@article{head_thompson_2017, title={Discrimination-related Anger, Religion, and Distress: Differences between African Americans and Caribbean Black Americans}, volume={7}, ISSN={["2156-8731"]}, DOI={10.1177/2156869317711225}, abstractNote={The Charleston Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC) survivors’ forgiveness of the racially motivated shootings prompted our research of the association between religion, discrimination-related anger, and psychological distress among black Americans. Using the first representative national sample of Caribbean black Americans, the National Survey of American Life, we examine if discrimination-related anger produces more psychological distress for African Americans than Caribbean black Americans and if religious emotional support lowers distress from discrimination-related anger. Our findings show discrimination-related anger is associated with less distress for Caribbean black Americans than African Americans. Religious emotional support is associated with lower levels of distress and buffers the mental health of later generation Caribbean black Americans who report anger. African Americans reporting discrimination without anger show lower levels of psychological distress than their counterparts who experience anger. Thus, we have partial support that mercy towards one’s transgressor, illustrated by the Charleston Emanuel AMEC survivors, may benefit mental health.}, number={3}, journal={SOCIETY AND MENTAL HEALTH}, author={Head, Rachel N. and Thompson, Maxine Seaborn}, year={2017}, month={Nov}, pages={159–174} }
 @article{de coster_thompson_2017, title={Race and General Strain Theory: Microaggressions As Mundane Extreme Environmental Stresses}, volume={34}, ISSN={["1745-9109"]}, DOI={10.1080/07418825.2016.1236204}, abstractNote={This article spotlights racial microaggressions as relevant for understanding delinquency and the race gap in offending among middle-schoolers. In doing so, we draw on an emerging body of delinquency research rooted in general strain theory that demonstrates the emotional and behavioral tolls of face-to-face discrimination. We contend that this body of research has not established the full impact of racial microaggressions on delinquency because it has not considered that the specter of microaggressive encounters follows African American youth in particular from experience to experience. Specifically, we propose that racial microaggressions influence juvenile offending both directly—as previously documented—and by exacerbating the impact of co-occurring stressful events and experiences on negative emotions and delinquency. Using data collected at a southeastern middle-school, we find support for this proposition, empirically documenting that racial microaggressions interact with co-occurring stressful experiences in OLS models predicting delinquency.}, number={5}, journal={JUSTICE QUARTERLY}, author={De Coster, Stacy and Thompson, Maxine S.}, year={2017}, pages={903–930} }
 @article{rikard_thompson_mckinney_beauchamp_2016, title={Examining health literacy disparities in the United States: a third look at the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL)}, volume={16}, ISSN={["1471-2458"]}, DOI={10.1186/s12889-016-3621-9}, abstractNote={In the United States, disparities in health literacy parallel disparities in health outcomes. Our research contributes to how diverse indicators of social inequalities (i.e., objective social class, relational social class, and social resources) contribute to understanding disparities in health literacy. We analyze data on respondents 18 years of age and older (N = 14,592) from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) restricted access data set. A series of weighted Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models estimate the association between respondent’s demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status (SES), relational social class, social resources and an Item Response Theory (IRT) based health literacy measure. Our findings are consistent with previous research on the social and SES determinants of health literacy. However, our findings reveal the importance of relational social status for understanding health literacy disparities in the United States. Objective indicators of social status are persistent and robust indicators of health literacy. Measures of relational social status such as civic engagement (i.e., voting, volunteering, and library use) are associated with higher health literacy levels net of objective resources. Social resources including speaking English and marital status are associated with higher health literacy levels. Relational indicators of social class are related to health literacy independent of objective social class indicators. Civic literacy (e.g., voting and volunteering) are predictors of health literacy and offer opportunities for health intervention. Our findings support the notion that health literacy is a social construct and suggest the need to develop a theoretically driven conceptual definition of health literacy that includes a civic literacy component.}, journal={BMC PUBLIC HEALTH}, author={Rikard, R. V. and Thompson, Maxine S. and McKinney, Julie and Beauchamp, Alison}, year={2016}, month={Sep} }
 @article{thompson_mcdonald_2016, title={Race, Skin Tone, and Educational Achievement}, volume={59}, ISSN={["1533-8673"]}, DOI={10.1177/0731121415580026}, abstractNote={ Research on skin-tone bias has focused primarily on intraracial inequality with little attention to skin-tone inequality across ethnoracial groups. We engage the debate over the color line by considering the independent, simultaneous, and interactive impacts of skin tone and self-identified race on educational performance. Analyses of National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) and Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement (AHAA) data show significant skin-tone differences in grade point average (GPA) both across and within racial groups, with darker skinned tone individuals receiving significantly lower grades than their lighter skinned tone counterparts. Net of controls, skin-tone differences in GPA are essentially flat among African Americans but are notably stronger among other race/ethnic groups. These findings highlight the interplay between racial categorization and colorism by revealing the categorical disadvantage of racial stigma versus the more fluid colorism boundaries of nonblack groups. }, number={1}, journal={SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES}, author={Thompson, Maxine S. and McDonald, Steve}, year={2016}, month={Mar}, pages={91–111} }
 @article{thompson_rikard_head_mcneil_white_2012, title={HIV health intervention in the African-American community:  Collaborative partnership bridging people and culture}, volume={16}, number={2}, journal={Journal of Higher Education, Outreach, and Engagement}, author={Thompson, M. and Rikard, R.V. and Head, R. and McNeil, C. and White, C.}, year={2012}, pages={79–106} }
 @article{rikard_thompson_head_mcneil_white_2012, title={Problem Posing and Cultural Tailoring: Developing an HIV/AIDS Health Literacy Toolkit With the African American Community}, volume={13}, ISSN={["1552-6372"]}, DOI={10.1177/1524839911416649}, abstractNote={The rate of HIV infection among African Americans is disproportionately higher than for other racial groups in the United States. Previous research suggests that low level of health literacy (HL) is an underlying factor to explain racial disparities in the prevalence and incidence of HIV/AIDS. The present research describes a community and university project to develop a culturally tailored HIV/AIDS HL toolkit in the African American community. Paulo Freire’s pedagogical philosophy and problem-posing methodology served as the guiding framework throughout the development process. Developing the HIV/AIDS HL toolkit occurred in a two-stage process. In Stage 1, a nonprofit organization and research team established a collaborative partnership to develop a culturally tailored HIV/AIDS HL toolkit. In Stage 2, African American community members participated in focus groups conducted as Freirian cultural circles to further refine the HIV/AIDS HL toolkit. In both stages, problem posing engaged participants’ knowledge, experiences, and concerns to evaluate a working draft toolkit. The discussion and implications highlight how Freire’s pedagogical philosophy and methodology enhances the development of culturally tailored health information.}, number={5}, journal={HEALTH PROMOTION PRACTICE}, author={Rikard, R. V. and Thompson, Maxine S. and Head, Rachel and McNeil, Carlotta and White, Caressa}, year={2012}, month={Sep}, pages={626–636} }
 @article{thompson_thomas_head_2012, title={Race, socioeconomic status, and self-esteem: The impact of religiosity}, volume={32}, DOI={10.1080/02732173.2012.694792}, abstractNote={This research examines two factors that have an impact on the self-esteem of African Americans and whites: religion and socioeconomic status (SES). Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, we find that for whites, belief in the Bible (i.e., that it is the literal word of God) and self-identifying as fundamentalist were significant predictors of self-esteem. For African Americans, belief in the Bible and being Catholic were significant predictors of self-esteem. However, the association between belief in the Bible and self-esteem was stronger for African Americans than whites. SES was positively associated with self-esteem for both groups. The interactions between SES and the measures of religiosity reveal a greater impact on self-esteem for lower SES respondents. This was especially true for African Americans. These findings are discussed in light of the resource compensation hypothesis.}, number={5}, journal={Sociological Spectrum}, author={Thompson, M. S. and Thomas, M. E. and Head, R. N.}, year={2012}, pages={385–405} }
 @article{thompson_2007, title={Violence and the costs of caring for a family member with severe mental illness}, volume={48}, ISSN={["2150-6000"]}, DOI={10.1177/002214650704800308}, abstractNote={ Drawing on the stress paradigm and using data from the Duke Mental Health Study, this paper investigates the links between violence by and against persons with severe mental illness and their caregivers' financial burden (e.g., number of financial contributions and perceived financial strain). In addition to violence, substance use and medication noncompliance are included in a series of multivariate regression models predicting caregiver financial burden that include measures for disruptive behaviors, personal needs, social supports, and caregiver characteristics. The findings show that violent perpetration and violent victimization increase the number of financial contributions and perceived financial strain. Nonviolent victimization, in contrast, decreases caregiver financial burden. Number of financial contributions and perceived financial strain are greatest when the family member is violent and extremely disruptive or needs assistance with personal care. Neither substance use nor medication noncompliance contributed to caregiver financial burden. Co-residence, female sex, parenthood, and instrumental social support were also associated with financial burden. }, number={3}, journal={JOURNAL OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR}, author={Thompson, Maxine Seaborn}, year={2007}, month={Sep}, pages={318–333} }
 @article{thompson_keith_2001, title={The blacker the berry - Gender, skin tone, self-esteem, and self-efficacy}, volume={15}, ISSN={["1552-3977"]}, DOI={10.1177/089124301015003002}, abstractNote={ Using data from the National Survey of Black Americans, this study examines the way in which gender socially constructs the importance of skin tone for evaluations of self-worth and self-competence. Skin tone has negative effects on both self-esteem and self-efficacy but operates in different domains of the self for men and for women. Skin color is an important predictor of self-esteem for Black women but not Black men. And color predicts self-efficacy for Black men but not Black women. This pattern conforms to traditional gendered expectations of masculinity and femininity. Moreover, there are conditions of success that allow women to escape the effects of colorism. The impact of skin tone on self-esteem was much weaker for women from higher social class. Those who had lower self-esteem scores were dark-skinned women from working classes and dark-skinned women who were judged unattractive. }, number={3}, journal={GENDER & SOCIETY}, author={Thompson, MS and Keith, VM}, year={2001}, month={Jun}, pages={336–357} }