Marva L Lewis
Tulane University, USA
Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Psychol Abnorm Child
The practice of Colorism, valuing light skin color and rejection of dark skin and course hair texture may be the basis of acceptance or rejection of young children in the United States. In some families these features may symbolize centuries of painful stereotypes and trauma. Racial disparities and Colorism may be unrecognized psychological residuals of the historical trauma of slavery by psychologists and researchers. African American families are disproportionately represented in systems that separate them by placement of children into foster care or the incarceration of the parent and disrupt the normal development of healthy attachment. Hair Combing Interactions (HCI)-verbal interaction, physical touch and responsive listening offers a costeffective, naturalistic method to strengthen parent-child relationships. The Natural Connections Center for Research & Training�??s (NCCRT) programs translates the findings from research with African American parents into community-based interventions. These programs enhance parental self-efficacy, emotion recognition, conflict resolution, parental literacy behaviors and social support among parent peers. They provide a psychologically safe place for parents to interrupt intergenerational legacies of colorism and �??good hair�?? using the routine and rituals of HCI. NCCRT programs are designed to complement the existing services and continued by the sponsoring agency as a regular part of services offered to the communities they serve. This paper will describe the research that served as the basis for the development of the curricula of the Parent Cafe & Miranda�??s Green Hair Puppet show and the Talk, Touch & Listen While Combing Hair parent support group.
Email: mlewis@tulane.edu
