Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 10-4-2018 Religion, Racism, and Ecological Stress Among African-American Families: A Qualitative Analysis of Perceptions and Coping Strategies JOHNNIE W. JONES Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation JONES, JOHNNIE W., "Religion, Racism, and Ecological Stress Among African-American Families: A Qualitative Analysis of Perceptions and Coping Strategies" (2018). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 4718. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/4718 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. RELIGION, RACISM, AND ECOLOGICAL STRESS AMONG AFRICAN- AMERICAN FAMILIES: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF PERCEPTIONS AND COPING STRATEGIES A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The School of Human Ecology by Johnnie W. Jones Jr. B. A., University of Hawaii, 1972 MSW., Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, 1975 December 2018 © Copyright by Johnnie W. Jones Jr. All rights reserved 2018 ii I dedicate this dissertation to my lovely wife, Loetia Young-Jones and my children, Rhonda G. Leblanc, Steven E. Jones, and Rodney B. Jones. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I humbly give my profound gratitude and appreciation to all my current and past lecturers and mentors, under whose guidance as well as instruction has impacted my quest to complete my advanced studies. I would also like to convey many thanks to my hard-working supervisor, Dr. Cassandra D. Chaney, for her guidance, insight, direction and positive criticisms, all of which aided in the completion of the research and in the end, the completion of this dissertation. To my dissertation committee members, Dr. James C. Garand, Dr. Jenna T. Kuttruf, Dr. Loren Marks, and Dr. Ioan Negulescu, I thank you for providing informal guidance, advice and overall invaluable support. I cannot say thank you enough to all the people who believed in me when I did not believe in myself especially my wife, siblings, children, and best friends Dr. Chanika R. Jones and Mr. Malik Jones. I would also like to thank Mr. Augustine Adu Frimpong for his scholarly involvement which contributed immensely to completing my dissertation on a timely basis; I will be forever grateful. I owe a debt of gratitude to my inspirational parents, the late Johnnie W. and Eloise Jones. Finally, to God Almighty be the glory, I acknowledge Thee! iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................ vii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 1.1. Background to the Study ..............................................................................................1 1.2. Problem Statement/Identification ...............................................................................6 1.3. Purpose of the Current Study .....................................................................................10 1.4. Objectives of the Study ...............................................................................................11 1.5. Research Questions ....................................................................................................11 1.6. Significance/Relevance of the Study .........................................................................12 1.7. Scope and Delimitation of the Study .........................................................................13 1.8. Organization of Study ................................................................................................13 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Introduction ...............................................................................................................15 2.2. Conceptual Framework of Environmental Stimuli ....................................................15 2.3. The Perception Factor ................................................................................................17 2.4. The Context of Coping Strategies/Response .............................................................18 2.5. Theoretical Framework ..............................................................................................18 2.6. Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade ..................................................................................21 2.7. The Atlantic Voyage .................................................................................................24 2.8. African-American Education from the Beginning of Slavery to the Civil War .........26 2.9. Post -Traumatic Slave Syndrome ..............................................................................30 2.10. Jim Crow Laws and Racial Segregation ..................................................................36 2.11. Restricting African-American Education (Legislation and Prohibitions) ...............38 2.12. Racism.......................................................................................................................41 2.13. The Historical Classifications of Race .....................................................................41 2.14. Relationship between Racism and Ecological Stress ...............................................66 2.15. The Historical Salience of Religion ..........................................................................77 2.16. The Role of Black Church ......................................................................................128 2.17. Empirical Literature Review ...................................................................................137 2.18. Summary and Observations ....................................................................................139 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY 3.1. Introduction ...............................................................................................................141 3.2. Study Design ............................................................................................................141 3.3. Study Population ......................................................................................................142 3.4. Sample Size (Participants) and Sampling Technique .............................................143 3.5. Data Sources and Type ............................................................................................144 3.6. Data Collection Procedure .......................................................................................145 3.7. Grounded Theory Research Model ...........................................................................146 3.8. Theory Justification and Development ....................................................................148 v 3.9. Criticisms and Advancements ..................................................................................149 3.10. Data Analysis ..........................................................................................................149 CHAPTER 4. ANALYSIS RESULTS, AND DISCUSSION ....................................................150 4.1. Introduction ..............................................................................................................150 4.2. Analysis: Addressing Research Questions ...............................................................151 4.3. Research Question One: Is there a relationship between religion and stress among African-Americans families? ....................................................................................................................151 4.4. Religion, The Black Church, and African American Families ................................151 4.5. Research Question Two: Is there a relationship between racism and stress among African-Americans families? ...................................................................................................................156 4.6. Research Question Three: What are the perceived factors that cause stress among African-Americans families? ...................................................................................................................160 4.7. General Perceived Factors of Stress ........................................................................160 4.8. Religion as a Perceived Source of Stress or Stressor ...............................................162 4.9. Research Question Four: What coping strategies do African-American families use to deal with stress? ......164 4.10. Self-Directed Coping Strategies .............................................................................164 4.11. Collaborative Coping Strategies ............................................................................168 4.12. Deferred Coping Strategies .....................................................................................169