UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH IN ADDRESSING THE HEALTH AND LEISURE NEEDS OF YOUNG AFRICAN NOVA SCOTIAN WOMEN
by
Crystal Lynne Watson
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts
at
Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia November 2009
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1+1 Canada DEDICATION
With love and in fond remembrance, this thesis is dedicated in loving memory of my grandparents, James and Harriett (Diggs) Colley, my father Charles Watson, Sr. and my cousin, friend and Pastor, Ernie Simmonds, III.
IV TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT VIII
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IX
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.0 Statement of the problem 1
1.1 Purpose and Significance 2
1.2 Research Questions 4
1.3 Historical Context: The 'Black Church' 4
1.4 The African United Baptist Association 6
1.5 Role of the Researcher 7
1.6 Summary 9
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 10
2.0 Introduction 10
2.1 Religion 10
2.2 Leisure 12
2.3 Health 17
2.4 Religion and Health 19
2.5 The Leisure - Health Connection 22
2.6 Religion, Health and Leisure 23
2.7 Leisure, Health, Religion and Young Women of African Descent 24
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS AND METHODOLOGY 26
3.0 Introduction 26
3.1 Through a different lens: Afrocentricity and Black Feminist Thought 26 3.1.1 Afrocentricity 26 3.1.2 Black Feminist Thought 29
3.2 Research Design 31 3.2.1 Sampling and Recruitment 31
v 3.2.2 Data Collection, Management and Analysis 32
3.3 Ethical Concerns 37
3.4 Summary 40
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS 41
4.0 Introduction 41
4.1 Trusting Relationships 42 4.1.1 Trusting Parental Relationships 43 4.1.2 Trusting and Respecting the Elders 44 4.1.3 Trusting Peer Relationships 47 4.1.4 Trusting Familial Supports and Outsiders as Information Sources 48 4.1.5 Trust and Identity 50 4.1.6 Summary 51
4.2 Tension between being healthy and experiencing leisure 52 4.2.1 Leisure Interests and Decision Making 52 4.2.2 Defining and Valuing Health 54 4.2.3 Health Practices 55 4.2.4 Limited community centre options 58 4.2.5 Summary 59
4.3 The Baptist Youth Fellowship: Connecting Church, Kinship, and Community 60 4.3.1 BYF as a church-based learning environment 60 4.3.2 BYF as a sacred space for leisure 62 4.3.3 BYF as a protective factor 64 4.3.4 BYF and kinship connections 66 4.3.5 BYF facilitates community awareness and involvement 67 4.3.6 Summary 69
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION 70
5.0 Introduction 70
5.1 Seeking authentic relationships 71
5.2 Balancing their health and leisure: Beliefs versus actions 74
5.3 Balancing Interconnectedness with Disconnectedness 76
5.4 Summary 77
5.5 Implications for Leisure services 78
5.6 Implications for Health services 79
5.7 Recommendations for future research 81
5.8 Limitations 83
5.9 Conclusions 85
VI BIBLIOGRAPHY 88
APPENDICES 97
Appendix A: Recruitment Poster 97
Appendix B: Informed Consent 98
Appendix C: Recruitment Letter 102
Appendix D: Interview Guide 103
Appendix E: Focus Group Discussion Guide 105
Appendix F: Resources 107
vii ABSTRACT
African-descended youth are at risk of poor health outcomes in later life. Research suggests that youth involved in church-based programs are less likely to engage in health-compromising behaviours. The Black church has been an influential institution in the lives of persons of African descent. While constraints exist for persons of African descent in accessing leisure and health, the church has the potential to address some of those challenges for youth for improving health outcomes. Using Afrocentricity and Black Feminist Thought as guiding conceptual frameworks, this study explored the health and leisure needs of young African Nova Scotian women and their perceptions of the church as a resource for information. Findings revealed the interconnectedness of leisure and health lives of these young women with their church, family and community. As well, their leisure experiences are impacted by cultural and societal factors that create tensions in leisure and health service access.
viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special thanks to African Nova Scotian women past and present who have paved a way for me to achieve the highest heights and to dream beyond them and to my ancestors for your determination through the struggle. I am humbled by your strength. Thanks to my church family for your prayers and words of encouragement throughout this process.
I hope that I have made you all proud.
I am so grateful for my husband, Justice and our daughters Raytesha and Gloria for being my inspiration and motivation. Know that your love sustains me.
This would not be possible without the love and support of family and friends and so I extend my thanks to all of you for believing in the power within me. There are too many to mention but to my mother Mary Colley Watson and my sister and brothers, thank you for challenging me daily to reach higher and dig deeper. To all of my friends, mentors and colleagues thank you for your consistent encouragement.
Finally, thanks to my committee for their guidance and support throughout this process:
Dr Lois Jackson, Dr. Anita Unruh and my supervisor, Dr. Susan Tirone. Your patience and support is greatly appreciated.
IX CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.0 Statement of the problem
Research suggests that African-descended youth are at increased risk of poor health in later life for many reasons. For example, many youth experience social problems such as but not limited to violence, poverty, unemployment, and sexually related diseases and conditions (Rubin, Billingsley & Caldwell, 1994). Poor health outcomes among African Nova
Scotian youth are also associated with experiences with the education system. These educational struggles include peer pressure, lack of involvement in extracurricular activities, and coping with institutionalized and societal racism (Halifax Regional School Board, 2003).
Other challenges faced by African descended youth are related to the limited number of educators and guidance counselors of African descent, the absence of an inclusive and diverse curriculum, and challenges encountered when discussing issues associated with race and racism (Halifax Regional School Board, 2003). Studies indicate that the poor health of persons of African descent in their youth places them at higher risk of developing and dying from chronic diseases such as hypertension, Type II diabetes, and Systemic
Lupus Erythematosus later in life (Bowen-Reid and Smalls, 2004). It is believed that these diseases are significantly higher within the African Nova Scotian community but little research has been done in this area (Nova Scotia Department of Health, 2003). In coping with challenges related to these issues, youth of African descent benefit from involvement in community-based activities that act as a buffer to the negative influences in their lives
(Arnon, Shamai & llatov, 2008; Hirsch, et al., 2000; Nicholson, Collins & Holmer, 2004). The
"Black Church"1 is an example of a community based institution that is central to the well-
1 For the purposes of this research study, the Black church will refer to the African United Baptist Association (AUBA). While the researcher acknowledges that there are other denominations within Nova Scotia whose congregations contain persons of African descent, the AUBA is the largest organization.
1 being of many youth of African descent and as such may be a viable agency for providing guidance and education to youth on issues related to health and leisure.
Information specific to the health of young African Canadians is limited (Nova Scotia
Department of Health, 2003). Leisure research in Canada is also lacking in relation to the leisure behaviors, patterns, and interests of this cultural group (Frisby et al., 2005).
Research by Hamilton (1997) suggested that due to the isolation experienced by many
African Nova Scotians, the church played a vital role in addressing the needs of the community, including needs associated with health and leisure. Church leagues and organizations developed in order for communities to interact and maintain a sense of connectedness, an important value within the African Canadian community.
Since there is interest in adapting services and supports to address the changing cultural landscape of Canada (Nova Scotia Office of Immigration, 2005) more emphasis is being placed on cultural competence in health practice and in leisure service delivery that enhances the health of all Nova Scotians (Nova Scotia Department of Health, 2005).
Exploring this issue will increase our understanding of how the Black church, as an integral part of the culture of African Nova Scotians, may be an appropriate and viable venue for the provision of health and leisure services for youth.
1.1 Purpose and Significance
The purpose of this research is to explore the views of female youth aged 15-19 in one African Nova Scotian community toward the African United Baptist church as a potential resource for education and access to information for their health and leisure in their community. Research indicates that church attendance has a beneficial impact on health and longevity among persons of African descent related to the family support that may be found in faith communities (Marks, Nesteruk, Swanson, Garrison, & Davis, 2005).
Decreased hypertension, lower incidences of cardiovascular diseases, and positive coping
2 with pain are just a few of the health conditions that have been positively impacted by religious/spiritual involvement (Simons-Morton, Greene, & Gottlieb, 1995). Persons who have an active spiritual/religious lifestyle are believed to have better coping mechanisms and a wider range of approaches to dealing with their health in comparison to individuals who are not religiously/spiritually involved (George, Larson, Koenig & McCullough, 2000; van Olphen et al., 2003). Youth involved in church based activities are thought to be more resilient and less likely to engage in health compromising behaviors (Regnerus, 2003) and religiously active seniors tend to live longer than those who are not involved in religious activities (Benjamins, 2004). This proposed research seeks to acknowledge the historical role of the church in the African Nova Scotian community as a powerful advocate and social resource that may have a central role to play for educating youth for health and leisure in the years to come.
Historically, the church provided opportunities for open discussion and community action concerning the inequities in education, employment, housing and justice experienced by African Nova Scotians (Paris, 1989). While the church plays a central role in the African
Nova Scotian community, only recently has it been called upon to facilitate discussion among community members on health issues (Janet Crowell, personal communication,
October 19, 2005). The church, highly regarded for the leadership role it plays in the community, is well positioned as a potential agency to address the health and leisure involvement of African Nova Scotian youth. Information from this study will enhance our understanding of how the church may play a central role as an advocate for education and provider of health and leisure education and services aimed at addressing the needs of youth members.
Government agencies, health and leisure service providers and community members will benefit from the results of the study as they seek to meet the needs of this group of young women by gaining information about the relationship between the church, health and
3 leisure. Youth will also benefit from this study as potential recipients of improved leisure and health services. This research will contribute a Canadian perspective to the growing body of literature on the inter-relationship between religion, health and leisure of persons of African descent. This study will also highlight an important aspect of the history, culture and experience of African Nova Scotians.
1.2 Research Questions
Using a qualitative research approach, and informed by an Afrocentric framework and Black
Feminist thought, the following questions guided the overall research project:
1. What are the health needs of African Nova Scotian female youth?
2. What are the leisure needs of African Nova Scotian female youth?
3. What are the perceptions of this group of youth towards the African United Baptist
church as a potential provider of guidance and information about their leisure and
health needs?
The questions were directed to young African Nova Scotian females aged 15-19. The first two research questions explored how the participants defined leisure and health. These questions also explored what activities the participants engaged in during their leisure time that positively and negatively impacted their health and how they accessed information about leisure and health. The third question explored the perceptions of the youth regarding the African United Baptist church as a provider of information and guidance on issues related to health and leisure.
1.3 Historical Context: The 'Black Church'
The "Black church" is important in the lives of the persons of African descent. Paris
(1989) stated that the "Black church" emerged out of the complexities of slavery and became the primary institution in which activism occurred. The Black church symbolizes an
4 alternative Christianity that is focused on opposition to slavery and social injustice. It represents freedom and resistance to racism while seeking to transform the moral and religious fabric of mainstream society. The ingenuity of persons of African descent resulted in development of their own institutions, opportunities, and networks and religion was paramount in their survival (Pachai, 1990). C. Eric Lincoln (as cited by Paris, 1985) stated:
To understand the power of the Black church it must first be understood that there is
no disjunction between the Black church and the Black community. The church is the
spiritual face of the Black community, and whether one is a "Church member" or not
is beside the point in any assessment of the importance and meaning of the Black
church.... The Black church then, is in some sense a "universal church," claiming
and representing all blacks out of a long tradition that looks back to the time when
there was only the Black church to bear witness to "who" or "what" a man was as he
stood as the bar of his community. The church still accepts a broad-gauge
responsibility for the Black community inside and outside its formal communion. No
one can die "outside the Black church" if he is Black. No matter how notorious one's
life on earth, the Church claims its own at death - and with appropriate ceremony, (p.
8)
Historically the Black church has been influential in highlighting and addressing the social concerns of black people (Paris, 1985). Historically, the Black church has been the only institution that provided a sense of pride and dignity for a group of people who were often excluded from political and societal issues. No other institution took on this role either within or external to the community. African United Baptist churches in Nova Scotia were and continue to represent the voice of the community thus they remain a vital social institution.
5 1.4 The African United Baptist Association
The first designated Black church in Nova Scotia, Comwallis Street African Baptist
Church, was founded in 1832. It was the first church in Nova Scotia owned and controlled by
African Nova Scotians. Under the leadership of Reverend Richard Preston, the church was established in response to both the growing population and the dissension among White
Baptists over the attendance of Blacks at the churches that were predominately White.
Reverend Preston worked to establish many of the African Baptist churches in Nova Scotia that would later unite to form a larger association for the purposes of uniting Nova Scotian
Black communities.
The African United Baptist Association (AUBA) established in 1854 is a union of over
40 churches located in Black communities throughout Nova Scotia. Individually and collectively, the African United Baptist church has a long history within the African Nova
Scotian community as an advocate and resource. It is the largest organization in the history of the black population in Nova Scotia. The African United Baptist church has been and remains a leader in addressing these issues through the initiation and development of groups and organizations (Pachai, 1987; Paris, 1989). The African United Baptist church is more than a religious organization. It is a training ground for generations of leaders, followers, and professionals that would enhance and advocate for the African Nova Scotian community. Those would-be leaders have been able to develop their skills through the specific societies for members of all ages like the Baptist Youth Fellowship.
In 1886 a society for young people known as the Baptist Youth Provincial Union
(BYPU) was developed at the Comwallis Street African Baptist church. The BYPU was organized and under the leadership of James R. Johnston. This branch of the African United
Baptist Association was formed as a group that allowed youth to be involved in the church.
Initially, the group hosted socials and held fundraisers to aid the church financially. The group began to meet annually, hosting a conference that included worship services and
6 educational workshops that focused primarily on the needs of the youth (J. Ross, personal communication, August 1, 2006). The group eventually changed its name to be known as the Baptist Youth Fellowship.
1.5 Role of the Researcher
I am a 6th generation African Nova Scotian woman in my 30's and a mother of a teenage girl. Though raised in the Halifax Regional Municipality, my understanding of and relationship to the community I studied is due to it being the place of birth of my parents, grandparents, great grandparents and so on. Returning to my home community, for family events such as family reunions, holiday celebrations, birthdays and funerals remains an important aspect of my maintaining a connection to my family. From a Western perspective, the higher education that I have received and being employed as a professional in the health care system would be viewed as my having a level of privilege in the community. In addition, having held leadership roles and having been recognized as a contributing member of my profession for many years would also demonstrate a level of power and influence. This perspective however is not one that I identify with or one that I have experienced. I have not been treated differently as a result of my education and professional accomplishments by my community. Any accomplishments are celebrated by the community and viewed as community accomplishments.
Like my family members before me where the church was upheld as an integral component of my family's history, I have been an active member of an African United Baptist church since 1987. Since that time, my involvement has been as a participant and leader in the children and youth ministries that include Sunday school and youth groups, including the
Baptist Youth Fellowship. I believe that there are opportunities for the church to play an important role in ensuring that youth receive the information needed to live healthier lives.
Due to the past successes of the African United Baptist Church in Nova Scotia as an
7 advocate for social justice on issues of housing and education, I believe that the church could expand its role as an advocate for young women in the area of health and leisure.
My experience as a youth involved in the African United Baptist church and as a parent of an adolescent girl was the catalyst for this research topic. I have strived to facilitate discussions with my daughter about the importance of viewing and maintaining her body as
God's vessel. With that in mind, I believe that it is important for young African Nova Scotian women involved in the Baptist church as I was to have appropriate avenues for discussing issues related to their health and leisure and to address them through the lens of their involvement with an African United Baptist church. I believe that youth need information about a variety of topics and that they may be able to access this information through the church.
Therefore, I have chosen to focus on young African Nova Scotian women because I have an interest in the lives of other women from my community. It is important for academia to have information about persons of African descent throughout the Diaspora2 because so little is know about persons of African descent in Canada. This study will allow me to explore the thoughts of youth in an African Nova Scotian community to learn how they view the church and its potential role as an advocate for youth in the area of health and leisure. I intend to allow the voices of the youth to be reflected throughout the research process.
With that said, I recognize that my worldview and experience has shaped the interpretation of this research. My purpose was to understand the constructions these young women have developed of their health and leisure lives and the church's role in it by engaging with them in discussions about the topic. I acknowledge that there are numerous factors that interacted in these young women's lives that are interdependent. It is therefore
2 Diaspora refers to the dispersal of persons of African descent throughout the world. The term Diaspora is also used by many other ethnic groups most notably Jews to describe their 'scattering" from their place of origin or homeland. What sets the African Diaspora apart is the fact that it was a forced migration of 15 -40 million people. In the other migrations the people were able to maintain their cultural connections whereas Africans were not. (I. Saney, personal communication, January 8, 2007)
8 my role to involve the young women as central to the research, and their voice, as gathered through interviews and a focus group, to communicate my understanding of the meanings of these interconnections.
1.6 Summary
As indicated, little information is known about the health and leisure of persons of
African descent and especially female youth. Literature supporting the positive health outcomes of youth engaged in church activities however does exist. Research supports the centrality of the Black church in relation to the experience of persons of African descent in
Canada and the United States. This connection supports the further exploration of the role of the church in addressing the health and leisure needs of African Nova Scotian females.
The next chapter will discuss the literature as it pertains to leisure, health and religion within the African Nova Scotian community.
9 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.0 Introduction
This chapter will cover literature pertaining to African Nova Scotian female youth and three interrelated topics central to this thesis: religion, leisure, and health. The research will briefly discuss the impact of organized religion within the African Nova Scotian community and concepts related to the leisure and health of this population. In addition, this chapter will provide a synopsis of the current literature related to the leisure behaviors of persons of
African descent and the prevalent health issues that impact persons of African descent within the Diaspora. Finally the chapter will conclude by linking the concepts of religion, health and leisure.
2.1 Religion
As stated in the introduction, the most important institution within the African Nova
Scotian community is the Black church. The church, and in particular the spirituality of persons of African descent is at the heart of their culture, values, mores and beliefs. Bowen-
Reid and Smalls (2004) stated that, "spirituality and religiosity are rich cultural mores in the
African American community" (p.284). Among persons of African descent religiosity is an external demonstration of our spirituality, which according to Afrocentric theorists is a fundamental component of the experiences, culture and heritage of persons of African descent (Asante, 1998).
Este and Bernard (2006), using the results of two studies about the health needs of persons of African descent, found that spirituality was key to their survival. Etowa et al.
(2005), who focused their work on the myths associated with Black women and menopause, found that Black women experiencing menopause, depression, racism and the pressures of
10 everyday life sustained themselves through their spirituality and practice of religion. Coping mechanisms included prayer, reading the Bible or other religious materials and connecting with their pastor. Participants involved in talking circles explained, "we do know that social support, extended family networks, and religion or spirituality have a beneficial effect" (Acton
& Lloyd, 2004). Overall both studies revealed the centrality of spirituality in the form of religious practice as a coping mechanism and as a means for achieving and maintaining health. Therefore, failure to acknowledge the spirituality of individuals of African descent when discussing issues about their health and their leisure is very problematic.
A synthesis of literature completed by Enang, Edmonds, Amaratunga, Atwell, &
Rolston (2001), relevant to the health of African Nova Scotians, highlighted a number of themes including access to health services, preventative health issues, behavior and lifestyle, and health status. This work resulted in the development of a series of recommendations for how the church could build community capacity and empowerment as a way to deal with the needs of the community. Enang and her colleagues argue that the health needs of persons of African descent need to be addressed in ways that are different from how the needs of the dominant group, Euro- Canadians, are addressed. The church is an important institution that may be well positioned to address those unique needs.
According to Cordes and Ibrahim (2003) religious institutions have influenced the pursuance and resulting leisure choices of many ethnic groups. A number of religious institutions support the use of leisure activities as a way to build relationships and promote a balanced life among their congregants. Activities such as sports leagues and social groups have been used to create an atmosphere of belonging but also to recruit new members resulting in the rebirth of religion and spirituality and its involvement in the leisure lives of many individuals. To address this issue, the African United Baptist church has been proactive in attempting to connect persons of African descent with leisure opportunities through the development of a number of groups for seniors, youth, men, and women that
11 would meet the needs of the congregation. Current health concerns in the community may rekindle the need for the involvement of the church in addressing these needs once again.
2.2 Leisure
The word leisure has many different meanings. The diverse meaning associated with the term leisure has been the prime focus of many leisure researchers and theorists
(Mannell & Kleiber, 1997; Stockdale, 1989). Cordes and Ibrahim (2003) identified three approaches to defining leisure: leisure as residual time, leisure as activity and leisure as a state of mind. Ajzen (1990) explained that because the definitions vary, the development of a universal definition that is applicable to leisure studies does not exist.
Stockdale (1989) and Tirone and Shaw (1997) argued that definitions of leisure are problematic because they lack relevance in the context, the values, beliefs and experiences of certain groups. Stockdale proposed that the concept of leisure be re-examined in order to account for the cultural variables that exist within society. In her master's work, Hamilton
(1997) found that the classic definitions of leisure did not equate with the participants of her study. Older African Nova Scotian women did not identify with the word leisure and in fact it was not a term used to define what they did during their spare time. In her research, church was a key leisure resource as was family in terms of activities the women preferred to engage in during their free time. Much of the leisure literature has overlooked many cultural influences on leisure. The result is that definitions of leisure often rely on Eurocentric and
Androcentric models and comparative perspectives detailed in the next section.
2.2.1 Leisure and Persons of African Descent
For the most part, leisure research focusing on persons of African descent has been somewhat limited in its scope. Two major theoretical perspectives focusing on this population aim to account for the differences in leisure pursuits when comparing the leisure
12 of persons of African descent with people of European descent or other ethnic groups: marginality theory and ethnicity theory (Washburn, 1978: Floyd, Shinew, McGuire & Noe,
1994; Allison, 1998; Johnson, Bowker, English & Worthen, 1998). Marginality theory argues that access to recreation and leisure is impacted by the poverty and discrimination one may experience because of their ethnic or racial background (Gramann & Allison, 1999).
Gramann and Allison (1999) stated that the "differences in participation reflect not only differences in socioeconomic status, but also a history of inequitable treatment in recreation resource allocation and opportunity" (p. 290). In contrast, ethnicity theory focuses more on the values, beliefs, and socialization patterns that are predominate within the group rather than the socioeconomic factors. In other words, the differences in the leisure preferences of persons of African and European descent have little to do with economic status and more to do with the cultural qualities that the group (persons of African descent) may bring to their preferred activities.
The leisure research published to date focuses on persons of African descent as individuals who tend to engage in activities that are sport/fitness based or who enjoy social activities and are less likely to participate in outdoor activities such as hiking. While these preferences are not generalizable to all persons of African descent in the Diaspora, studies have noted that preferred activities are either sport or fitness based, or social- based often occurring within a church setting and non outdoor activities (Floyd, Shinew, McGuire & Noe,
1994; Shinew, Floyd & Parry, 2004). However, research by Floyd & Shinew (1999) that explored the differences and similarities of the leisure preferences found that when the amount of interracial contact was considered, the leisure preferences of persons of African descent changed. Their study determined that when controlling for socioeconomic status, the greater the interracial contact between the two groups, the more likely the groups would share common leisure interests. Though the Floyd and Shinew study indicated that in some situations persons of African descent are likely to participate in similar leisure activities as
13 European descended Americans, the study also reports that interracial contact is not likely to occur in any key situations in the home, the church, neighborhood or parks. This study highlighted the importance of the church among the African American participants particularly in the lives of African Americans with high interracial contact because it acted as a "social buffer or emotional haven" (p. 381) as they faced the challenges of assimilation with the dominant culture.
Leisure interests, according to Gramann and Allison (1999), could represent the culturally expressive side of leisure that is often evident when looking at the meanings of leisure activities within and among groups. Floyd (1998) in his discussion of key concepts within the study of race and ethnicity explained the difficulties persons of African descent encounter when attempting to define their ethnic identity. The church may be the cultural institution that allows for this displaced group to explore and develop a sense of ethnic identity.
Shinew, Floyd, McGuire and Noe (1996) further investigated the concepts of race, gender, and subjective social class and leisure preferences in relation to those differences.
The results of their study indicated that African Americans, regardless of their social class share more similarities among their own ethnic group than they do with persons of European descent in other social classes. This finding has been attributed to the socialization process that is more prevalent within the African descended population than European descended populations. Brega and Coleman (1999) refer to this socialization process as a racial socialization process where youth of African descent are taught, by means of both verbal and non-verbal communication, what it means to be of African descent or Black. Through this process, adults will demonstrate the behaviors and activities that are appropriate for persons of African descent to emulate. The differences in leisure preferences are often not significant when socioeconomic status is considered. The study results indicate that middle to upper-middle class African descended men and women share similar leisure preferences
14 with their European counterparts. This may be due to the variety of opportunities available through work or their integrated neighborhoods. While their study indicates that race plays a significant role in the leisure preferences of persons of African descent, the authors believe that there exists a relationship between race and class though the relationship may manifest itself differently among those of varying socioeconomic backgrounds.
Philipp (1997) found similar results in a study that explored race, gender and leisure benefits while controlling for socioeconomic status. When leisure benefits were analyzed, it was found that middle class men of African descent sought leisure opportunities for relaxation in contrast to European American men who more likely sought leisure more likely for the physiological benefits it can provide. Women of African and European descent both sought leisure for benefits associated primarily with self-esteem. In their second choice of benefits they sought from leisure the women of African descent chose relaxation and women of European descent chose physiological benefits. Philipp (1997) stated that:
"from this perspective, a greater middle-class African American preference for higher
levels of some leisure benefits might be explained from two basic psychological
motivations: (a) leisure as a reward for the pain, suffering, or hardship caused by
daily confrontations with prejudice and discrimination; or (b) leisure as a stress
reduction mechanism or safety valve to dissipate anger, insecurity, or fear toward
perceived prejudice and discrimination" (p.202).
Historically persons of African descent have been subjected to discrimination. Payne,
Mowen, and Orsega-Smith (2002) found that persons of African descent preferred parks that provided structured and organized activities over activities designed to explore nature.
Martin (2004) argues the reason for these preferences can be attributed to advertisements for outdoor activities that target persons of European descent and because for Black
Americans and others "wilderness places may be tied more to the history of domination, enslavement and lynching at the hands of Whites than to any romanticized ideal about
15 getting back to nature". These areas are often seen as "White" areas and are viewed as off limits and not used by persons of African descent and racially visible persons (McDonald &
Hutchison, 1987; West, 1989; Johnson, Bowker, English, & Worthen, 1998).
Classic research by Stamps and Stamps (1985) concluded that race and class are not always conclusive factors in determining leisure participation. Looking specifically at the leisure participation in urban settings, they found that when race and class variables were controlled, there were few significant differences when comparing between groups of Black and White study participants. Craig (1972), as cited by Stamps and Stamps, 1985, indicated that because of the mobility from traditional rural upbringing by persons of African descent, leisure preferences may favor activities that were available in the rural settings even though people relocated to urban areas. Overall the research pertaining to the leisure preferences, patterns, and behaviors of persons of African descent describes a diversity of interests and a range of reasons that may explain that the differences.
Leisure research recognizes that access to leisure among African Americans has been constrained by social injustices such as racism (Allison, 2000; Philipp, 2000). As a result of racism some African Americans perceive they are not welcome in leisure spaces, resulting in an overall decreased involvement in some kinds of recreation and leisure.
Racism has also contributed to economic disadvantages, which in turn limit participation in recreation activities (Frisby et al., 2005). While the leisure research has explored differences in leisure preferences between African and European American groups, it has not explored ways to promote access to recreation for those who would like to have the same leisure opportunities as the rest of society or ways to make existing leisure opportunities more accessible.
16 2.3 Health
According to the US Office of Minority Health, "the death rate for African Americans was higher than non-Hispanic Whites for heart diseases, stroke, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, influenza and pneumonia, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and homicide" (OMH,
2002). Though there is a universal health care system in Canada, which is intended to provide all Canadians some form of access to free health care, people of African descent share similar health disparities with their American peers including increased risk for non- communicable and chronic disease resulting in long term health problems (Rodney &
Copeland, 2009). Little research has explored the health status of African Nova Scotians, one of the larger racially visible groups in the province. However, Kisely, Terashima and
Langille (2008) found that among African Nova Scotians, there were significantly elevated morbidity levels for circulatory disease, diabetes, and psychiatric disorders.
The WHO (1986) presented eight prerequisites for health including peace, shelter, education, food, income, a stable eco-system, sustainable resources, and social justice and equity. In her thesis, Benton (1997) discussed the impact of social injustice in the form of racism on the identity development of person of African descent. Benton's results indicated that many sociological institutions, such as health care agencies and recreation centres, present racist environments that have had a negative impact on the identity of persons of
African descent. Benton also stated that the resources used to cope with the impact of racism are often found within the confines of African centered heritage and beliefs about group identity. Benton did not discuss the importance of the church in helping to maintain and at times develop a cultural heritage and value system that enhances the resilience of persons of African descent in the face of adversity. In the absence of the church, the potential for personal harm increases, especially as it affects youth. Church organizations are beginning to value recreation and leisure and to explore opportunities for leisure pursuits to be incorporated into their youth ministry programs (Carpenter, 2001; Lee, 2005). The goal
17 is to provide youth with safe and structured play while engaging them in Christian teaching and mentoring and therefore decreasing the potential for youth to engage in health compromising behaviors. Youth involvement in the church-based activities however tends to decline during adolescence and they often chose to engage in health-compromising behaviors (Smith, Denton, Faris & Regnerus, 2002).
Violence, physical injuries, drug use and abuse, unsafe sexual activity which leads to sexually transmitted infections or unplanned/unwanted pregnancies, crime, unemployment, inadequate physical activity and poor dietary habits, disproportionately affect the lives of youth of African descent (Brindis, Park, Paul, & Burg, 2002; Cook, 2000). Again these research findings have been linked to the disadvantages experienced because of racial discrimination. Society's negative portrayal of persons of African descent has been internalized by our youth and has affected their potential and willingness to be contributing members of society (Benton, 1997). The social environment in which they live negatively affects the physical, social, spiritual, cognitive and mental health of youth. As research indicates, recreation and leisure programs can positively impact overall health by providing opportunities to increase self-esteem and determination.
Most youth engage in health compromising behaviors for a number of reasons such as thrill seeking (Greene, Krcmar, Walters, Rubin & Hale, 2000; Harris, Duncan & Boisjoly,
2002), poor parental monitoring practices (Stanton et al., 2004; Romer et al., 1999; Huebner
& Howell, 2003), and peer pressure (Boyce, Doherty, Fortin, & MacKinnon, 2003).
Engagement in these behaviors can be detrimental for youth once they reach adulthood.
Adolescence is a critical time for youth to develop their own values regarding healthy lifestyles and their ability to make healthy leisure choices is important to their overall development (Caldwell & Smith, 1995; Huebner & Howell, 2003). As reports of youth engaging in health compromising behaviors come to the forefront, leisure researchers are
18 beginning to explore adolescent free time and how it relates to these incidences of risky behaviors.
As cited in Greene, Krcmar, Walters, Rubin, and Hale (2000), Jessor (1992) stated that risk has two dimensions. Youth can be at risk of becoming involved in behaviors that are potentially detrimental to health (broadly conceived) and at risk of 'health and life compromising outcomes' of current and past behaviors" (p. 441). Research has shown that there is a link between boredom during free time and youth engagement in risky behaviors
(Caldwell & Darling, 1999; Caldwell & Smith, 1995). It is often during unstructured leisure time, or free time that youth seek out activities that will positively stimulate them.
Unfortunately, the activities that are frequently chosen, such as drug and alcohol use, crime and risky sexual behaviors often lead to negative health outcomes (Tapert,
Aarons, Sedlar, & Brown, 2001; Brown, 2002). Youth involvement in church-based activities has been cited by researchers as an external asset acting as a deterrent for youth whose life circumstances make them vulnerable and impact their ability to make positive choices
(Regnerus & Elder, 2003; Wallace & Forman, 1998). Since young people often choose to engage in health compromising behaviours, various denominations have tried to address the health concerns of their congregations based on their own doctrine.
2.4 Religion and Health
The connection between spirituality/religion and health is not a new concept.
Organized religions are not usually recognized as an important source of information and guidance on issues related to health. However in recent years, churches have been called upon to explore how they might address health issues. Certain Judeo-Christian denominations such as the Seventh-day Adventists, Mormons and Jewish, have created health related principles and protocols to be used as guidelines for healthy living (Koenig,
McCullough & Larsen, 2001). Devout Seventh-day Adventists adhere to particular health
19 guidelines established by their health ministry team, devout Mormons refer to the Word of
Wisdom and those of the Jewish faith follow the Torah. The similarities among the three include specific dietary prescriptions and abstinence from any habit-forming drugs like nicotine, alcohol, and caffeinated beverages. They may even practice vegetarianism and abstain from Biblically sanctioned meats such as pork or certain types of seafood. Several denominations have a long history of instituting certain religious-based nutritional practices as a means of addressing certain health issues. One might wonder why other denominations have not. While it cannot be assumed that certain denominations are more aware of the health needs of their congregations, it does indicate that some churches have recognized an integral link between spirituality and the physical health of their members.
According to Rubin et al. (1994), churches considered successful as providers of a variety of youth/ teen programs are often older and well-established such as Methodist churches. Rubin noted that many of the congregants from within the Methodist church participating in the studies were of middle socioeconomic status and maintained a membership in the church. As well, these churches have a substantial number of members who are able to volunteer time to the development of youth programs. Although the Black church is an important institution in the community, not all have succeeded in providing structured programs to address the current needs of its youth members (Rubin et al., 1994).
The Seventh-Day Adventists have a firmly established health ministry that works toward their members receiving appropriate health related information. Their website indicates that "[wholeness and health have been an emphasis of the Seventh-Day Adventist church since the 1860's when the church began. Health Ministries promote good health and the prevention of ill health to help achieve this goal of wholeness". The Seventh-Day
Adventists believe that as a group they are responsible for maintaining and improving the spiritual, mental, social and physical health of their members.
(http://www.adventist.org/mission and service/heaith.html.en). Seventh-Day Adventists
20 consider the health ministry component a vital piece of their entire ministry as is reflected in the website dedicated to addressing heath related issues including current research that has been reviewed by a health ministry leader.
The health ministry team acts as a resource and advisor in the development of health related information, programs, and resources to be used in the broader church ministry. It is important to note that the Seventh Day Adventists emphasize addressing the needs of the whole person including the spiritual, physical, social, and mental functions of the individual. While they believe in divine healing, they are strong advocates for the provision of information that will allow their members to make informed choices about their health to promote a healthy lifestyle thus ensuring God's restorative power will work on their behalf when necessary.
One of the difficulties that arise in the application of Christian principles is the secular perspective on health. Christian values and beliefs do not always align with the values reflected in the World Health Organizations definition of health. The WHO has defined health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely that absence of disease or infirmity" (1948). The Ottawa Charter expanded the definition stating that it is "a resource for everyday life not the object of living. Health, a positive concept, emphasizes social and personal resources, as well as physical capabilities" (WHO, 1986).
Blatantly absent from this definition is reference to "spiritual health", a component that is central to the holistic view of health held by many people with a Biblical/Christian worldview but also those of other religions and cultures. Spiritual health is not confined to religion but rather includes religious practices and most often a manifestation of that religious involvement. Spiritual health must be included and acknowledged as a key component of overall health when we consider the health of persons of African descent and for many other ethnic groups as well. Additionally, the connection between leisure and health must be
21 acknowledged since leisure is an important part of everyday life as a social and personal resource.
2.5 The Leisure - Health Connection
According to the WHO, the increased prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as, cardiovascular conditions, cancers and obesity, are significantly impacting public health. These diseases however, are preventable often through lifestyle change or alteration. An important aspect of lifestyle is leisure and how one spends leisure time. A study conducted in Finland by Hyyppa, Maki, Impivaara, and Aromaa (2005) reported that leisure participation is an independent predictor of survival (risk of death) over 20 years.
Data from the Mini-Finland Health Survey conducted in the late 1970's was used for this study because it examined the general health and health determinants among adults. The quantitative results indicate that people who are actively involved in clubs and hobbies or recreational activities seem to live longer than people with moderate or little to no leisure participation.
Studies like the one noted above, are important when discussing the link between health and leisure. Wankel (1994) stated that from a subjective view point the definitions of leisure and health share similarities: "Personal initiative, choice, meaningful involvement and enjoyable supportive social networks - key aspects for leisure - also have important implications for well-being" (p.29). Wankel believed that as the increased emphasis is placed on holistic living, the division between leisure and health will fade.
The benefits of leisure on health have been well documented. Coleman and Iso-
Ahola (1993) concluded that the social support and sense of self determination achieved in leisure participation facilitates coping with life stressors. Engagement in leisure time physical activity was found to reduce depressive symptoms in women of African descent (Wise,
Adams-Campbell, Palmer, & Rosenberg, 2006). Leitner and Leitner (2005) asserted that
22 leisure focused education and counseling can help individuals to make the most of their leisure time thus positively impacting their physical and mental health. In contrast, leisure may also have detrimental effects on one's health.
Studies also suggest that during leisure time individuals may engage in activities that negatively compromise their health (Caldwell & Smith, 1995). Activities such as drug and alcohol use, poor eating/nutritional habits, inactivity and other health compromising behaviors can result in an individual's overall poor health and well-being. In a study of risky behaviors among young elite-student-athletes (ESA) in France, Paretti-Watel et al. (2004) found the athletes who considered sport as leisure engaged in risky behaviors such as cigarette or cannabis smoking. In addition, though the authors cautioned the validity of the findings due to small sample size, females engaging in unsafe sex were linked to participation in competitive sport. Elite athletes in this study were also prone to alcohol use and drunk driving with drug use seen as a way to lessen anxiety.
Mahoney and Stattin (2000) studied the structure and social context of Swedish adolescents' leisure activities. It was found that relatively low structure activities in a recreation centre were associated with high antisocial behaviors. The researchers recommended that it is important to provide structured, adult led leisure activities that allow youth to develop and build upon skills over time in order to prevent antisocial group behavior.
2.6 Religion, Health and Leisure
Researchers have long tried to explore the connection between the mind and the body (Koenig et al., 2001). The spirit, mind, and body connection is often associated with the practice of Eastern religions but has long been central to Christianity as mentioned, particularly among Seventh Day Adventists and Mormons. Recently the health sciences literature has identified this relationship and interest in expanding our knowledge of how the
23 mind and body connect and interact (Benjamins, 2004). The research into the connection between religion and health has explored the impact on physical and mental health.
Research in the area of physical health indicates that there was a negative correlation between freedom from physical and mental diseases and church attendance
(Koenig, 2002). Longevity is also associated with regular church service attendance. Using religious practices as a coping mechanism has been highly associated with recovery and outcome. Religious involvement is also associated with decreased mortality rates following cardiac surgeries and breast cancer, increased tolerance of pain and higher quality life. The outcomes associated with religious involvement and mental health include decreased anxiety disorders, decreased episodes of depression, decreased alcohol and drug use, abuse and dependence (Holt & McClure, 2006; Koenig, 2002).
Religion may also have negative impact on the health of many individuals including youth (Koenig, McCullough, & Larson, 2001). Some of these negative health consequences include non-compliance with medications, failing to seek medical care in a timely fashion, refusing blood transfusions or immunizations, refusing prenatal care and assistance from a medical doctor, fostering child abuse and other forms of religious abuse, defending children's rights to medical care and finally replacing mental health care with religion.
Despite some of the negative consequences, understanding of the role religion plays in the health and leisure involvement of youth, the purpose behind this research is better understood. This study presents an opportunity to study the interplay of leisure, health and religion, particularly with an emphasis on young women of African descent.
2.7 Leisure, Health, Religion and Young Women of African Descent
For this study, the focus was on young women aged 15-19 their health, leisure and the role of the African United Baptist church. Research that focuses on the impact of religion on the lives of females generally suggests that more women are actively involved in the
24 church than men and that religious practices are a protective factor for them (Nonnemaker,
McNeely & Blum, 2003). The health issues of youth in Canada are widely known, but the health of female youth of African descent is not (Boyce, 2004). In addition, as outlined in the literature review, we know through comparison studies much about the leisure of persons of
African descent in the United States but not African Canadians. In addition, the leisure literature has explored the influence of gender on the leisure patterns of women and girls.
Little is known about the strategies used to address the recreational and social needs of women who are culturally and ethnically diverse (Shaw, 1999). Knowing that a significant gap exists in all areas of the literature supports the necessity for this research project.
In the following chapter discussing the research methods and methodology, I will discuss the use of Afrocentricity and Black Feminist Thought as approaches used within this research. This approach centralized the African Nova Scotian female youth and their experiences with the issues.
25 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS AND METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction
In this chapter, I outline the methods used in this qualitative research study.
Afrocentricity and Black Feminist Thought are the frameworks used to centre the participants' and their stories. In this chapter, I discuss how the participants were recruited and provide a rationale for why certain individuals were selected to participate in the research. A thorough description of the data collection, management and analysis process is provided along with a discussion of the ethical concerns that I had to be cognizant of throughout the research process to conclude the chapter. I begin with a discussion of
Afrocentricity and Black Feminist Thought as epistemologies through which the participants' stories were centralized in all aspects of the study.
3.1 Through a different lens: Afrocentricity and Black Feminist Thought
3.1.1 Afrocentricity3
Mkabela (2005) stated that:
"African centered research is unique to the social structure and cultural values of indigenous African communities. It promotes the notion that relevant research output can be said to have been achieved when it could satisfy not only the material needs of the people but also their intellectual, spiritual, and cultural needs" (p. 184).
Afrocentricity recognizes, values, and authenticates the responses and interpretations of
African people to their own experiences meaning that the Afrocentric approach allows the participants in this study to react to and tell their own stories which reflect their personal perspectives (Gregory & Harper, 2001). Hooks (1988) stated that:
3 Regarding the use of the term Afrocentricity, Gregory and Harper (2001) and Foster, Phillips, Belgrave, Rudolph and Braithwaite (1993) use the term Africentric while Stewart (2004) and Mkabela (2005) use the term Afrocentric. For the purpose of this thesis, the terms Afrocentric and Afrocentricity will be used in keeping with the writings of Molefi K. Asante (1988).
26 "as subjects people have the right to define their own reality, establish their own identities, and name their history. As objects, one's reality is defined by others, one's identity created by others, one's history named only in ways that define one's relationship to those who are subject" (p. 42-43).
This study used an Afrocentric methodology to investigate the research questions.
Using an Afrocentric methodology allowed me as an African Nova Scotian to situate myself drawing upon my own reality from my perspective and experiences for the analysis (Reviere,
2001). Foster, Phillips, Belgrave, Randolph and Braithwaite (1993) provided a concise
Afrocentric framework, typical of a variety of Afrocentric models used in psychotherapy, known as the NTU (pronounced in-too) model. The term NTU is a Bantu (central African) idea that "is grounded in a broadly defined sense of spirituality and speaks to the interconnection of the internal and external factors that affect the lives of the participants"
(Stewart, 2004, p. 227). The principles of NTU described below are based on the seven principles of Nguzo Saba (African communal living) created by Maulana Ron Karenga and are used for Kwanzaa celebrations (Outley, 2005). They are often referenced as cultural characteristics that emanate within the Black community. These principles are Umoja (unity),
Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa
(cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity) and Imani (faith) (Karenga,
1977 as cited in Foster et al., 1993).
Proponents of Afrocentric methodologies assert that Nguzo Saba is the foundation of an Afrocentric worldview that binds the community together through cultural values that permeate African culture around the world. The principles within the model promote a consciousness that creates order and an environment that is nurturing to the spirit, mind and body. There are four principles of the NTU model that manifest an Afrocentric ideal. The first principle, Harmony, is the spiritual force that connects all and provides guidance, direction, and purpose to human life. Harmony results when there is a coming together of the spirit, mind and body. In preparation for the interview process, I encouraged the participants' to be
27 comfortable in the space chosen for the interview. As well, before I began the interview, I inform them that the answers to their questions would provide me with direction and insight into their experiences related to the questions.
Interconnectedness, the second principle, refers to everything within the community as a system and that this system is interdependent. This principle asserts that all life is mutually dependent and connected across time and space even into the spirit world.
Throughout the research, I shared with the participants my connection to the community aiding in rapport building and trust. This principle was also demonstrated through the shared involvement of the participants and my involvement in the Baptist Youth Fellowship and the relationships with the family. The third principle, Authenticity, refers to the interactions and relationships between people and the need to be genuine to ourselves and others. Working toward authenticity requires that you are honest with yourself and the participants in the study and that the participants can speak openly for themselves within a secure environment. I consistently reassured the participants that their ideas and contributions are important to the research dialogue and that their sharing helped build an understanding of the research topic from their frame of reference. This resulted in an open exchange of ideas and considerable support provided by the participants to one another during the focus group discussion.
The final component of the NTU model is Balance refers to unifying those forces that may be competing with one another (Foster, et al., 1993) acknowledging the parity between opposites and the continuous need for mediation between the forces of life that conflict with one another. Participants were again given the opportunity to express their viewpoints even if their opinions conflicted, or were perceived as disrespectful, with their peers, community leaders, or elders. To provide further balance I emphasized that there were no right or wrong answers in this process; all perspectives were valued.
28 While the Afrocentric perspective expects that researchers of African ancestry will centre themselves in the research, Afrocentricity has often been criticized for its Euro- patriarchal emphasis and its subsequent exclusion of women within the experience of persons of African descent (Collins, 1998). Examples of how Afrocentricity has excluded women as noted by Collins included: (1) utilizing gender specific terminology i.e. Black man with the intention of viewing people of African descent as having only one experience, (2) not discussing the experiences of Black women therefore rendering their experiences invisible, (3) only selecting the writings and research of certain women that was aligned best with the experience of men and finally (4) not highlighting the achievements of Black women in history and culture (p. 174-179). Therefore this research includes aspects of Black
Feminist Thought to specifically highlight the experiences of women of African ancestry with a focus on the experiences specific to African Nova Scotian women thus, presenting evidence of the relationship between race and gender.
3.1.2 Black Feminist Thought
Although women of African descent share a common ancestry, we are not a homogenous group. "Similar oppressions resulting from slavery, colonialism, and racism however permits the sharing of perspectives on Black Canadian Feminist thought though it may be differently defined" (Wane, 2004, p. 146). Wane explains that an important element of Black Feminist Thought is that it is rooted in community. Like the Afrocentric perspective,
Black Feminist Thought places the experiences of Black women at the centre of the discourse. Black Feminist Thought acknowledges the oppression of all women, yet centralizes the complexities that women of African descent face in the presence of an oppressive state.
According to Collins, there are four principles that are central to Black Feminist thought. First, it involves "concrete experiences as a criterion of meaning" (Collins, 1989, p.758) which refers to the lived experiences of African-descended women as an integral part
29 of the studied and defined phenomena and are key factors in the interpretation of the data.
Credibility is therefore associated with the personal experiences of the researcher. Second,
"the use of dialogue in assessing knowledge claims" (Collins, 1989, p.763) is important in that it emphasizes the importance of not only talking about the subject with the participants, but also extending the discussions to include other members of the community. Dialogue has strong links within African traditions therefore incorporating a range of responses to the knowledge claims is a key component to Black Feminist Thought. Third, an "ethic of caring"
(Collins, 1989, p.765) involves allowing the researcher to express his/her emotions and empathy within the study. This tenet supports the researcher as an individual who expresses his/her own emotions and passions in a unique fashion, and that the emotion and empathy for the participants in the study are a valued aspect of the study. The final principle of Black Feminist Thought is the "ethic of personal accountability" which refers to the notion that every idea is value laden and has an owner. Therefore, there is a strong connection between morals and responsibility particularly on the part of the researcher to promote the integrity of the research.
These two conceptual frameworks combined with a qualitative research approach ensure that the voices of the participants and I are central to the research. Both the
Afrocentric approach and Black Feminist Thought emphasize dialogue and communication which was best achieved through the use of qualitative research methods. The use of the
Afrocentric approach with Black Feminist Thought created an environment that was safe and supportive to encourage the participants' communicated their own ideas related to the research topic. Through this I was prepared to share my own views of the topic and to open lines of communication centering the life experiences of both the participants and myself.
30 3.2 Research Design
3.2.1 Sampling and Recruitment
This research used purposeful sampling, particularly snowball sampling (Patton,
2002), to recruit female youth within one African Nova Scotian community. Initially, I recruited individuals who were able to provide specific knowledge related to the subject matter based on their experiences. The participants were identified through their church youth group and through individuals with deep connections to the community and the target population including youth group leaders and advisors, pastors and lay pastors, school principals and the participants themselves.
The inclusion criteria were specific because of the heterogeneity of the African Nova
Scotian communities. For this research, a group of females whose families were living in the specific African Nova Scotian community, currently residing in the identified community and/or involved with the Baptist Youth Fellowship of the Baptist church in the identified community, were recruited for the study. The community was chosen because it is one of many indigenous African Nova Scotian communities and it is the ancestral home of both my maternal and paternal families. It is therefore a community that is well known to me as an insider.
The six female participants were recruited through a poster (Appendix A), personal invitation by myself extended to the youth when I attended a Baptist Youth Fellowship meeting, and through community and youth leaders and elders. In addition, an announcement informing the community and potential participants for the research was placed in the church bulletin for three weeks. Interested teens were asked to contact me directly to arrange an interview time. At the interview, the participants were provided with an information package containing a description of the intended research and consent forms and ethics information (Appendix B) and recruitment letter (Appendix C). All of the
31 documents were reviewed and discussed with the participants prior to asking them to sign the consent form.
Six African Nova Scotian females between the ages of 15 and 19 (mean age 16) participated in the study. All but one of the participants were high school students, the other recently graduated high school and worked full time. All but one of the participants were actively involved in the Baptist Youth Fellowship (regularly attended meetings and participated in the activities offered by the group) based in the home community church.
Four of the participants lived in the community of study; the two remaining participants lived within ten kilometers of the community of study, with close relatives (e.g. grandmothers) still living in the community.
3.2.2 Data Collection, Management and Analysis
Data collection began once approval from the Social Science and Humanities
Human Research Ethics Board was given. As mentioned earlier, six participants agreed to participate in the study that I actively recruited through attendance at the local church and with the assistance of community members. Interviews were held during the spring and fall of 2007 at which time I determined that saturation was reached due to the lack of new ideas emerging from the interviews (Creswell, 2007). Using an interview guide that included semi- structured, open-ended questions (Appendix D), participants were asked questions related to their leisure and health. Leisure related questions centered on what the participants' did for fun, barriers to engagement in identified activities, activities they would like to try and people place or other factors that would influence their leisure choices. Regarding health, participants were asked to define health and identify health issues young women their age have to contend with. Participants were also asked what factors either helped or hindered their health.
I inquired of their information sources including from whom they may seek information and where and why they may not access these resources. I asked them to
32 reflect on their leisure choices in relation to the activity choices health benefits. Finally participants were asked to reflect on their involvement in their local church describing the activities in which they participate. As well, participants were asked to discuss the church as a health and leisure resource particularly whether it can or cannot play a role in their leisure and health. I did not openly ask the participants 'what they needed' for their leisure and health. Research suggests that youth will state that unstructured activities are their preference even though the lack of structured activities is strongly linked to youth engagement in health compromising activities (Mahonney & Stattin, 2000; Jones & Offord,
1989).
The interviews occurred in locations agreed upon by each participant and myself and included the participants' homes, the local community centre and the local university. The interviews lasted between 45 to 90 minutes and with the permission of the participants, interviews were audio recorded. I made note of key points during each interview and wrote up more extensive notes immediately after the interviews and focus group. I later transcribed the recordings verbatim. The typed transcripts were sent to the participants to review. None of the participants contacted me with objections to having their transcripts included in the study. Through thematic analysis, each transcript was examined to identify themes and patterns in the data coding inductively for content and concepts. A further detailed explanation of my data analysis process is provided below.
After each interview, I reviewed the transcripts and generally categorized the statements of the participants by hand [open coding] (Creswell, 2007). This process allowed me to identify if there were additional questions for clarification for participants or if I needed to add questions for the next interview. I also reviewed any field notes and made further notes in my journal and on the transcripts if needed. After all of the interviews were completed, I continued to review the transcripts to identify and categorize quotes with similar themes [axial coding] (Creswell, 2007). Multiple copies of the transcripts were made and the
33 quotes were cut and pasted on index cards and titled accordingly. Some of the examples of the many categories included sedentary leisure activities, youth group and health concerns.
These initial categories and the development of themes were difficult given the interconnectedness of the thoughts and ideas.
I continued my analysis by reviewing the broader categories and developing four themes which were the basis of my focus group discussion which was held during the late fall of 2007. Once the initial coding was completed, the participants were invited to participate in a focus group designed to have them listen to and reflect upon these themes with me. Three of the participants attended to discuss the themes: (1) trust, (2) the importance of family and friends, (3) body and self image and (4) the church. The focus group was transcribed verbatim and the discussion initiated further analysis and review of the individual interviews.
Each participant received the focus group transcript to again provide an opportunity to review the dialogue and determine if their quotes would be included or removed from the final analysis and to avoid my misinterpretation of their voices. This process was consistent with the principles of the Afrocentric and Black Feminist approaches in that I maintained dialogue with the participants' regarding the results of the study by providing an opportunity for the participants' to comment on the transcripts and initial findings. As well, I wanted to support the centering of the lived experiences of the participants' by providing an opportunity for them to self evaluate their words, give feedback and chose which quotes were to remain as part of the research study. Similar to the individual interviews, I was not contacted by any of the participants asking that their quotes be removed from the study.
The final stage of data analysis occurred following the focus group. The focus group discussion resulted in a final regrouping of the themes [selective coding] and further highlighting of subthemes (Creswell, 2007). A final meeting with a qualitative research consultant, Dr. Raewyn Bassett provided additional feedback regarding the sorting and
34 analysis of the data and contributed to triangulation. In addition, triangulation (Creswell,
2007) was achieved by interpreting the data which involved referring to the Afrocentric approach and through a review of the literature presented earlier and new literature presented later in the thesis. A community insider was contacted to help clarify several concepts that emerged from the data. This required the peer to constructively analyze the themes to highlight any biases I may have overlooked. The final themes that resulted were trusting relationships, tension between being healthy and experiencing leisure, and the BYF as a catalyst for connecting the church, kinship and community in the lives of these young women.
Trustworthiness is a vital element of qualitative research. Establishing the trustworthiness of the study requires the researcher to demonstrate that the proposed study meets four criteria: credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability (Lincoln &
Guba, 1985). These are discussed here with an explanation of how I met the standards for each criterion.
Credibility - Credibility in qualitative research refers to "the believability or truth value of a study" (Carnevale, 2002, p. 126). In quantitative terms, credibility means internal validity. Here the researcher must aim to accurately report the participant's experiences and assure participant agreement with the interpretation. Lincoln and Guba (1985) recommend strategies to maximize the believability of qualitative research. These strategies include field activities, peer debriefing, negative case analysis, and member checking.
Throughout the process, I participated in a number of field activities in the community in which this study took place. These activities addressed the believability of the data and involved: prolonged engagement, persistent observation and triangulation to increase the likelihood of authentic research. Prolonged engagement in the community was as a result of my lifelong connection with the African United Baptist Church and the greater African Nova
Scotian community. As part of this study I attended youth focused community events
35 (gospel concerts, weddings, baptisms and youth fundraisers). In addition, I attended church activities (occasional regular and special worship services) and observing both youth and community members. Persistent observation as a field activity was achieved by actively observing the youth in various settings including the interview, focus group, in their community and at church services facilitated by the youth.
The themes were discussed with four elders and a youth advisor from the Baptist
Youth Fellowship. As well, credibility was further enhanced by my use of a reflective journal.
The participants were also provided the opportunity to review the transcripts and a brief report summarizing the analysis of the data to determine if there was congruency between the participants' and the researcher's perspectives.
Each data source, reflective journal including field notes and transcripts, were cross- compared for accuracy. The participants, my thesis advisor and I were involved in the analysis of the data. Elders in the community (older women in the community with strong ties to the faith community) were also consulted to assist me in reflecting on the data in relation to its link to historical and personal events including how the results connected.
As mentioned, all interviews and the focus group were audio taped and transcribed verbatim, word for word. The participant's involvement in reviewing the transcripts from the one-on-one interviews and focus group and the analysis is an accepted form of member checking. Sandelowski (1993) cautioned the use of member checking with participants in light of their tendency to object to having their experiences synthesized with the others. All of the participants however, agreed to have quotes from their respective transcripts used within the study provided their personal identities remained anonymous.
Transferability - "Transferability refers to the extent to which the finding "fit" with the experiences of persons in similar contexts" (Carnevale, 2002, p. 126). Thus to assist in transferability, the researcher provides rich, thick description about the research process, the community, the interviews and focus group. In its entirety, the results of the study cannot
36 be generalized to other young females of African descent; however this research can inform other studies of similar concepts and similar settings. In addition, an insider perspective will be conveyed, as I am a woman of African descent with family ties to the intended research community.
Dependability and Confirmability - I explicitly outlined the tasks completed in the project through an audit trail. An audit trail, or keeping accurate records, was valuable in terms of showing others how I came to my analytical conclusions for the basis of understanding and following my decision making process. The audit trail helped to identify any changes that may have occurred throughout the study. I kept a journal of the research experience and my thesis advisor reviewed the sources used in the data collection, management and analysis phase.
3.3 Ethical Concerns
It was important to consider ethical tensions that arose during this investigation. To avoid questionable research practices (Meslin, 2000), the academic community and others involved in formal inquiry have been increasingly attentive to those areas of concern that could impact the findings and conclusions. Creswell (2003) indicates that as part of the research process, careful thought and resolutions to ethical problems aid in asserting the value of research initiatives. The main intent of this research was to gain an improved understanding of a group that is not well represented in the research literature. In order to promote transparency in the research, I provided all participants with a detailed description of the study and disclosed before the interviews, the full intent of the research project. Thus informed consent was crucial to ensuring that participants were able to understand the aim of the study. I provided detailed information about the purpose of the study by preparing an individual package of information related to the study for each participant. The package included documents that required the participants to show their agreement and acceptance by signature to avoid verbal consent, a description of the interview process, and contact
37 information for my advisor, the university ethics office, and me should they have any problems with the study.
Based upon recommendations made from Creswell (2003), the consent document contains information for the participants concerning their rights relating to refusing to participate, ceasing to participate and the opportunity for them to ask questions. The benefits of the study to the participants were clearly outlined. Prior to the data collection stage, I reviewed the information contained in the consent forms with the participants to fully inform them of the direction of the study prior to their agreeing to participate in the study.
Though I did not anticipate any risks to the participants, it was important to prepare for potential harmful situations. It was difficult to anticipate what experiences may be divulged by the youth through individual interviews and the focus group. The concept of health and risky leisure behaviors from a youth perspective could be a sensitive issue.
Therefore I prepared a list of resources for the participants in the event that additional supports and resources were required (Appendix E). I explained my commitment to ensuring their privacy and confidentiality.
As mentioned, it was vital to discuss with the participants the importance of maintaining the integrity of the research through their ability to remain discrete. I explained to the participants their role in maintaining privacy and confidentiality by assigning code names to each individual in replace of their name. In addition, the data was password protected and stored on a compact disc. When not in use, the compact disc was placed in a locked cabinet in my home. In addition, participants were also informed that at the conclusion of the study, all tapes and transcripts would be secured in the cabinet in my advisor's office for a period of 5 years.
Throughout the study, participants played an integral role in deciding the location for the interviews and focus groups. The privacy of the participants was maintained by choosing
38 locations where secure rooms were available. In addition, as part of the individual packages the participant received, I openly discussed with the participants the importance of keeping the information discussed in the focus groups confidential. I acknowledge the limitations of conducting research in a small community, which is why community support and endorsement was also an important ethical concern.
A major concern was gaining access to the community to complete this research especially in the shadow of one questionable and highly publicized research study. The
Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis (1932 -1972) involved the recruitment of close to 400
Black men from the southern United States (Zekeri & Hablemariam, 2006; White, 2006).
Told that they would be receiving free health care for the treatment of bad blood, these men were observed for the effects of untreated syphilis. Research indicates that it is because of this study, that a mistrust of the research process and health and government officials exists in the Black community throughout North America. Though this "study" took place in the southern US, the effects of it resonate throughout the Diaspora highlighting the challenges that exist in engaging the community in research and the importance of building and maintain an open and trusting relationship with the community and the participants.
As a person of African descent, researching in the African Nova Scotian community, it is important to me that I retain the respect of the community and that in the process of the study I did not dishonor any individual or group. My connection as an insider however did present its own limitations. As an insider, connected to many of the advisors and leaders within the church, the participants may have withheld information for fear that it may be shared with those individuals. Thus it should be noted that as an insider to the community, trust is not a guarantee. Following the completion of the study I provided the community with an opportunity to initiate dialogue regarding female youth and their health and leisure access. I approached the respective youth and leaders in the community and provided an
39 opportunity for them to express their willingness and concerns as an important step in the pursuance and acceptance of this research.
3.4 Summary
This chapter provided an overview of the methods and methodology used in this exploratory study concerning the health and leisure of young African Nova Scotian women and the role of the church. Utilizing both Afrocentricity and Black Feminist Thought, the researcher conducted six individual interviews and one focus group. Several themes emerged through the data analysis that increased the understanding of the health and leisure lives of the participants in relation to the church, family and community. In the following chapter, the three main interconnected themes are presented.
40 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS
4.0 Introduction
This study explored the health and leisure needs of young African Nova Scotian females and how they perceived the role of the church in addressing these needs. I engaged six young women of African descent aged 15-19 in in-depth interviews and one focus group resulting in the development of three main themes. This chapter discusses these three relevant themes: (1) trusting relationships, (2) conflict between being healthy and experiencing leisure, and (3) the connection between church, community, and kinship within the Baptist Youth Fellowship (BYF), a youth organization affiliated with the African
United Baptist Association and the lives of the young women.
The first theme describes the importance of having trusting relationships. The complexities of having to rely on others for information and decision-making, even when the young women may not have agreed with the advice given, were discussed. The second theme addresses the conflict between the health and leisure of the young women. The paradox between their definition of health and their leisure patterns is highlighted, as is the lack of available resources to facilitate the involvement of the young women. Finally, the third theme focuses on the intersection of church, community, and kinship that occurred within the youth group. This theme describes how participant's involvement in the Baptist
Youth Fellowship is more than regular participation in a youth group. Rather it appeared to be a mechanism for being connected to the larger church body, an opportunity for community involvement and service, and a way of maintaining connections to friends and immediate and extended family. Developing connections within such an environment for these young women was a very important component for accessing health and leisure resources.
41 4.1 Trusting Relationships
The participants in this study were practicing church members and much of their leisure involvement occurred within the BYF. Being present at BYF and at church events meant that the elders often observed the young women. At times the elders were critical of the young women. Although they were taught to respect the elders, respecting the elders did not necessarily mean that the young women could trust the elders for advice about their health and leisure concerns. Discussions about their ability to trust elders led to discussions about trusting others in positions of authority and this was a significant and re-occurring part of the dialogue as the participants talked about health, leisure and the barriers they faced in achieving them. Trusting relationships became the first theme.
To establish healthy relationships with individuals both well known and not so well known, the participants felt it was important that in their relationships their confidences would not be betrayed. The young women interviewed in this study described people they trust and expressed the difficulties that they have trusting some family members and individuals inside and outside of their community. Within the context of this research, trust as a construct manifested itself in a number of ways including accepting parental decisions about leisure involvement, adherence to the advice of elders, and sharing information with peers. In addition, trust was a requirement when considering the health and leisure information offered from those outside of the community. Finally, trust was an issue for these young women as they negotiated the 'matrix of oppression' specifically in terms of being of
African descent and being female. These participants were challenged by the perceptions of others and the impact these perceptions had on them personally and in terms of those resources that they would access in their leisure and for health. The participants described trusting their own self evaluation, while competing with the evaluations of others, as having an impact on their health.
42 4.1.1 Trusting Parental Relationships
Family was very important in the lives of these young women. For many participants
having the trust of their parents impacted on their health. Participants contended with
parents' lack of trust in them but also they had to trust that the decisions made by parents,
without their input, were in their best interests. For example Nia4, a 15-year-old girl who
often had the responsibility for caring for her younger siblings, described an experience that
happened concerning school. She stated:
Parents not listening to the side of their children's story and stuff.. .they listen to the
other person's but they don't listen to yours: When they get a phone call home from
school saying that you skipped class when you were in class and she (mother)
wouldn't listen to you when you are telling her a story and stuff. I feel mad...
sad...not trusted.
Nia became upset because her mother refused to believe that she had not disobeyed school
rules. For many of the young women, having their parents' trust contributed to their having
opportunities to participate in activities. Like Nia, Sierra also encountered challenges with
parental trust.
Sierra is 19 years old, worked full time, and still lived at home. She described her
parents as very protective. She stated, "Yep. They don't want me doing a lot of stuff like it's just like I'm younger. They love me in the house, being with them."Though 19, Sierra's
ability to freely access leisure outside of the community was limited by her parents' over-
protectiveness and their preference for her to stay within the community. Community based
activities such as the church-based Baptist Youth Fellowship, were potential options for
leisure activities in the community because parents seemed to trust that this group was a
positive venue for youth involvement.
Nia described how her mother forced her to join the local church youth group.
4 Pseudonyms have been given to the participants by the author
43 Yeah not my choice (to attend BYF) but my mom told me to go in the BYF so she
made me go in the BYF. And I didn't really want to go in it until she made me and I
started liking it. So I just stayed in it! [I felt] kind of mad but when you got in there,
there are people that you know so you didn't feel too uncomfortable.
Though upset by her mother's decision, Nia soon came to enjoy her involvement in the group. These young women valued their family and the role that they played in ensuring that they are given the proper guidance and direction. During the focus group when asked why family is important to their health and leisure, Sierra, Nia and Kyleigh had the following exchange:
Sierra: I find family important because you need your family. They're all you have
really.
Nia: I don't know. Without your family you wouldn't be nothing. You couldn't be
nothing...someone needs to tell you what to do and stuff
Sierra: You need to know where you came from
Nia: Yeah
Kyleigh: They can tell what they think about it. Like if they think it is going to be good
or bad for you.
Throughout the narratives, the young women described how family was a place where the most trusting relationships are centered. Within Afrocentric culture respect for parents and mothers in particular, is an important value. Though the trust that these young women place in their parents may be resisted or result in restrictions, it is an expectation that was often carried forward to elders in the community.
4.1.2 Trusting and Respecting the Elders
It is an expectation of young women of African descent that they will respect the elders of the community. This relationship is complex. Throughout the narratives, several of
44 the young women discussed the challenges of adhering to what the elders say or do.
Several of the young women were not convinced that youth issues were important to the elders and at times, the voices of the elders were harsh and critical. For example, Sierra, who was in a leadership position in the church youth group described the negative feedback that youth receive from elders in the church.
The church people... They talk about you... It's not even just the church people,
there's a lot of church people that they are all giggly first and then there's a lot of
them that will sit around and talk about you. That discourages you. I know that there
are so many people that sit around and talk about the BYF badly and its coming right
from the church people. Negative things.. .look at her.. .look at what she got on in the
choir...she shouldn't be up there she was probably out last night. They really talk
negative, they talk down about our youth... instead of trying to encourage us, they
talk down on us...always talking about us.
For Sierra, and several of the other young women, the young people did not verbally challenge the negative talk but rather they responded by not coming to church. More importantly, they did not become involved in the only youth oriented group within the church.
Sierra believed some youth even left the group because of the criticism received by the elder church members.
It's often said like by people like my grandparents age. They came up and were
addressing us and telling us stuff that we shouldn't be wearing in church. Things that
we shouldn't be doing, that are not hurting anybody, but we shouldn't be doing it. It
puts us down a lot and it makes us feel like we shouldn't be doing it. Instead of
helping us, it seems like they are trying to bring us down more. We only have a
couple active members in our group and they're talking about us. It is making our
group go lower even lower down (in members). We lose members because of the
talk in the church.
45 According to Sierra, a large number of youth in the community who might be interested in participating in the BYF, did not come to the church or participate in the youth group because the elders were critical of the youth. The constant disapproving messages received from the elders, contributed to the perception that the leaders were not interested in the needs of the youth.
Ryann, a 16-year-old female who is active in sports, stated that the church could be providing youth with information that would improve their health. She stated, "I just don't think that they'd take the time to do that. Like I just think that they have their own lives and that they wouldn't take the time to do that."
Though challenged with the sense that the elders may not care about their issues or even provide positive support and encouragement, the young women acknowledged that in some cases the elders were supportive. For example, Kyleigh, who is very quiet and shy, valued any health-related information provided. She indicated:
"... some young girls don't like talking like to their parents and stuff and maybe there
is someone in church they really look up to or maybe look to in the church for
guidance."
The elders were valued as individuals who could provide guidance when a young woman might need it, even when parents were available. Sierra echoed this sentiment
Maybe because they are older I can, I don't know. We think they are right and they
are going to lead you the right way. They wouldn't tell you something wrong to do.
They're there to guide us. They're there to lead us the right way.
Despite the negativity that surrounded the elders providing leadership and guidance, the young women had faith that the health/leisure-related information or advice would provide them with the guidance and support that they needed. While there is a range of impressions among the youth about whom they can trust with the information, the participants greatly respected the elders and trusted the knowledge shared. The participants seemed to trust
46 the wisdom of the elders even though they were often criticized by them. The instability in the trusting relationships with parents and elders was balanced by those relationships with peers.
4.1.3 Trusting Peer Relationships
Participants discussed the importance of their peers as a trusted source of support.
The young women were obligated to respect their parents and the elders automatically but close friendships developed over time with the young women having choice over whom they befriended. Several of the participants explained how they established bonds among their peers in their local BYF group, and also with BYF groups around the province. It was within the context of the friendship groups established in the BYF that they discussed issues that were relevant to them and where they found ways to support one another. The relationships these young women developed were more open in that their friends were less critical than were parents and elders. Sierra said, "It's easier to talk and share with our friends and family cause they know a lot and a little bit more". When it comes to health or leisure, they were inclined to seek the opinions of friends and family because of established connections. The young women used their friends as a way to confirm information that was received from a health care provider. After accessing a health care provider, Sierra explained that she would prefer to seek clarification of information:
From someone that I know, yeah. It seems like it is easier. If I'm at a doctor and they
are telling me this information, it's harder for me to ask questions when I'm talking to
the doctor so I'll go home and ask one of my friends so what does this mean? OK,
so why would they ask me that or why would they say that It's easier to talk to my
friends about it.
For several of the young women, the BYF leaders were also easy to go to for advice about health and leisure. Nia, for instance, described the relationships with BYF leaders who are
47 similar in age: "They're like, they know what we are going through and stuff and like the adults, they like know but, the BYF leaders are better to talk to."
Friends are valued for being available and being truthful. During the focus group,
Sierra and Nia talked about the importance of their relationships with friends:
Sierra: Cause you always expect your friends to have an honest opinion about you.
So when you ask them questions and you want them to tell you the truth, and you
think they are going to tell you the truth
Nia: Or when you have a problem, you don't have to go to your mom all the time.
You can go to your friends if you got a problem.
These young women found solace within their peer relationships. Honesty, respect, trust and reliability formulated the characteristics of these relationships. In the event that parents were not available or when they preferred to not talk with their parents, peers were accessed. The young women were cautious about whom they trust. This was especially true of sources bearing information about their health and leisure.
4.1.4 Trusting Familial Supports and Outsiders as Information Sources
Many challenges were described by the young women as they discussed those individuals who may be information sources. Many of the participants were concerned about the credentials of those individuals who could potentially provide health and leisure related information. Though there was a consensus that family, elders, and friends were for the most part trustworthy, they may not always have the expertise to provide information about certain topic areas. Outsiders were trusted in the delivery and discussion of information if they were perceived to have expertise. Sierra, who disclosed that she is asthmatic, was not comfortable talking to individuals that she does not know about her health problems.
Yeah it is a comfort, it's comfort-wise. I wouldn't like just go to a stranger and tell
them about this. I'd rather go to my family and friends and stuff.
48 Like Sierra, Kyleigh admitted that her shyness was a barrier to accessing resources but she trusted few people.
Yeah I think there are places but, I don't go because I don't trust everybody. No, I'm
just a shy girl and I don't like talking to everybody.
As mentioned, trusting the elders as confidantes and sources of information was important for these young women. Depending on the issue, several of the young women expressed that they would still go to a trusted extended family member. Sierra noted:
Sometimes it does depend on like for example if it was someone my grandmothers
age, an older, older person. It depends on how close I knew them because if I don't
know them, because if I don't know them well, I probably wouldn't go. But if I know
them enough to know that they would not go back (and tell) if I share, they'll go back
and tell someone else that I was sharing this information with them, I don't think that
that is something that I would like go ahead and do. There is a couple of people in
our community that I can go to and ask questions about health care and then there's
others that I don't think I would open up to.
Confidentiality, a component of trust, was a factor when sharing their issues with anyone.
This posed a significant challenge in a small interconnected community. The young women discussed how organizations including the Baptist Youth Fellowship arranged for guests to present on health issues. Individuals became trustworthy if they were perceived by the girls to model behaviors expected to be seen in the young women. Ryann as well expressed her unease with listening to persons who would share health information but may not model their own teachings.
It depends on like who was telling you. If it was somebody that's like not healthy and
they're providing you with health tips or something, I just don't think that I would
listen to them. It would have to be someone that I could trust and know that they
would give proper information.
49 For participants, information sources must possess the skills and knowledge that would enable these young women to trust the information communicated to them. As well, the young women needed to be assured that their confidentiality would be respected by these individuals. These requirements may be scrutinized by the young women as they aimed to establish relationships with individuals who may have prejudices against them based on stereotypes. Therefore, it was often difficult to establish trusting relationships with outsiders when these young women perceived that they were viewed negatively based on their gender and their ethnic heritage.
4.1.5 Trust and Identity
Some of the young women discussed the complexities that exist for them related to stigma and stereotypes associated with being young women of African descent. In the following focus group discussion, two of the young women described the challenges of reaching their own personal goals while contending with expectations of others as young women of African descent.
Sierra: So, well, when I think of myself, I think of myself as a young Black woman
and I try to respect myself because people are always putting titles on young Black
people. They are always saying that they (young Black people) are bad and that they
(young Black people) are not going to do anything. That's why I am trying to do
something with myself. I'm not trying to just sit around and let these stereotypes be
right. That the only thing you have to accomplish is nothing
Kyleigh: Yeah, not doing what other people think you are going to do. Like I have
people telling me all the time that I'm gonna be like this person in my life but well is
hard for me to hear and stuff. It makes me feel like I gotta make it. It makes me feel
like I have to make it, get where I wanna go.
50 Aleah talked not only about the stereotypes women of African descent face in terms of intelligence and behavior but about the pressures faced by young women of African descent with respect to body image.
/ think there is a lot of pressure from guys to have a certain figure and what not. Like
the Beyonce look or something like that. They have to be slim and with the big 'ol
booty. But I think that is what a lot of girls my age think about right now. I think there
is a lot of peer pressure towards some Black females. There are a lot of stereotypes
of Black people not being smart and things like that. There is a certain attitude that
you must have if you are Black. Like the whole sassy type of thing. I think a lot of
people see that in a lot of Black people. But basically it's not true with everyone and
so I think some people are afraid to show how they truly are and not fitting that type
of stereotype.
Access to leisure activities and health information was compromised for these women. They struggled to prove that they did not model the constructed negative images especially since these images impacted the type of resources provided to these young women.
4.1.6 Summary
The analysis of the data led to the discovery that establishing trusting relationships are important for these young women. While the participants' may not like the decisions made by their parents or the opinions of the elders, the comments from the parents and elders are respected and not questioned by these young women. Their friendships are important for helping them to face life's challenges. Having confidence in those who may share information about leisure and health as well must be trusted by the participants. As they learn to understand themselves as young women of African descent, they expect the information they receive to be delivered by professionals that adhere to their own messages especially since participants worked to dismantle the negative images society holds of them.
51 The uncertainty that existed within these relationships resurfaced when the young women discussed their conflicting leisure and health lives.
4.2 Tension between being healthy and experiencing leisure
Leisure is known to affect health and be affected by health status, especially for women. For example physical inactivity, consuming junk food, smoking, and consuming alcohol and drugs are all known to occur for some people as leisure, but they may compromise health (Henderson, Bialeschki, Shaw & Freysinger, 1989). Poor physical ability due to physical impairment, obesity and inadequate nutrition may inhibit participation in leisure for some people as well. The leisure lifestyles of the young women varied along the continuum of leisure activities. Some were active in competitive sports while others enjoyed more sedentary activities. How the young women perceived their health and being healthy did not necessarily mean that their leisure contributed to their wellbeing.
To explore the concepts of health and leisure with the young women, I asked what they liked to do for leisure, and what health meant to them. I also asked what prevented them from having leisure and being healthy. I defined leisure for them as activity they did for fun and I left it up to them to define health. So in discussing these concepts, it was evident they believed many resources were not available to them to support and promote their health in their community. Many of the leisure activities they wanted to do were difficult to access. There appeared to be tension between being healthy and having fun. The tension became the second theme.
4.2.1 Leisure Interests and Decision Making
The young women in the study discussed their leisure interests, many of which were sedentary in nature. Some of the participants engaged regularly in physical activity.
Engagement in their leisure interests was often close to their own home or at their friends'
52 homes. The leisure interests identified by many of the young women were going to the mall, hanging out with friends, and participating in sports.
Sierra said, "For fun I just hang out with my friends, go the mall, I like shopping, or go the movies. Oh yeah, at home, I do girls nights, movie nights and stuff." Nia indicated that her leisure activities involved dancing, singing and braiding people's hair. She also mentioned that she liked to sing in church and hanging out with her friends. Nia expressed an interest in playing other sports but would not participate in:
Soccer, football, hockey...Because I can't play them. I don't know. I'm not trying
because I will make myself look like a fool doing it. So I'm not going to try. I'm just
going to stick to singing and dancing.
Her interest appeared to be overruled by her fear of not doing well at the activity. She preferred to engage in activities that were familiar. She played basketball in the past, but quit because she did not enjoy the practice routine. She noted, "Yeah...getting up every morning at like 8 and 9 o'clock to get ready and stuff and going way over Halifax to play. ..so
I just stopped." Not only were the early morning practices difficult, but travelling into the city, from her community, was an inconvenience.
Myah, who plays basketball for her school team, described leisure activities in which she engaged. She stated, "/ like to dance. I like to play on the computer, talk on MSN, and play basketball." Kyleigh mentioned her leisure involvement: "watch TV or talk on the phone or go out with my friends. Walk around, to the mall, the movies, their house." Many of the young women participated in school-based athletic teams like basketball and soccer. Aleah also talked about hanging out with friends at their house or the mall. She was also a competitive basketball player, an activity that consumed much of her time all year round.
Like Aleah, Ryann described her involvement in leisure activities including competitive sports. She was very proud of her accomplishments in swimming and soccer.
Ryann maintained a part-time job and volunteered with a soccer program for young children.
53 / do swimming, soccer and I help out with minis for soccer. They are like little kids
under 8's. Yeah, I play for my school and I also do rackets out of school. I am on the
second highest level for soccer.
For Ryann, her sports involvement crossed both school and community engagement.
While Ryann was fairly independent in her leisure choices and involvement, Myah was not.
Myah indicated that her leisure decisions were influenced by herself and her friends.
Well, I usually suggest them because most of my friends aren't very active. So I just
give them the idea and if they wanna do it they'll do it. They don't play sports or
anything like that, they just like to chill.
Much of the responsibility for leisure planning with her friends was Myah's responsibility since her friends were not physically active like her. This additional duty presented a challenge as participants considered the centrality of health in their lives.
4.2.2 Defining and Valuing Health
Several participants equated being healthy with being physically fit. Other aspects described by the young women about what it means to be healthy included social, psychological and physical health. Most of the participants defined health as a physical condition. Sierra stated that health involved "Being fit, being the right like shape and condition."Aleah said
"Feeling good, being able to have energy to do things that you want to do, like not
always feeling tired and draggy and low. Just being able to put a smile on your face
and take the next step. Eating right I think has a big part of it, but also exercising too.
So those two go hand in hand, I think."
Kyleigh also thought about health in terms of physical health "being alive and nothing wrong.
Like I don't have any diseases or nothing." Ryann said, "Probably just like doing things like doing exercise, eating healthy and basically that's about it."
54 Myah's definition was more holistic but agreed that she thought of health as being in good physical condition:
To live a good life. If you're not healthy you can't really do that much stuff that you
want to do. Like be active and like do all kinds of other things. If you're not healthy
there's no point in doing it really. It's not going to be as good as you want it to be.
On the contrary, Nia focused the social aspects of health and how important it is for young women to be able to provide support to others. She stated that to be healthy is "Being strong, being a role model."
The way the young women defined health was significant. Although they recognized the importance of physical wellness, their leisure lifestyles were sedentary. Though many of them played sports, Ryann was the only participant who spoke at length about the competitions in which she engaged as a result of her sport involvement. The support she received from her family to ensure that she was at her best was evident during the interview when she discussed her mother's involvement in ensuring she maintained a proper diet.
Nia's definition of health as being a strong role model was quite surprising given that she quit sports because of the practice commitment and would not try other sports fearing that she would not do well. She was content to engage in the activities where she excelled.
The definitions that the young women presented highlighted the discrepancies that exist in what health is to them and the lack of interest in their own health as articulated in the following discussion around health practices.
4.2.3 Health Practices
Sedentary leisure with limited involvement in physical activity may indicate that participants experienced little control over their health. Opportunities existed in the community to participate in health education sessions but not recreation and leisure activities. For several of the young women, opportunities available to them were
55 disregarded. For example, Sierra articulated that young women knew what is available through advertisements but typically chose not to engage in the activities or services.
Yeah a lot of them don't take advantage of what's there. Everywhere at the rec.
centres, in the churches like at work and everything. There are a lot of promotions
there's a lot of stuff that's on site that we can join in the flyers and stuff. There's a lot
of stuff out there that interests us, but we just don't do it. I don't know we say we will
do it and then we just don't do it I don't know. Not enough time, laziness.
The young women chose not to access available programming for example, education sessions about cancer that may have been advertised. A similar behaviour was demonstrated around some church sponsored events. Myah indicated:
/ guess people just don't feel like they need to know about their health sometimes.
Maybe because it's involving the church or whatever, they just don't feel like they
need to know. If they already know some people are like hardheaded, and they think
that their health is okay, then they don't want to listen to anyone else telling them
about their health.
They chose not to engage in health promoting behaviors and activities. In the same way they chose to engage in activities that were not the best choice for gaining and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Sierra, for example, eventually decided that the leisure activities in which she engaged were not the best for her, but they were not harming her either.
It doesn't seem like there is anything there that is harming me. I don't think that it is
harming me going to the mall or bowling like that kind of stuff. Watching movies nah
that's not harmful well eating the popcorn is (laughing) eating all that greasy stuff
yeah its harming us.
Sierra expressed that she was not concerned about her health at this stage in her life.
Not really, no. I just, health care isn't really...it's important but it's just...like really
nothing that really I concern myself about that often. I don't know it's like health care
56 is major but I don't know I don't get sick often and stuff. I do think about my health
but I don't know I just lay stuff over and say oh I will do that another day.
For Sierra, her health was not important to her unless she acquired an illness. Even then, she thought she would delay accessing care. Like Sierra, Aleah was not very concerned about her health. She stated:
No, I really don't have a lot of questions about my health really. It's just one of those
things that you just really don't think about at my age I think. To me, I don't think that
it is a big deal right now. I know it sounds kind of bad when you think about it but I
just, I just don't try and let myself. I only have one life to live, I just kinda try and live
it. One day at a time. If that means eating one or two more candies then I'll eat one
or two more candies kinda thing.
Aleah and Sierra were just two of the participants not completely concerned about their health. Some youth appear to have a sense of invincibility reducing the importance of health. Many young African Nova Scotian women may not have much choice in what is provided for them in terms of making healthy choices due to socioeconomic status or lack parental involvement and guidance. Ryann's mother was vital in ensuring that she made healthy food and general lifestyle choices. She recognized however that not everyone has the same type of supports.
Well a lot of junk food is probably cheaper than healthy food.. .maybe that is one of
the things.. .not enough money to eat healthy food. Well maybe they weren't brought
up to eat healthy too. ..maybe they eat chips for breakfast or something like that.
They just don't care about it after a while they... you just don't care about it?
Young women of African descent may be at a greater disadvantage when it comes to making healthy choices. Socioeconomic factors, lack of parental involvement and guidance may contribute to poor health outcomes. Ryann described her observations of conscious
57 choices made by young African Nova Scotian women with respect to eating unhealthy food and little to no engagement in exercise or specific sport activities.
No, not really. I know just a lot of people at school just don't care. They will just go
eat the greasiest food possible and they are just like "I feel fine."
Doing exercise, that's what I find, a lot of Black females they don't like to participate
in things. The only thing they really participate in is basketball in my opinion and they
just don't eat healthy. Again I think it is the way that they were brought up. I just think
that maybe their parents do that so they just follow it.
The two health practices the young women focused on when asked about them were physical activity and food practices. Personal choice and parental advisement and a stronger commitment to utilize available recreation and leisure options and health education sessions, were important for ensuring the young women had better health practices. Better health practices were impacted as well by limited recreation and leisure options in the community.
4.2.4 Limited community centre options
To maintain a healthy lifestyle, resources were needed in the community. A significant resource in the community was the recreation centre. According the young women, there was a lack of services for them at the community centre. Myah stated that,
"There's not really anything to do there...for our age, like people my age."Sierra accessed the community centre but her active engagement was stifled when males were present. She said, "When I do go it's like Tuesday nights when they have basketball. Sometimes I do play, but other times there are too many boys there so I just sit on the side and watch."
Kyleigh also has frequented the community centre but also noted the lack of structured leisure programming and the focus on team sports.
No. I go to watch the other kids play ball, but I don't go to play basketball.
58 Cause I don't think they have anything out there like that. I think they just have that
the practices for the teams that they have out there and not for anyone else.
Several of the young women described how programming focused on team sports. Many of the participants already engaged in team sports through their schools and other were not interested in the types of teams sports provided. The community centre became an exclusive environment that did not provide a variety of recreation and leisure opportunities for the young women. Aleah noted that, "there are not many health things that happen throughout the community especially for women and men." Ryann was not interested in basketball which she believed was heavily promoted. This was the reason why she does not use the community centre.
I'm not really involved in basketball and that is basically one of the only things that is
at our recreation centre is basketball and I don't play basketball.
The community centre did not meet the needs of the young women because there was a lack of varied opportunities. Not only were the young women unable to engage in a variety of health promoting activities, the ability to put their health beliefs into practice through recreation and leisure activities was compromised. While they often made the conscious choice to not get involved in advertised activities, their decisions to engage in leisure activities that may not promote optimal health such as watching television or using
MSN messenger, can in part be attributed to the lack of resources and opportunities in the community.
4.2.5 Summary
Many of these young women were ambivalent about their health and how leisure impacts health. They knew that physical activity and healthy eating were important but had little ability to claim space in the community centre for the physical activity they liked. Their regular engagement in sedentary leisure coupled with poor eating choices as well as, their
59 disinterest in available resources, may contribute to poor health practices. Their church involvement, specifically in the Baptist Youth Fellowship (BYF), minimized the disconnect that existed between their leisure and health practices. The BYF brought these young women together and by doing so, provided a safe space for leisure participation and the development of healthy lifestyle through education and friendship.
4.3 The Baptist Youth Fellowship: Connecting Church, Kinship, and
Community
The importance of kinship (family, extended family, and friends), community and church were a central focus in the stories told by the participants as they answered questions about their health, leisure and the role of the church as a potential support for them in their lives. The Baptist Youth Fellowship (BYF), where church, kinship and community intersect, was a very important part of their lives. This bi-weekly activity group was a resource for health and leisure for the young women. The BYF functioned as a vehicle for youth to connect with other youth who are often members of their kinship network within and outside of their own area fostering a sense of community. It is a community organization where supportive relationships were built, where support and guidance were given and received, and where the young women were able to engage in leisure activities that were not provided through their local recreation centre. The complex nature of the intersection of family, community and church, which was evident in their activities and relationships within the BYF, was both supportive and constraining. This complex intersection is theme three.
4.3.1 BYF as a church-based learning environment
The BYF was a place not only for religious instruction but where the young members of the congregation learned about issues affecting them. Several of the young women
60 described the educational sessions provided for them through the general church but more specifically through the Baptist Youth Fellowship. Myah talked about lessons provided concerning self respect and self care through her participation in BYF.
It just teaches everyone what to do like all the girls, young girls about how to present
themselves and how to be healthy. In the Bible it talks about being healthy and that
your body is the temple of God and stuff like that. So I guess it does it play a role.
The foundation of the instruction was based on Biblical principles and may occur at one of the many retreats that were organized by the provincial BYF. Kyleigh talked about an activity she engaged in at one of the BYF retreats:
We put together skits and we asked questions. The skit that I was in was about
young girls and prostitution. A lot of girls are getting out of school and just going
away and doing that. (We learned) that all young girls don't have to go and do that.
Girls shouldn't be doing that if they have respect for their bodies. Boys shouldn't be
taking the girls to do that because it is just like taking their mother or their sister to do
that.
The retreats made the participants aware of immediate issues that impact them as young people. It also opened discussion about how they do not have to engage in those activities or be part of the problem. In addition, the young women were made aware of health concerns that would traditionally impact older members of the community. Sierra talked about educators who came to discuss cancer and other health care issues with the group.
We get a lot of information coming into our group. We did actually have people come
in to talk about health care - breast cancer. We have a lot of different people that
come in and tell us a lot about health care but I don't know if it's that we don't really
pay attention to it, but it really does stick to us.
The BYF provided a variety of opportunities for the young women to learn about health issues more relevant to them and their peers but also to look futuristically at their health.
61 They learned about chronic and acute conditions that happen in the larger community. In addition to being a place for educating the young women, the BYF also became a place where young people could engage in recreation and leisure activities with their peers.
4.3.2 BYF as a sacred space for leisure
According to the young women, the Baptist Youth Fellowship facilitated activities that were fun. The BYF allowed them to participate in activities not available in their immediate community. Sierra, who served with a leadership capacity, described at length the activities that occur within the BYF:
We sing, we go on outings, we have different socials, we fundraise, we have different
events, we go to different conferences, and we have different speakers come in. Our
outings, sometimes we go with other groups, and we participate in different outings
like swimming, mini retreats, going to like watch movies and then have discussions
on the movies. We fundraise, have wake-a-thons, bake sales, and road tolls. We
have different little things to raise money for conferences so the parents of our group
members don't have to put out so much money. A lot of our members are not
working. So for our conferences and retreats, we fundraise so we can go to them.
Many of the young women talked about singing in the choir, movie nights, bowling, and other leisure opportunities provided to their local group and while they were in attendance at conferences and retreats. The group also worked to minimize the cost of attending thereby supporting all members to attend through fundraising activities. These leisure experiences supported friendships and skill development. For example, Myah talked about the activities but also community involvement through BYF.
/ was the president at one point but my time was up so someone else had to take
my role. I was involved in the dance group at the church. We just sing in the choir,
62 perform and we use to serve for things that were going on in the community that
involved the church.
The BYF facilitated opportunities for these young women to prepare for an active role in the community. BYF membership encouraged the youth to connect to their immediate community but also to travel throughout the province. The environment created within the
BYF seemed to be a safe place according to Aleah.
Um, I think a lot of people feel comfortable inside their church like usually you are not
judged inside your church so that makes people feel more comfortable.
While sanctioned leisure activities were accessible, the church and the BYF were also viewed as sacred spaces that were not meant for fun and games. A few participants discussed how the church and mainly the BYF provided spiritual guidance and teaching. As such they did not necessarily see the church as a place that is associated with leisure. One participant felt that the church should not be a place for leisure/fun that its sole purpose was for religious instruction. Nia stated:
Nope. It's just not right. I don't know.... it's just not right. I would say the BYF is for
the Lord. Not to be in just to be in because you don't have nothing else to do
Nia felt strongly that the church was strictly for biblical teaching. Another participant discussed how the BYF allowed for young people to learn about God and enjoy themselves simultaneously. Sierra said,
We are learning about God and we are having fun learning about Him too. We are
not just going to have fun, we are actually learning while we have fun and so it's fun.
Yeah it's really important to learn while we're having fun instead of just having fun.
Having the opportunity to engage in leisure activities did not diminish the need to view the space as sacred. The BYF maintained its mandate of providing Christian instruction while engaging the youth and maintaining their interest. The BYF also helped young people recognize activities that may be harmful to them.
63 4.3.3 BYF as a protective factor
Many of the participants indicated that involvement in church-based activities helped them to learn how to face challenging situations and to avoid situations that may cause them harm. Describing a hypothetical situation, Kyleigh explained she would worry about her reputation if she were to be associated with individuals whose behaviour was questionable.
Like if you go out with your friends and you start trouble. That's not good. And if you
go the mall and one of your friends steal or something, that's not good. It would
kinda, it would make me feel like...I didn't know she was like that and am I like her
and all that stuff.
She was able to manage her own behavior and determine when the behaviors of others could have a negative impact on her. In summary, Kyleigh stated her involvement in the church "helps me to stay out of trouble". The church was viewed as a place to go to avoid engaging in health compromising behaviours.
Myah discussed how the behavior expected in church and related activities was different from how she might normally behave.
It's different from what you do in school than what you do in church. I don't know.
You just have to present yourself better in church than you do when you are around
your friends outside of school. I guess just better behaviour than you do outside of
school, not following what your friends are doing, be your own person and stuff like
that.
Behaviour inside of the church was different when young women were involved in church based activities. There was an increased sensitivity to their behaviours as a result of their church involvement. Young women in leadership positions were challenged by behavioral expectations. For those in leadership positions like Sierra, the experience within
64 the certain activities attended with friends were different given that she was not able to indulge as her friends did.
Right now in our church, I'm the president of our youth group, (BYF) and that stops
me from like going to the clubs and stuff with my friends. Don't get me wrong I still go
out but not as much as I would go if I wasn't the president. It stops from me from
doing a lot of different things that they do like going out drinking. I don't do that.
The broader church and the BYF contributed to how the young women presented themselves inside and outside of the community. The church was not always in a position to connect with the young people and particularly the young women. Several of the young women expressed concern about the church planning for the youth rather than with them.
Although some activities focused on youth needs, the participants felt that the church did not do enough to engage youth. Upon reflection of previous events and activities, Myah described how events are not of interest to the youth because of how they were structured.
Yea, a lot of people just talk all the time and then that is how youth get bored. They
don't want to go to another one because they just feel it's going to be the same all
the time. So if they have fun activities to do like during break time or whatever, then
maybe it would bring out more youth to come and participate.
Interactive programming and events might encourage youth involvement. As such, active involvement of the youth in planning would be beneficial. When youth perceived that they were valued members of the church, they were more likely to participate. Many of the participants described that they did not think the church, meaning the leaders and membership, cared about them.
Several of the young women were concerned that no one was attending to what the youth were saying. Nia said "I don't know. I just don't think they listen to you all that much."
In addition, participants called in to question the church's willingness to provide support.
Aleah said that no adults offered their time to help.
65 I'm sure that there is people that you can talk to if you felt you had questions about
your health and what not. But I haven't heard of people saying that they could help
you. But I know that there is help there.
Like Aleah, Ryann acknowledged the perceived lack of interest from the church. She stated that "they could take a part in it, but I don't think that they really care that much or have the time to do it." Many of the participants felt the youth leaders and elders in leadership positions should take the lead on those initiatives that facilitate opportunities for young women's leisure and health needs to be addressed. Increased initiative on behalf of the leaders and elders would contribute to more opportunities for these young women to learn how to overcome health compromising situations.
4.3.4 BYF and kinship connections
According to the young women in the study, the BYF fostered the development of friendships as a result of their involvement in the group. These relationships felt more like visits to extended family. These relationships were developed through participation in local and provincial church services and special events. Aleah talked about being able to travel outside of the community for BYF sponsored events.
"The group that I'm in with, we go away from time to time. Like next week end, we
are going to [community] with the other BYF's so we get to participate with games
and things like that as like together as a church group and with other churches and
what not so that's pretty good.
Like Aleah, Myah enjoyed attending BYF because of the opportunity it provided for her to connect with friends outside her community.
You get to places: retreats and conferences to meet other youth that are in other
communities. Most of my friends are there and just like to talk about stuff and hang
out after BYF is over or whatever. So it's good that everyone gets to come together.
66 Myah described her experience while attending a retreat with other BYF groups across the province.
We just talk about what we do in our group. What's different from our group and
what's different in their group and how we can make everyone the same. We share
different ideas with them.
The exchange of information across BYF groups created cohesiveness among them. Within the local BYF groups, the young women described the openness within the group allowing them to discuss their everyday lives with their peers. Aleah appreciated being able to catch up with friends through BYF.
/ think it's just fun. Being with your friends and being able to sit down and have
conversations about things that happened everyday at school and what not. It just
makes it fun I guess.
The BYF was a resource that the young women used to stay connected with one another at both the local and provincial levels through regular meetings and events. In addition to their connections across the province, local involvement was also important for the youth.
4.3.5 BYF facilitates community awareness and involvement
The concept of community flowed through much of the analysis. As residents of an indigenous African Nova Scotian community, the family ties, values, and beliefs that existed for each participant were all connected. The youth wanted to be involved in their community, in the decisions that were made on their behalf and thus be viewed as active contributors to their communities. Participants mentioned the importance of involving the young women in youth-related community planning. Myah noted that youth involvement was important to knowing what the youth want.
67 They should be interacting with all the other youth in the community asking them
what they want to do and what would be fun for them to do to bring everyone to
church together with the youth.
Allowing the youth to be involved in planning activities would create a sense of community, bringing everyone together to address the subject thus increasing the connection to one another. This same response was repeated when activities are happening in the community.
Aleah thought that engaging in activities in her community with her peers contributed to a sense of belonging.
Being active in like your community, or like in a sport or something along those lines,
where you are with other people your age, you can feel like you can be yourself
around them.
Activities with peers appeared to promote self esteem and friendship development.
However, Aleah felt that there was not enough health related activities that occurred in the community. The activities that were in place did not receive proper publicity to promote attendance.
/ think that they need to be heard about like well advertising. A lot of things happen
throughout the community that you don't really hear about. You just know that they
are there from hearsay but it's not actually spoken out.
Youth wanted to be involved in activities, yet there were not enough activities and those that did occur are not publicized appropriately. Thus for the most part, the BYF group provided ways for the youth to give back and stay connected to the community. Sierra discussed how the youth group gave her something to do in her community especially since the community centre provided limited options.
Being with our youth group gives you a lot of stuff to do. In our community there's
really not much to do and being in the youth group gives us something to do like
every second Tuesday we have like a meeting or a practice. Our group really likes
68 coming out like to be with one another. There is not many positive things in the
community to do. The rec. centre is not always open to us so it gives them, it gives
us, something to do.
Aleah talked about forms of community services the BYF group could provide.
Like if there was like a like a dinner that was going on that someone was hosting,
then they would come to us and ask us if we could serve the food and what not for
them.. .and we do different things like that for the community and what not.
In summary, the young women were connected to the community, family and friends through their involvement in the BYF. They were open to increased involvement because of the benefits they received including: increased sense of belonging, philanthropy and overall connectedness. The challenge was ensuring that youth were aware of opportunities to get involved in their community.
4.3.6 Summary
The church, specifically the BYF group, was in a prime position to address the needs of the youth as a community-focused approach to the provision of leisure and health services. Youth were able to access other communities through church related activities and experience a variety of leisure activities. The environment within BYF is a place to learn, a place where they felt respected by their peers. It taught them to make healthy decisions about their leisure and therefore may have reduced the chance that these teens may engage in health-compromising behaviors. The bonds made through the social networks were important to build upon to maintain a supportive environment.
69 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION
5.0 Introduction
The purpose of this study was to determine the health and leisure needs of young
African Nova Scotian women aged 15-19 and to explore the role of the African United
Baptist Church in addressing the identified needs. Understanding how participants perceived the church as having a role in helping them to meet those needs and the appropriateness of the church's involvement were central in the study. Results suggested that the Baptist Youth Fellowship played a significant role in providing the space and opportunities where young women could engage in leisure activities and receive information related to their health and well being. The findings also demonstrated that the health and leisure lives of these young women were impacted by factors that both shaped their leisure and health experiences in positive ways and other factors that created an imbalance in their lives. These young women overwhelmingly identified that being physically active and eating properly were important for their leisure and health; however, their life experiences often presented challenges and opportunities to maintain these factors. This study suggests that for these young women, trusting relationships, resources to promote their health and leisure and their continued involvement in the local church youth group influences the success and enhancement of their health and leisure lives.
Referring to the principles of the NTU model, balance was important to the interconnection of the lived experiences of persons of African descent. As discussed in chapter three, balance is achieved when the opposing and dynamic factors are mediated.
The young women who participated in this study were presented with opposing forces that needed to be balanced in order to ensure that their leisure and health experiences were harmonious, authentic, interconnected, and balanced. This chapter discusses the
70 imbalances experienced in relation to participant's relationships, their health and leisure beliefs and actions and their life inside and outside of the church. The implications of these findings for leisure and health services for young women of African descent are discussed in this chapter along with recommendations for future research initiatives.
5.1 Seeking authentic relationships
The young women lacked opportunities for some of the leisure they would have liked and which would provide alternatives to some of the sedentary activity they engaged in. BYF was the main source of community-based activity they liked to do for leisure. Within BYF they were able to build relationships with leaders they could trust and that meant those leaders were considered to be reliable sources of information about health and for leisure.
Outside of the BYF there was an imbalance for participants regarding who they could trust.
Results of this study indicated that the young women's relationships with their parents were especially important to them. They respected their parents' decisions and advice for their leisure participation including the type and location of the activity.
Relationships with parents and elders were at times stressful because of the criticism they occasionally received from the elders. Participants did not always have input into the decisions that parents made regarding their leisure involvement. As part of their culture, these young women understood that the advice of the elders and their parents was important and they did little to challenge that advice overtly. Among Black families, respect is a fundamental value intrinsic to the behaviour of the children towards parents and elders
(McAdoo, 1997). The values associated with the authority of elders were reflected in the way in which the young women in this study deferred to parents and elders in the church.
They described feeling comfortable receiving information from the elders concerning health and leisure.
71 Respecting elders is a quality inherent within the Afrocentric worldview (Stewart,
2004). In this study, the role of parents in providing guidance and direction to the young women's leisure involvement was highlighted. During the teen years, parents played a central role in the leisure of the participants. Interaction within Black families happens frequently through affection and informal help (advice, help, and encouragement with problems) reiterating the importance of family ties and relationships with extended family and kin (Taylor, Chatters & James, 1993). These young women valued being able to talk with family members about their health concerns believing that these were the individuals who would keep them on the right path while providing valued information. Still, these young women did not talk about how they communicated their leisure interests to their parents.
Thus, it remained unclear how participants and their parents negotiate through conflict related to leisure. Further research would help to gain insight into this dynamic if it indeed occurs at all.
Parents, elders and youth community members need to help these young women access leisure activities of interest and facilitate opportunities for connections outside of their local community. There are few places in their immediate community that could provide a variety of options for leisure. As the community makes connections with services outside of the community, the youth need to be involved to promote the development of trusting relationships with those individuals coming to provide the services.
Participants identified many individuals who could help them to address their health and leisure needs. While their lists of trusted individuals may have included peers and youth leaders from the community, all participants included the elders. From the perspective of these young women, the church prioritized the needs of elders, young children. As a result, the young women had a sense that their health and leisure needs, particularly educational information and activities to practice the information were not valued within the context of the larger community. While they respected the decisions of the elders, they simultaneously
72 felt ignored by the church and community to serve segments of the population, except when they were asked to be involved as helpers at various church events (e.g. suppers).
The support of the elders often created tension as it was perceived as both encouraging and critical by the participants. The young women voiced little objection to the support they received from the elders and they valued this intergenerational connection; however, they may not have always agreed with the decisions made for them. The elders appeared to expect the teens to adhere to adult directives without question. While this could be viewed by some as restrictive, it seemed to be understood by participants to be part of their African Nova Scotian culture and traditions. It demonstrated both respect and the importance of the interconnectedness between family and community. It was very important for the young women to maintain the respect of the elders, including parents and older adults in the community. Participants trusted the judgment of the elders, yet they were not able to identify ways to alleviate the hurtful comments made about them by the elders.
Peers were valued sources of trusting relationships creating safe spaces for open discussion about life situations. Within their peer relationships, the young women were able to share and solve challenges that they may have encountered. Participants most often engaged in leisure activities with their peers. The BYF played an important part in their health and leisure development. It provided a place for the young women to meet and become friends with peers who shared a similar family, community and life history. These young women described the challenges of trusting a person to provide information if that person was from outside the community (someone they do not know), or not familiar with the local community.
The participants in this study appeared to have difficulty establishing relationships with community outsiders who often had little understanding of their community and their needs. Consequently, health and leisure providers did not have the ability to provide the information they needed. The perception that a service provider from outside of the
73 community cannot be trusted at times prevented the young women from accessing information. For example, many of the participants indicated that they would not go to a stranger for health-related information. The focus needed to be on building authentic relationships in order to provide support to young women.
From a historical perspective, trust is an issue within African Nova Scotian communities in the Diaspora where outsider's motives are questioned. Many events in the history of African-descended individuals have contributed to this air of mistrust tracing back to slavery and the migration, to the Africville and Tuskegee experiments. It is necessary for professionals to acknowledge this experience and find ways to connect to the community in ways that African Nova Scotians feels safe to share information. Authentic, trusting relationships have to be established from within the value structure of the community. The closest model for the development of these relationships can be drawn from the peer relationships where they give and receive information openly and honestly.
5.2 Balancing their health and leisure: Beliefs versus actions
Similar to the relationships the young women experienced, the health and leisure beliefs and actions of the participants in this study were also competing with one another. A clear disparity was evident when the health and leisure beliefs are compared to the health and leisure actions of these young women. The findings suggest that these young women had a strong understanding of what health and leisure meant and the challenges they encountered that compromised their health and leisure. Translating this knowledge into action was difficult. For example, many of the participants recognized the need to be physically active in order to be healthy, yet they engaged in many sedentary activities and unhealthy eating. Their definition of health tended to be narrow and they often expressed the need to be healthy but did not choose or have access to nutritious food. Further
74 complicating this situation, the leisure offerings at their local community centre did not facilitate their participation in physical activities.
Participants argued that they had little access to the local gymnasium at their community centre because it was most often reserved for male youth and basketball team practices - the one sport that was available in the community where they lived. Several of the participants engaged in sports that occurred outside of the local community. The lack of engagement in local physical activity was due to the limited programming at the recreation centre aimed at young women, lack of staff educated in the field of recreation and leisure, transportation (lack of regular public transit), and money. While physical activity did not necessarily need to happen locally the participants and the families would welcome it.
Results suggested that culture and gender impacted the leisure experiences of the young women. Some of the activities that they may have participated in were viewed as acceptable for young women because they reinforced female roles (volunteering in the church nursery, dance group at the church) and were not as risky as some activities more often associated with male youth. These activities may be viewed by the community as safe and protective contributing to the socialization process and their future role as matriarchs in the community. Some of the activities that participants chose often included friends and were familiar to them. There were indications that many of the young women continued to participate in sports-based leisure activities as indicated in the literature discussed in chapter two but, most of their social-based leisure activities were sedentary (e.g. computer use for msn messenger, telephone, movies).
The participants were reluctant to try new activities, such as sports they have never played before for fear of embarrassment. Providing a safe place to engage in activities is important in order to ensure that these young women, and their peers, have healthy leisure lifestyles. The participants indicated that the community centre did not provide opportunities for structured leisure activities for young women nor did it provide a variety of activities for
75 the young women to explore. Therefore, addressing the ongoing challenge of participants' demonstrated preference for sedentary leisure activities should be prioritized. This was further impacted by the lack of initiative taken by the young females to integrate the knowledge gained about healthy leisure activities into a healthy lifestyle practices. It seemed that the young women did not prioritize their personal health. Therefore they may have consciously employed not making healthy choices and viewed themselves as invincible.
5.3 Balancing Interconnectedness with Disconnectedness
The final imbalance related to the participants' involvement in the Baptist Youth
Fellowship, the services and security they experienced and the lack of these services once they were outside of their community. While there were no identified conflicts that occurred within the dynamics of the group, once they leave the security of the group they encountered challenges related to the disconnect that exists between them and the wider, mainstream community. Within the BYF, the extended family and kinship relationships were central to their participation. These relationships were so important to how they negotiate access to services and opportunities. For instance, participants engaged in activities with friends that they have made in BYF and parents encouraged their involvement in the activities of the BYF. These relationships, particularly the security of these relationships, were less likely to be experienced in the mainstream community.
Essentially, what these young women experienced within the Baptist Youth
Fellowship was unique in comparison to their day to day experiences outside of their home community. They developed lifelong relationships that contributed to their willingness to access services outside of their community. Within the BYF such experiences, like friendship development and with that a sense of belonging made it possible to access the mainstream community. Results of this study suggested that the youth relied on the BYF to facilitate access to activities and opportunities that may not be readily available to them
76 otherwise. Such activities included travel to other Black communities not normally accessed throughout Nova Scotia because of the friendship and kinship connections within the BYF.
Many of the young women would not have the opportunity to travel there if it were not for the opportunities provided by the BYF. Parents or guardians may not have taken them unless there were existing relationships in the community or youth were welcomed at an otherwise adult-focused church function.
The balance that needs to be created involves offering these young women experiences in the mainstream community comparable to those within the BYF. Many of the young women in this study were disconnected from services and opportunities outside of their local community. Much of the events implemented by the BYF addressed the needs of young Black youth because the mainstream community did not. The BYF provided ways for the youth to discuss issues that were relevant to them all the while building character and leadership skills that prepared them for future roles within the church or mainstream community. It also created a network that if there were events organized by the BYF, young women could plan with one another to access the event. As a sacred space in the community, the church and specifically the BYF maintained its role of breaking barriers and provided opportunities to build up community members through leisure and health education and community involvement. If it were not for the BYF, these young women would continue to experience isolation in relation to health and leisure services
5.4 Summary
For these young women, the BYF was important to their health and leisure lives.
Opportunities for learning and development were central to their experiences within the
BYF. With the positive experiences that accompanied involvement, they faced many challenges in having to balance the factors impeding their health and leisure decisions. The
77 next section discusses strategies that could support better alignment between the health and leisure experiences of these young women.
5.5 Implications for Leisure services
Professionals need to focus on establishing trusting relationships with youth in
African Nova Scotian communities. In order for the women to access health and leisure services, program developers must first focus on establishing relationships with young women, providing education, and support to peers, parents and elders. In addition, professionals must make every effort to engage with and immerse themselves in the community to build trust and to increase the comfort levels of those seeking the services.
Attending community events, dinners, and special events or attending church services could work toward building these relationships. In addition, specific education sessions planned with community members and at their local community centre could help to build rapport and reciprocal relationships.
In order to diminish the conflict between health and leisure, programs need to be developed that promote the health of young women. This means that programs must appeal to young women and should include activities such as: soccer, music, and dance. Opening these events only to girls/young women could promote participation. This will provide them with the opportunity to sample new activities without fear of failure and engage in new activities (taking risks) in a supportive environment. Since most of the young women played basketball, argued to be the primary sport of Black communities, a program for women could allow the young women to try various sports without the pressure to play basketball. This program could potentially integrate health education and promotion initiatives in a creative way- one that could better support the development of a balanced understanding of how leisure choices impact the health views and practices of young Black women.
78 What possibilities are lacking in their immediate community however, are often accessible outside of the community with school teams or established sport clubs. We know that the leisure activities that they participate in are often with friends. Participation in these activities requires the involvement of parents or friends with private vehicles because public transportation is not always available. Therefore, programming should be responsive to those friendships, which will allow the young women to support one another as they engage in and celebrate activities that are health promoting.
The BYF was multifunctional and can be used as a resource to connect with young women in the community, help providers to identify activities the youth would like to engage in and work with them to plan the implementation of the activity. The young women have already been exposed to leisure activities but organizations need to provide additional support to the BYF to continue that at a larger scale. The young women may be better prepared to face challenges that are relevant to them through maintaining the sacredness of the space and develop programs that honor that quality of the community connections that are developed throughout.
5.6 Implications for Health services
Understanding health from a holistic perspective would better align with the values identified by participants such as their faith practices and the importance of family and community. Health service providers need to recognize the constraints the young women face as persons of African descent who live in a geographically and ethnically segregated community such as limited community resources. More education of elders regarding the impact of their criticisms on the health of the young women might help enhance intergenerational understanding. This may help young females, and youth in general, feel valued as members of the community.
79 In order for the young women in this study to accept information about their health and leisure, health and leisure practitioners need to demonstrate to the young women that they are trustworthy. Trusting relationships may be accomplished by engaging with the youth in activities that will help build genuine rapport between youth and health and leisure practitioners. Rapport building could help the young people trust that the information provided is factual. It also builds credibility if the practitioner models the behaviors they wish to see in the young women. For example, one participant discussed how she did not want someone to talk to her about eating habits if that person has been observed engaging in unhealthy eating behaviours. These findings support the need to provide leaders and peers in the community with the education and training to improve the health and expand the leisure opportunities in the community.
Providing ways to further enhance and build upon existing initiatives is vital. The BYF was not being used, as a stakeholder by external organizations that wished to address the health and leisure needs of young women and potentially all African Nova Scotian youth.
Youth leaders and elders need to work together to advocate for increased programming for the youth and initiate the appropriate connections. The BYF aims to decrease involvement of young women in risky behaviors. Its involvement contributes to and supports the research that identifies the church as an asset for positive youth development (Search Institute,
2006). The BYF could minimize the negative effects of the other two themes by facilitating trusting relationships with adults and peers while continuing to support and expanding upon health and leisure-based programming.
Access can be granted through this safe space where the youth have ownership.
Within an Afrocentric framework, recognizing the centrality of the church in the lives of the people may contribute to the improved health and wellbeing of the young women. The church could benefit from becoming more aware of the health-compromising circumstances that these young women face and be open to changing the way that the church addresses
80 them. For example, one such circumstance would be the criticism they receive and
recognizing the impact of their criticism on the self-esteem and self worth of the young women. These young women risk internalizing these comments and jeopardizing the
development of authentic relationships.
It would be useful to view spirituality as a health component that was embedded in
the values and beliefs that shape the lives of these participants. The individuals that
participated in this study revealed that involvement in the Baptist Youth Fellowship provided
a number of benefits. It was a meeting place where young people could come together to
discuss individual and group challenges. Peer relationships with other members and the
leaders were established within that environment. Participation in the BYF also built
community with the group's immediate circle and also with groups across the province. In
addition, though perhaps unintentionally, the BYF appeared to influence the leisure of the
young women by providing opportunities for the young women to participate in various
leisure activities sponsored by the group.
While the BYF provided opportunities for the youth to participate in leisure activities
during retreats and conferences, these activities were not consistent nor did they happen on
a regular basis in the community outside of the BYF. There were no regularly scheduled
sports league only organized social based activities that are focused on providing a
Christian-based environment for socialization.
5.7 Recommendations for future research
African Nova Scotian women have an enormous role in maintaining the African Nova
Scotian community including its traditions, its stories, its families and most often its church
(Bernard, Lucas-White & Moore, 1993). They are socialized at a very young age to be
respectful and attentive to the directions of the elders and unfortunately this has contributed
to the silencing of their voices (Hamilton, 2000). It is taboo to discuss personal problems or
81 issues or even complain about such things in the Black community. Further research needs to explore how to focus on the intersections that occur among communities, families and church as young women seek to maintain that their sense of balance and connection.
Therefore, a multigenerational study of females or males and their leisure behaviours and health could provide multiple perspectives regarding Indigenous African Nova Scotians.
Based on the findings of this research, there are a number of areas left to be explored. Further exploration of the barriers and supports to healthy eating at home and at locations they frequent in the community would add to the research dialogue about African
Canadian communities. Some of the participants mentioned that it was a challenge to eat healthfully. It is important to understand whether finances compromise these choices, lack of education around choosing healthy foods or the existence of other barriers. Research to further identify the barriers that exist and contribute to how health providers and community organizations may contribute to better nutrition among young women of African descent can enhance our knowledge of various health practices in the community.
All of the participants noted that there were few activities at their local community centre therefore exploring the impact of the lack of recreation opportunities in rural communities as well as the development of gender specific programming could further contribute to our understanding of leisure behaviours and patterns. This could enable the community to seek financial support from organizations to improve the health of their communities through the building of playgrounds, swimming pools, the development of safe walking trails and other recreation and leisure resources.
It is also important to investigate the impact of race and gender on the leisure and health lives of young women of African descent. Discussions with a few of the participants alluded to societal expectations in relation to the behaviours, body type and achievements as young women of African descent. Therefore it would be advantageous to explore how these young women perceive their leisure lives in relation to being female and of African
82 heritage. Research of this nature could highlight the paucity of literature in Canada linked to cultural considerations for indigenous persons of African descent in relation to leisure and health. There are few studies that delve into the relationships that occur among the young women in the study that is a significant cultural factor. It is recommended that further study of the concepts of intergenerational trust and its impact on relationships as well as leisure and the development and maintenance of friendships/ kinship ties within the BYF.
Further research is needed to explore how people who enter into Black communities as outsiders may understand and appreciate the local values, knowledge and experiences and culture of the communities. As well service providers need to address places outside of the communities where youth access health and leisure services to ensure that these places and services are safe and comfortable for the youth. The BYF is a safe resource for these young women that builds community, teaches skills, develops friendships and therefore is a prime resource for providing health and leisure information.
5.8 Limitations
Given the small number of participants (6), it is not possible to extend claims outside this group; however, the study raises a number of important questions for further research.
The focus of this study was on young Black females from one African Nova Scotian community who were actively involved in their church youth group, which is only a small representation of the community's young women. The recommendations forwarded may not work for all the young women in the community. Therefore, further research is needed to explore the research questions and include young women of African descent not actively involved in the church. As well, women from other African Nova Scotian communities should be included. If further research used an Afrocentric perspective then using focus groups from within a participatory action research approach would better enhance the research process. Conducting the research with groups such as family, groups of girls/boys, senior
83 men/senior women, youth leaders, allows for solidarity and connectedness which is a true value within communities of people of African heritage.
Though I located myself in the research as an individual whose life experience was similar to the young women who participated in the study, and informed the participants of my connection to the community, I may have been viewed as an outsider because I do not live in the community and I do not have close relationships to them. As a result, the participants may not have been comfortable discussing the topic of health and leisure with me and that may have made it difficult to access young women for the study. Research protocols for the completion of research in the African Nova Scotian community could be developed with various communities such as those that exist within Aboriginal and Native communities to promote respectful engagement of the African Nova Scotian community.
This might be achieved through the development of a Health Ministry team in association with the African United Baptist Association to work with representatives from each church district and/or community organizations. As well, each church district in collaboration with community organizations such as the Health Association of African Canadians could potentially develop a list of health-based priorities that could be addressed through research or other projects that could work to enhance the health of the community.
Another limitation identified are the interview questions and if they were the appropriate questions for addressing the topic. The research questions did not explicitly ask the participants what they needed for their health and leisure. Research suggests that when asked about what they would like for leisure youth tend to say they prefer unstructured leisure activities but lack of structured programs was known to be problematic, and often resulting in health compromising activity (Mahonney & Stattin, 2000; Jones & Offord, 1989).
84 5.9 Conclusions
The importance of understanding culture and their institutions and the role it plays in one's leisure and health is an overarching theme in this study. Cultural institutions such as the BYF played an important role in helping to address the health and leisure needs of the young women that participated in the study. This included providing a safe environment to experience new leisure opportunities. Many factors impacted the leisure and health needs of the young women that participated in this study. These included relationships within and outside of the community, their beliefs and their behaviours, as well as their strong connection to community. As we begin to understand the importance of cultural institutions, such as the African Baptist church, the African Nova Scotian family and community, it is necessary to consider how these institutions are central in the lives of these participants and how they may impact service delivery.
These young women appreciated the significance of the BYF as a positive source of friendship, leisure and social support and health. Building stronger relationships with parents, elders of the church and external community members is important for these young women in order to improve opportunities for leisure and health in their community. These relationships would help in dealing with the hurtful words from those they are expected to respect yet may not trust. This trust is necessary to build authentic relationships that foster an environment for information sharing. Opportunities for these young women to engage in both past and present leisure interests are important. Though it appeared that their health status was not of immediate concern, they valued the information provided. These young women need the support to act on the knowledge once ready to make the commitment.
Their understanding of leisure and the positive impact it has on their health might be better demonstrated if recreation and leisure opportunities were available at their local recreation centre.
85 Thus, the findings from this study suggest that more structured and committed collaboration should be initiated between organizations like the BYF and organizations outside of the community. How we build upon, improve and if necessary create new connections requires attention to address the tensions or imbalances noted in this study. To improve connections, relationships inside the community need to be enhanced by involving community members who are willing to facilitate opportunities for community members to connect with one another and with representatives from organizations such as community health boards, existing community groups (Lion's clubs), and recreation and health related organizations to establish partnerships.
This study indicates the importance of creating environments in which outsiders, who provide support for people in African Nova Scotian communities, develop an understanding of and respect for their local culture (Ife & Tesoriero, 2006). These supports will be more effective and culturally relevant if outside providers immerse themselves in the community and get involved in local projects. As well, presenting opportunities for community members to get involved in projects outside of the community would further increase the linkages within and outside of the community. Improving connections in the end is about empowerment and providing opportunities for the community members to communicate their interests and prioritize those areas that they would like to have addressed.
The community, family and church share the responsibility for developing programs and initiatives for the young women. For them to maintain a sense of balance in their lives, they need to be able to access these resources in the wider community, where support is rarely available. From an Afrocentric perspective, the interconnectedness experienced in the church, community, and kinship relationships has to be central to addressing their leisure and health. Their lives are intertwined with these forces creating a mutual dependency and are paramount to their health and leisure. Therefore, services need to account for these interconnections in their planning and implementation. Professionals who wish to work in
86 African Nova Scotian communities will benefit from learning the local culture, local community processes, local knowledge, and local values as well as the history of the community where this research took place (Ife & Tesoriero, 2006). When outsiders develop an appreciation for the local ways of the community they will be better positioned to support and enhance the well being of the young women in this community and the community as a whole.
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96 APPENDICES
Appendix A: Recruitment Poster
HI DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY Inspiring Minds
Are you interested in participating in a research study exploring your leisure interests, your health, and the role of the church in addressing these parts of your life?
Are you an African Nova Scotian female?
Are you between the ages of 15 and 19?
If you answered yes to the above questions, please contact Crystal Watson at 469-0344 or email [email protected], for more information.
Thank you in advance for your interest
This study has been approved by the Dalhousie University Research Ethics Board
97 Appendix B: Informed Consent
Sp pALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY
Study Title: Understanding the role of the church in addressing the health and leisure needs of young female African Nova Scotian youth
Degree program: Master of Arts, Leisure Studies School of Health and Human Performance Dalhousie University
Research Supervisor: Dr. Susan Tirone School of Health and Human Performance Dalhousie University 6230 South Street, Halifax Nova Scotia, B3H 3J5 Telephone: Fax: (902)494-5120 Email: sajsan.tirone@daLca
Principal Investigator: Crystal Watson School of Health and Human Performance Dalhousie University 6230 South Street, Halifax Nova Scotia, B3H 3J5 Telephone: (902) 465-8480 Fax:(902)460-4135 Email: [email protected]
Contact Person: Crystal Watson School of Health and Human Performance Telephone: (902) 469-0344 Email: cwatson@dal
Please contact the person above at any time if there are any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this research study.
98 Sp DALHOUSIE \$y UNIVERSITY Inspiring Minds 1. Introduction We invite you to take part in a research study being conducted by Crystal Watson who is a graduate student at Dalhousie University as part of her Master of Arts. Your participation in this study is voluntary and you may withdraw from the study at any time. The study is described below. This description tells you about the risks, inconvenience, or discomfort which you might experience. Participating in the study will not likely benefit you, but we might learn things that will benefit others. You should discuss any questions you have about this study with Crystal Watson or her supervisor, Dr. Susan Tirone (494- 2579). For your records and information, you will be provided with a copy of this informed consent form.
2. Goal of the study
The purpose of this study is to understand leisure and health from the point of view of young African Nova Scotian females. This study will also help to understand where young African Nova Scotian females access leisure, get health information and if the church is a place where this has or can happen.
3. Study Design
Your participation will include one in-depth interview that will be audio-taped and typed word for word. In addition, all interview participants will be asked to participate in a focus group to discuss the information shared with other interview participants.
The interview will be approximately one to two hours long and will explore questions around leisure and health. Questions will also discuss what you may think about the church being involved in your health and leisure.
The researcher will be conducting 6-8 interviews, following which, your typed interview and a summary of the themes will be sent to you for your review. Approximately two months after all of the interview are completed, a focus group will be held with all of the participants to discuss the themes that came form the interviews.
4. Who can participate?
Any female between the ages of 15 and 19 who and identifies as an indigenous African Nova Scotian, is from the community of East Preston and involved with the Baptist Youth Fellowship can participate.
5. Who will be conducting the research?
Crystal Watson will be conducting the research and her supervisor, Dr. Susan Tirone, will be supporting and advising her throughout the process.
99 6. What you will be asked to do?
You will be asked to attend one individual interview with Crystal Watson at a location that you chose. The time of the interview will be arranged during a time of day that works best for you. The interview will be one to two hours long. You will be asked a number of questions during the interview and you may stop at any time throughout. There are no right or wrong answers. The purpose of the study is to find out how you feel about your leisure and health.
After all of the interviews are completed, you will be invited to participate in a focus group session with other participants that were interviewed to discuss what all of you said as a group. Like the interviews, participation in the focus group is voluntary and you do not have to participate or may leave at any time during the focus group.
7. Potential Risks and Discomforts
Sometimes talking about personal things like health or experiences that you have had while engaged in leisure activities that may not have been positive, may cause you to become upset. If at any time you become upset, the interview will stop and you will restart at your convenience if you chose to continue. Please remember that your participation is completely voluntary. You may continue with the interview, refuse to answer questions or stop at any time without consequences.
8. Possible Benefits
Talking about your leisure time and your health may be personally beneficial to you. It will give you an opportunity to discuss leisure and health and what it means to you as well as help you to identify areas that may be improved. It will also help indirectly in the types of leisure and health resources that are provided for you in and outside of your community.
9. Compensation
For taking part in the study, you will be given $10 in movie money at the beginning of the interview and an additional $10 in movie money for participating in the focus group.
10. Confidentiality and Anonymity
To maintain anonymity, I will make arrangements for a private location for the interview and focus group. I will be assigning you a code name in replace of your given name which means that no one will know who are when the results of the study are shared. I will code all data that may discuss friends or family members that may be discussed during the interview and focus. In addition, as part of the individual packages you will receive, I will openly discuss with the participants the importance of keeping the information discussed in the interview and the focus group private. While there may be some difficulty in keeping the information you share private in a focus group, I will discuss it with all of the participants and encourage them to keep the information shared as confidential to the best of their ability.
After typing the interview, to keep the information you shared confidential, I will save to a password protected computer and the tapes will be destroyed once typed and the
100 transcripts will be in a locked file cabinet at Dalhousie University for five years. It is important to know that my supervisor will be helping me throughout this process and will at times have to view the information that you have shared.
11. Question
If you have questions or concerns about participating in this study or about this consent form, please contact me by telephone, 469-0344 or email cwatson(5)dal.ca. I will contact you and provide you with all the information necessary as well as any changes to the study that may be helpful to you in making a final decision to participate in the study.
12. Problems or Concerns
In the event that you have any difficulties with, or wish to voice concern about, any aspect of your participation in this study, you may contact Patricia Lindley (Director of Dalhousie University's Office of Human Research Ethics Administration) for assistance by telephoning (902) 494-1462, or e-mail at [email protected].
I have read the information sheet and understand the purpose of the study. I have been given the opportunity to discuss it and my questions have been answered to my satisfaction. I hereby consent to take part in this study. However I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I may refuse to participate or withdraw from the study at any time.
I understand that the interview and focus group will be audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. I understand that I will be given an opportunity to review the transcripts from my interview and the focus group, without the use of name or the names of other participants, and the analysis of the interviews and focus groups, prior to any part of it being used in the final report. At that time, I understand that I may withdraw any quote that I may have said if I chose. I hereby agree to the above conditions and agree to participate in the study.
Participant Signature:
Full Name (please print): Full Signature: Date (YYYY/MM/DD):
Investigator Signature:
Full Name (please print): Full Signature: Date (YYYY/MM/DD):
101 Appendix C: Recruitment Letter
Ip) DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY Inspiring Minds
Date:
Study Title: Understanding the Role of the Church in Addressing the Health and Leisure Needs of Female African Nova Scotian Youth
Dear
This letter is your invitation to participate in an interview for a study about young African Nova Scotian women, their leisure and health, and the role of the African United Baptist Church in addressing their health and leisure. The interview will be last about one and one half to two hours and will be scheduled on . We are interested in your views about your health and leisure and how the church may play a part in addressing these aspects of your life.
This interview will help us to understand the formal and informal role of the church and how it may advocate for the education and provision of health and leisure information, programs and other resources for its youth members.
The study is part of a Masters thesis being completed by Crystal Watson.
Information sheet and consent forms are attached. Please take time to read them over. If you are willing to participate please sign the attached consent form and return it to Crystal Watson.
Sincerely,
Crystal Watson, BA, B. Rec, CTRS Master of Arts (Leisure Studies) Candidate
102 Appendix D: Interview Guide
Introduction: Thank you for agreeing to participate in this study about the role of the church in addressing the health and leisure needs of young African Nova Scotian females. When I talk about leisure what I mean is activities that you do for fun, with whom you do these activities and where and why these activities are important to you. I also want to talk to you about your health: what being healthy means to you, what health issues females your age may have, and where you go for information to help you with your health issues. Finally, I want to know how you feel about your church's involvement in your leisure and health.
You have given me permission to tape record our conversation. I will also be taking notes occasionally throughout our discussion. Please be assured that the answers you provide are neither right nor wrong. I am only interested in hearing your experiences and thoughts about this topic. You do not have to answer any question that I may ask you and you can withdraw from the study at any time. Do you have any questions before we get started?
First let's start with some questions about your leisure.
Leisure 1. Please tell me about the things you do for fun? a. What makes these activities fun for you? b. Where do you participate in those activities? i. At home? ii. Friends' homes, relatives' homes? iii. At school? iv. Local recreation centre? v. The local church vi. Outside of the community?, name the place 2. Can you tell me about some of the things that might prevent you from participating in the activities that you mentioned? 3. Are there leisure activities you would like to do but have not had the opportunity? Explain your answer What stopped you from participating in these activities? 4. What influences your choice of leisure activities? a. Friends? b. Parents? Guardians? c. Personal choice d. Does the church have any influence on what you do for fun or leisure? Explain your answer
Before I move on to the health-related questions, is there anything else you would like to share with me about your leisure interests?
Health 5. What does it mean to you to be "healthy"? 6. What are the health issues that you think young Black females have to deal with? 7. What are the factors that you think help young Black females to be healthy?
103 8. What are the factors that you think prevent young Black females from being as healthy as they would like? 9. Where do you go to get information about your health problems or questions? a. Doctor? b. Health centre? c. School nurse? d. Are there other places where you go to have your health concerns addressed? 10. Are there places that are intended to deliver health information but you avoid going to them? Why do you avoid going to these places? 11. Think about the fun/leisure activities that we talked about earlier. Are they good for your health? Are any of those activities bad or detrimental to your health? Explain your answer.
Is there anything else you would like to share with me about your health?
Church 12. Explain your involvement in the local African United Baptist Church. What activities do you participate in? For those who are involved in church activities: 13. Why do you participate in these activities? What are the benefits of participating in these activities? 14. Does the church provide any programs in which girls your age can learn about health? a. Do they provide workshops? b. Do they provide information sessions? c. Do they have guest speakers? 15. Do you consider the church as a place where you would like to go for fun activities? If your church provided fun/leisure activities, would you go? a. What are the reasons that you would go? b. What are the reasons that you would not go? 16. Does the AUBC have a role to play in providing guidance to young women about healthy leisure activities? Explain your answer. 17. If your church provided information about health issues would you use it? Explain your answer. 18. Does the AUBC have a role to play in informing young women about health and health issues? 19. What role should the church play in providing fun or leisure activities? 20. What role should it play in informing young women about healthy leisure?
/ really appreciate you speaking time with me today. Thank you! Is there anything else that you would like to share with me at this time?
104 Appendix E: Focus Group Discussion Guide
Focus Group Script:
Hello everyone and welcome. Thanks for taking the time to join me to talk about the leisure and health of young African Nova Scotian females and the role of the church. I wanted to bring us all together to talk about the themes that evolved from the one-to-one interviews that I conducted with you earlier. I would like to know whether or not I have identified what is important to all of you.
There are no wrong answers but rather differing points of view. Please feel free to share your point of view even if it differs from what others have said. Keep in mind that I am interested in hearing all comments, good and bad.
You have probably noticed the tape recorder. As with the one-to-one interviews, I will be recording this discussion because we don't want to miss any of your comments. People often say very helpful things in these discussions and I am unable to write fast enough to get them all down. We ask that you please make every effort to ensure one person speaks at a time so that the information can be recorded completely. We all have name cards so we can be on a first name basis, but again your names will not be included in the final typed document. You may be assured of complete confidentiality.
We'll let's begin. Let's begin by finding out more about each other. Can you introduce yourself by telling us your name and your age three of your favorite things to do in your free time?
(Time passed)
Thank you all for taking the time to share. Well as I mentioned, there were a number of themes that stood out when I looked at all of your transcripts.
The first theme identified was the importance of family and friends in helping you to access information and make decisions about your health and leisure. Do you all agree with that? Anyone disagree? Can you explain in what ways you find family important or not? Can you explain in what ways you find friends important or not? Of the two, which one is most important, family or friends? Why?
The second theme was around trust. For example, believing in the individuals who provide you with the proper information that will allow you to make healthy lifestyle choices and feeling comfortable around them. Do you agree that trust is an important factor when you are seeking out health information and leisure activities? Why is trust so important?
The third theme was around the church and how most of you thought that the church should provide information on how to stay healthy and provide fun, leisure activities. Someone had said "someone should take the time to do it"...in reference to telling young females about their health and leisure resources. Do you agree with that theme as being important? Can you explain why the church's role is so important?
105 The fourth theme that came out of our discussions was body or self image as a health concern. Whether it concerned expectations or desires to look a certain way, or access to healthy choices like food and exercise that may help you with self image. Do you agree with this theme? Can you explain why this is so important to young African Nova Scotian females?
In light of all this information that you all have talked about is there anything that I may have missed that you think is important too?
Is there anything else you want to mention that you have not asked about health or leisure.. .any last words?
Thank you all so much for taking the time to participate in this focus group. This has been an awesome experience for me to be able to talk with you about the health and leisure of African Nova Scotian females and the role of the church. I hope that this study will help health care and leisure service providers as well as the church leadership to better understand your needs. Thank you all and have a great evening!
106 Appendix F: Resources
Addiction Services Capital Health - Addiction Prevention and Treatment Services 300 Pleasant Street, Dartmouth NS 424-5623 (APTS provides specialized addiction prevention and treatment services for youth throughout the province)
Health and Sexuality Planned Parenthood Metro Clinic - Halifax 201-6009 Quinpool Rd. Halifax, NS B3K-5J7 455 9656 (Planned Parenthood is youth friendly and does not require parental consent. Everything is totally confidential. Clinical Services are free)
AIDS Coalition of Nova Scotia Suite 326 -1657 Barrington Street Halifax, NS B3J - 2A1 425 4882 www.acns.ns.ca
Home of the Guardian Angel 2893 Agricola Street Halifax, NS B3K4E8 422-7548 (No in-house residents, but provides pregnancy options counseling)
Youth Project 429-5429 (Support for lesbian, gay and bisexual youth)
Avalon Sexual Assault Centre 425-0122 Crisis Line (aged 16 and over)
Help Lines Youth Help Line -HRM 421-1188 (24 hours)
Emergency Transition Houses and Shelters Adsum House 429 - 4443 or 423 - 4443 (for homeless women and children)
Barry House 422 - 8324 (Emergency shelter for women and children at risk)
107 Bryony House 422 - 7650
Phoenix Centre for Youth 446-4663 or Emergency Shelter 422 - 3105 (Services offered through the centre include crisis intervention, supportive counseling, health services, shower and laundry facilities, healthy snacks, personal care items, emergency food and referral and advocacy services)
Universal Shelter Association 454- 5459 (Culturally sensitive safe houses, also gays, lesbians and bisexuals)
Prostitution Support Stepping Stone 420-0103
Other Supports Eating Disorders Action group Suite 300 - 260 Wyse Road Dartmouth, NSB3A-1N3 443-9944
Alateen 446-7077 (An organization of young Al-anon members, usually teenagers, whose lives have been affected by someone else's drinking. Alateen is based on the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous)
LOVE (Leave Out Violence) 429-6616 (LOVE is a not-for-profit anti-violence youth program that works with youth who have experienced violence as victims, witnesses or perpetrators)
Single Parent Centre 479-0508 (Offers counseling to adolescent mothers, prenatal classes; parenting program; human development and education programs; advocacy work; drop in centre; and much more)
Self Help Connection 466-2011 (A program for self-help resource development. Concerned with assisting individuals to define and meet their health needs in a supportive environment. Provides information and assistance to self-help groups)
YWCA Halifax 423-6162
108