Spirituality and Hope as Influences on Family Cohesion Among African American Men

Spirituality and Hope asInfluences onFamily CohesionAmongAfrican AmericanMen by Jennifer J. DeSouza B.A., Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, 2000 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Clinical Psychology Walden University November, 2014 Abstract Researchers have found that African American men have a history of difficulty in maintaining family cohesion. Researchers have also found that, in comparison to European American men, African American men are more likely to populate the penal systems, are more abusive to their partners, are less supportive of their children, and are less likely to have stable cohesive relationships. Evidence suggests that African American men draw strength from spirituality and hope, which are the core values of their culture. Drawing from these previous findings, as well as the stages of faith theory, hope theory, and the circumflex model of marital and family systems, this quantitative, non-experimental study examined the roles of spirituality and hope on family cohesion among African American men. The INSPIRIT, the hope scale, and the family cohesion scale were administered to 110 African American men. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that hope mediated a significant relationship between spirituality and family cohesion (p< .05). These findings may inform family-centered programs that facilitate cohesion.Researchers have found that African American men have a history of difficulty in maintaining family cohesion. Researchers have also found that, in comparison to European American men, African American men are more likely to populate the penal systems, are more abusive to their partners, are less supportive of their children, and are less likely to have stable cohesive relationships. Evidence suggests that African American men draw strength from spirituality and hope, which are the core values of their culture. Drawing from these previous findings, as well as the stages of faith theory, hope theory, and the circumflex model of marital and family systems, this quantitative, non-experimental study examined the roles of spirituality and hope on family cohesion among African American men. The INSPIRIT, the hope scale, and the family cohesion scale were administered to 110 African American men. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that hope mediated a significant relationship between spirituality and family cohesion (p< .05). These findings may inform family-centered programs that facilitate cohesion. Spirituality and Hope asInfluences on Family Cohesion AmongAfrican AmericanMen by Jennifer J. DeSouza BA, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, 2000 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Clinical Psychology Walden University November, 2014 Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my family, especially the males:My hubby Clive DeSouza, who through the struggles of writing this dissertation was there for me in the times of my greatest needs. Thank you dear. Thanks for holding things together as I dedicated my time to writing. My eldest nephew, Leon Lemonias, has been a great support to me,likewise Darrel Edwards, who persistently cheered me along when I felt like giving up. My youngest nephew, Josh Lawrence, helped me to unwind with the little silly things he says to me. My prayer for you continually is that God will bless and keep you in His care and that you will be great Black men as you encounter and overcome the barriers in life. I want you all to succeed in life and be the best that life has to offer. Lastly I would love to dedicate this dissertation to my mother,Lurlene Reid, my twin sister, Beverley Brissett-Lawrence, and my elder sisters, Sharon Doeman and Betty Brown; thanks for your continued support and prayers as I struggled through this ordeal of writing. Thanks for your prayers and your phone calls; I truly appreciated them; they were sources of strength and encouragements. Thank you all. Acknowledgments First and foremost I would like to thank my Heavenly Father for keeping me in my sane mind as I went through the ordeal of writing. I love and appreciate your kindness towards me Lord. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank my family and friends, who have journeyed along with me. This process was long and tedious, but you all stuck in there with me. Thanks a lot. I want to thank Dr. Marlon Sukal for accepting the offer to be my Chairperson. I want to thank Dr. YolyZentella from the bottom of my heart for working as my content person. Dr. Z, you are such a wonderful person to work with and I thank you very much for your kind patience as I struggled with this dissertation. I also want to thank Dr. Ainsworth Lightbody for his continued help and support. We have worked together in many residencies; you have been a great source of inspiration. We have struggled together and we have made it; thanks a million. I also would like to thank Dr. Reginald Taylor, who initially was my Methodologist. I thank you for your support and the help you gave me, which set the pace for this research.