Browsing by Author "Brown, Tony N"

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    How Black Adults’ Belief in Systemic Racism Associates with the Perception Barack Obama’s Election Proved Blacks Enjoy Racial Equality
    (2021-03-23) Gorman, Quintin; Brown, Tony N
    Systemic racism implicates surface and deep structures of racial oppression incriminating anti-black practices, white privilege, legacies of economic and other racial disparities, and an ideological frame created by whites to rationalize their privilege. This study asks whether blacks’ belief in the significance of systemic racism (i.e., racial capital) associates with the perception Barack Obama’s 2008 election showed blacks now enjoy racial equality. I also ask whether exposure to institutional inequality (i.e., social dislocations) moderates the association between racial capital and blacks perceiving they now enjoy racial equality. With data from the Outlook on Life Surveys, 2012, I find racial capital associates inversely with perceiving blacks now enjoy racial equality. Additionally, social dislocations moderate the relationship, but in an unexpected way–when social dislocations increase, racial capital links less negatively with agreement blacks now enjoy racial equality.
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    How Consistency in Closeness to God Predicts Psychological Resources and Life Satisfaction: Findings from the National Study of Youth and Religion
    (2019-05-01) Culver, Julian Lee; Brown, Tony N
    With data from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR), this study investigates the association between consistency in closeness to God and psychological resources and life satisfaction. I focus on emerging adults who believe in God and are present across Waves 1-3 (n=1,795). Outcomes include Wave 3 psychological resources (i.e., life purpose and personal mastery) and life satisfaction. Key predictors include two indicators of across-time consistency in closeness to God: (1) a four-category pattern variable and (2) a discrete numeric summary score. In survey-adjusted linear regression models, the pattern variable and summary score of closeness to God show distinct associations with psychological resources and life satisfaction. The pattern variable indicates respondents becoming less close to God fare worse than those consistently close to God. In contrast, the summary score indicates high levels of consistency in closeness predict favorable levels of each outcome. However, the quadratic closeness to God summary score term indicates that high levels of consistency (whether consistently distant from or close to God) predict high levels of personal mastery and life satisfaction. The cubic closeness to God summary score term indicates that levels of life purpose and personal mastery decrease initially, increase, then decrease with increasing levels of consistency to God. Researchers must account for dynamism in emerging adults’ closeness to God. Static portraits of closeness mask the significance of consistency.
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    The Sociopolitical Implications of Blacks' Belief in the Significance of Systemic Racism
    (2024-08-08) Gorman, Quintin; Brown, Tony N
    This dissertation project investigates the sociopolitical implications of racial capital, defined as Blacks’ belief in the significance of systemic racism. Prior racial attitude studies investigate Blacks’ tendency to endorse systemic (i.e., structural) versus individual (i.e., in-born ability, cultural, or motivational) explanations for racial inequality in U.S. society. Historically, Blacks overwhelmingly endorse systemic explanations for racial inequality. Yet, recent studies show increasing trends wherein Blacks endorse individual explanations for racial inequality. These recent findings expose heterogeneity in Black political thought. However, prior studies neglect the full implications of Blacks endorsing systemic explanations for racial inequality. To address this gap, this dissertation project analyzes a nationally representative sample of Black adults completing the Outlook on Life Surveys, 2012, to examine relationships between racial capital and perceptions of racial progress, political activities, and social capital. I address several questions: (1) Does racial capital associate with the perception Obama’s 2008 presidential election showed Blacks now enjoy racial equality? (2) Does racial capital associate positively with political activities? (3) Does racial capital associate positively with social capital? There are three broad takeaways from this dissertation project. First, Blacks gain capital from believing in the significance of systemic racism. It might be a new type of bonding capital. Second, there are capital, variously defined, disparities between high and low-SES Blacks. For example, racial capital’s benefits extend disproportionately to high-SES blacks. Stated differently, low-SES and dispossessed Blacks do not reap as much capital from believing in the significance of systemic racism. Third, racial capital merits further investigation. Not counting this dissertation project, few studies investigate racial capital. Capital gained from belief in the significance of systemic racism may extend beyond political activities and social capital. For example, racial capital may be consequential for Blacks’ mental health, psychological resources, physical health, and more.
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    When and Why Racial Attitudes Change: Presidential Elections, Politicians, and Racial Exemplars
    (2022-09-28) Culver, Julian L; Brown, Tony N
    One of sociology’s central interests is in the relationship between groups and society. Particularly, there is a precedent for sociologists questioning and theorizing groups’ response to sociopolitical shifts. Shifts including global pandemics, foreign and civil wars, and even presidential elections can change individuals’ attitudes of themselves, other individuals and groups, and the social worlds they inhabit. But for some we know little about when and why their attitudes change. Specifically, studies provide little evidence of how sociopolitical shifts changes blacks’ and Hispanics’ racial attitudes. This crucial limitation is due largely to the absence of panel survey data allowing researchers to investigate racial attitude change among nationally representative samples of blacks and Hispanics. Therefore, this dissertation project investigates how sociopolitical shifts associates with blacks’ and Hispanics’ racial attitude change. Most studies favor micro-level predictors of racial attitudes such as interracial contact, gender, or political orientation, but neglect macro-level sociopolitical shifts including presidential elections. In addition, studies tend to focus on whites’ racial attitudes, and care more about correlates of racial attitudes and far less about when and why they change. When studies include non-whites, they rely often on cross-sectional and convenient samples thus, limiting generalizability. To fill this void, I investigate the impact of Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential election on blacks’ and Hispanics’ racial attitudes. I analyze nationally representative panel survey data from the 2008-2009 National Annenberg Election Study (NAES08-Online) to investigate the relationship between sociopolitical shifts and racial attitude change. I test two theories explaining when and why blacks’ and Hispanics’ racial attitudes change. Symbolic empowerment theory proposes members of marginalized groups feel empowered when an individual leading a sociopolitical shift represents them descriptively. Group threat theory proposes certain groups feel displaced when the balance of political and economic power changes. I address six research questions: (1) Do blacks’ and Hispanics’ negative stereotype ratings of blacks change after Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential election? (2) Do blacks’ negative stereotype ratings of blacks relative to whites, and Hispanics’ negative stereotype ratings of Hispanics relative to blacks, change after Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential election? (3) And do changes in negative stereotype ratings of blacks differ by age, sex, education, household income, political orientation, and region? (4) Do blacks’ favorable ratings of Barack Obama predict reductions in their negative stereotype ratings of blacks and their negative stereotype ratings of blacks relative to whites? (5) Does Hispanics’ racial favoritism (i.e., agreement black elected officials’ show favoritism toward the black community) predict increases in their negative stereotype ratings of blacks? (6) Finally, does Hispanics’ racial favoritism predict reductions in negative stereotype ratings of Hispanics relative to blacks. I find first blacks’ and Hispanics’ report increases in negative stereotype ratings of blacks after Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential election. Further, blacks’ rate blacks less stereotypical than whites, and Hispanics’ rate Hispanics less stereotypical than blacks after Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential election. Negative stereotype ratings of blacks vary by sex, education, and political orientation. Second, I find support for symbolic empowerment theory. Specifically, favorable ratings of Barack Obama predict decreases in ratings of blacks’ unintelligence. Further, favorable ratings of Barack Obama predict higher intelligence ratings of blacks relative to whites and decreases in a summation of three negative stereotype ratings of blacks relative to whites. Sensitivity analyses confirm findings and indicate symbolic empowerment related to Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential election was specific to blacks’ racial attitude change. Third, I find support for group threat theory. Specifically, racial favoritism predicts increases in ratings of blacks’ laziness, untrustworthiness, and in a summation of three negative stereotype ratings of blacks after Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential election. Further, racial favoritism predicts higher work ethic and trustworthiness ratings of Hispanics relative to blacks. Racial favoritism also predicts decreases in a summation of three negative stereotype ratings of Hispanics relative to blacks. Sensitivity analyses confirm findings but indicate racial favoritism is not unique to Hispanics. Rather, sociopolitical shifts can generate negative outgroup attitudes generally when individuals’ fear political and economic displacement. There are three broad takeaways from this dissertation project. First, sociopolitical shifts can generate racial attitude change. Specifically, presidential elections and similar events influence how individuals’ view their racial group and others. Second, members of marginalized groups feel empowered when an individual leading a sociopolitical shift represents them descriptively. Sociopolitical shifts where a progressive redistribution of power seems possible can increase self-worth and group status simultaneously. Third, racial favoritism is an important and understudied component exacerbating intergroup hostility between blacks and Hispanics, and may also exacerbate intergroup hostility for other groups. To close, because racial attitudes are a core topic in sociology, it is crucial to investigate when and why they change.