender woman told me recently when I asked what she would do if she needed long-term care. While this sounds dramatic, it is a common sentiment among older transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) adults (Witten, 2014). Many TGNC older adults do not have family caregivers available to meet their needs for assistance in later life, having been rejected and ostracized by their families of origin according to a study by Grant and colleagues (2011), and long-term care services may be their only option.