Black racial identity development (BRID) theory explains the processes by which Black people (the term Black is used here, rather than African American, to reflect the terminology in models of identity development) develop a healthy sense of themselves as racial beings and of their Blackness in a toxic sociopolitical environment. BRID is generally viewed as a derivation of more general racial/cultural development theory, in that it describes the importance of race in an individual’s self-concept. However, BRID is distinctive in its attention to the unique experience of Black people in dealing with racial discrimination and oppression.
The concept of race has played a historically important role in the lives of Black people in the United States, as reflected in the early writings of W. E. B. Du Bois. In the most recent literature, Black identity development has been associated with factors such as psychologicalhealth,学术成就,适应,社会心理能力,自我实现,自尊和学生参与。
黑人种族认同发展的模型
Black racial identity development has often been conceptualized in models that describe linear stages through which Black individuals move from a negative to a positive self-identity in the context of their racial group membership. One of the earliest and most influential models of BRID was developed by William E. Cross, Jr., as part of his Nigrescence (the process of becoming Black) theory. Cross used a five-stage model to describe a Black person’s feelings, thoughts, and behaviors as he or she moves from a White frame of reference to a positive Black frame of reference: pre-encounter, encounter, immersion/emersion, internalization, and internalization/commitment.
In the pre-encounter stage, Black people consciously or unconsciously manifest an anti-Black worldview while seeking to assimilate and acculturate into dominant White society. Low self-esteem and poor psychological health are characteristic of individuals at this stage. The encounter stage is marked by two processes: (1) an experience that challenges the pre-encounter individual’s pro-White/anti-Black world-view, and (2) a reinterpretation of one’s racial identity as a result of this experience. At this stage, a Black person finds support in the search for a Black identity and makes the conscious decision to identify with being Black. A strong pro-Black attitude and withdrawal from, and hostility toward, dominant White culture typifies the immersion/emersion stage, signifying a switch from the “old” anti-Black/pro-White worldview. The individual has an acute sense of Black pride, but a positive Black identity has not yet been internalized.
受到白人文化限制的内gui和愤怒的感觉很普遍。在内部化阶段,黑人成功地调和了他们的前景和沉浸/启示世界观的对抗。个人对白人文化的不满情绪消退,非种族主义的多元文化取向占上风。社会行动从上一阶段开始界定最终的阶段,内在化/承诺。在这里,黑人不仅将积极的黑人种族认同融入了他们的自我概念中,而且还致力于促进社会正义和公民权利的活动。
The Nigrescence model has received the most attention in the psychological literature of all the BRID models, particularly for its association with a measurement instrument developed by Janet Helms— the Racial Identity Attitude Scale-Black—which has been used to operationalize BRID in a number of studies. Cross and his colleagues have since revised the Nigrescence model, collapsing the internalization and internalization/commitment stages into one stage (internalization) and expanding each stage into multiple “identity clusters” to address the criticism that numerous identities may be manifested at each stage.
Another model of BRID, proposed by Bailey Jackson, explains a slightly different version of racial identity development. Whereas Cross suggested that dominant culture worldviews could be internalized on a subconscious level, characteristic of his pre-encounter stage, Jackson’s four-stage model describes an initial passive acceptance stage in which Black people accept and conform to White cultural norms. The second stage, active resistance, is characterized by the rejection of, and feelings of anger toward, White culture. The redirection stage is associated with pride of one’s Black culture and a mollified anger toward White culture. Thus, although Cross combined elements of these two identities into one stage, immersion/ emersion, Jackson conceptualizes them as two distinct processes. Finally, the internalization stage is marked by both an acceptance of the healthy aspects of the dominant White culture and a commitment to taking action to redress the deleterious aspects.
Mainstream Versus Underground Theories
布里德理论先前描述了黑人经历的集体身份发展的普遍过程,以达到心理健康的种族自我概念。这些模型被称为黑人种族身份的主流理论。另一组理论 - 在更广泛的心理社区中相对不包容的地下理论,从总体上采取了更为非凡的观点,并不认为所有黑人个体都以反黑人的态度开始了身份发展的过程。W. E. B. Du Bois历史上认为,黑人社会文化的影响可以帮助种族认同发展,并且一个人的自我概念不一定是对种族压迫的反应。根据地下理论,一个人的“非洲自我”与一个人的“美国自我”之间的和解是发展健康的桥梁的重要任务。但是,地下理论家在如何调和这两个“自我”之间存在分歧:一些理论家声称,非洲裔美国人从参加他们的“黑人”和更广泛的白人社会中受益,而其他人则认为综合身份只有在一个人才会出现。用黑色的万物强烈识别。
培训和咨询的申请
新兴理论在帮助辅导员认识到黑人客户之间种族认同发展的差异方面具有重要的实际意义。个人的种族认同发展水平与咨询关系中的态度和行为倾向有关。赫尔姆斯使用更新的四阶段牙龈模型来投射与身份发展阶段与黑人辅导员和客户的咨询关系的性质。
For example, a pre-encounter client would likely be disappointed about being assigned a Black counselor and would exhibit hostility or embarrassment toward the counselor. A pre-encounter counselor may treat Black clients in a punitive, condescending fashion. Black clients in the encounter stage may be hypersensitive to the approval of a Black counselor and may, accordingly, be apologetic and avoid issues they deem non-Black. A counselor in this stage can show fear over whether or not the Black client will approve of him or her and also anticipation for the opportunity to connect with a member of his or her racial group. Clients in the immersion/emersion stage will feel positively toward a Black counselor only after determining that the counselor has a high enough level of “Blackness.” There may, therefore, be an early combative, testing element to the relationship.
The internalizing client may prefer a Black counselor, but race no longer has primacy in the selection process. Counselors in the internalizing stage aim to help the client achieve self-actualization, and they focus on the issue of race insomuch as it is an important part of actualization.
Helms states that for a counselor to help a client progress through stages of racial identity development, he or she must be at least one stage ahead of the client in his or her own development. If the counselor and client are at the same stage, or if the client is at a more advanced stage than the counselor, then a counseling impasse may occur.
Another important application of BRID to counseling is its role in helping counselors understand the role that oppression plays in Black clients’ development. This awareness serves as a clarion call for many to explore systemic interventions and take action outside the confines of their offices to combat sociopolitical factors, such as racism and poverty, that impact clients’ psychological health.
未来发展方向
BRID的早期表述,例如Cross的麻烦模型,因将BRID概念化为线性过程而受到批评,并专注于青春期晚期/成年早期的BRID。但是,托马斯·帕拉姆(Thomas Parham)和珍妮特·赫尔姆斯(Janet Helms)重新概念化了桥梁,以反映出身份发展的更加流畅的概念,在这种情况下,个人可以通过整个生命周期的不同地位向前和向后移动。
Eleanor Seaton and colleagues recently found that Black individuals may both progress and regress across BRID stages over time, supporting this more fluid conceptualization of racial identity development. Tabbye Chavous and colleagues have further illuminated the complexity of BRID via cluster analyses, suggesting BRID may also involve the salience of race in one’s identity, feelings regarding one’s racial group, and attitudes regarding how Blacks are perceived by others in the United States. The complexity of BRID in recent research provides promising future directions for theory and research.
尽管布里德的理论为解释一个人的种族认同做了很多工作,但对布里与身份的其他方面(例如性别,阶级和性取向)的交集的探索较少。这些因素与黑色身份的相互作用可能具有重要意义。同样,在桥梁中也可能存在重要但未开发的地理考虑因素。大多数布里德理论都是在西方文化的气候中构想的。黑人在非西方文化中的种族认同的发展知之甚少。同样,桥梁的理论,尤其是地下理论,强调了与非洲遗产的各个方面重新连接的重要性,但是这样做的过程尚不清楚。
参考:
- Chavous, T. M., Bernat, D. H., Schmeelk-Cone, K., Caldwell, C. H., Kohn-Wood, L., & Zimmerman, M. A. (2003). Racial identity and educational attainment among African American adolescents. Child Development, 74, 1076-1090.
- Constantine, M. G., Richardson, T. Q., Benjamin, E. M., & Wilson, J. W. (1998). An overview of Black racial identity theories: Limitations and considerations for future theoretical conceptualizations. Applied & PreventivePsychology,7,95-99。
- Cross, W. E. (1971). The Negro to Black conversion experience: Toward a psychology of Black liberation. Black World, 20, 13-27.
- Helms,J。E.(1984)。迈向种族对咨询影响的理论解释:黑白模型。咨询心理学家,12,153-165。
- 卖方,R.M.,Shelton,J.N.,Cooke,D.Y.,Chavous,T.M.,Rowley,F.A.J。,&Smith,M.A。(1997)。种族认同的多维模型:非裔美国人种族认同的重新概念化。人格与社会心理学评论,第2卷,第18-39页。
- Vandiver, B. J., Cross, W. E., Worrell, F. C., & Fhagen-Smith, P. E. (2002). Validating the Cross Racial Identity Scale. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 49, 71-85.