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Parents from all backgrounds often grapple with child-rearing issues when their children reach adolescent age. For African American families, the task of addressing problematic adolescent behaviors is complicated by their interaction with external systems (e.g., agencies, schools, legal systems) whose workers often struggle to meet the mental health and social service needs of an increasingly diverse society. Clinical mental health counselors are ethically bound to be knowledgeable about the cultural diversity of individuals and families and about changes in cultural expectations and values. The primary focus of this article is to lay the foundation for a psychoeducational approach to addressing child discipline with African American parents who have adolescent children living at home. A five-week psychoeducational model is presented to inform African American parents of current research and discussions on African American child disciplinary methods.
Parents from all backgrounds often grapple with child-rearing issues when their children reach adolescence. Middle childhood, in particular, has been recognized as a period of development when children are having more experiences outside the immediate family and mastering new physical and mental skills (Williams-Wheeler, 2011). When behavioral problems occur, parents often struggle with setting firm limits and boundaries and with establishing appropriate behavioral expectations for their early and late adolescent children. For African American families, the task of addressing these life demands is further complicated by their interaction with external systems (e.g., agencies, schools, the legal system) whose workers often struggle to meet the mental health and social service needs of an increasingly diverse society (Adkison-Bradley, Terpstra, & Dormitorio, 2014; Roberts, 2002). In particular, researchers have found that child welfare workers are complacent about assisting African American birth parents with family reunification, especially if the parent had a mental health or substance abuse problem (Grant, 2004; Harris & Skyles, 2008; Roberts, 2002). African Americans are also the least likely group to be referred to counseling by legal and social service professionals for assistance with family-related concerns (Harris & Skyles, 2008; Roberts, 2002).
Parenting support studies have primarily focused on low-income African American mothers and the promotion of nonphysical modes of parenting (e.g., Meyers, Newcomb, Richards, & Alvy, 1997; Westbrook, Harden, Holmes, Meisch, & Whittaker, 2013). There is little information available on programming that specifically addresses the disciplinary practices of...