Life in Black America Findings from a National Survey

Reports the findings of the National Survey of Black Americans, a major research project undertaken by social scientists at University of Michigan to collect and analyse national data on the social, psychological, economic and political behaviour of Americans of African descent.



Life in Black America presents an abundance of recent research on the social, psychological, economic, and political behaviors of Americans of African decent. Originating out of the National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA), this book examines this major research project--the first study to sample a truly representative cross-section of blacks in America. The contributors discuss the methodological procedures and approaches used in conducting the NSBA and explain how the study was designed with a sensitivity to cultural influences. Substantive findings from the survey are discussed on a variety of topics, including relationships with family and friends, community life, religion, work, racial identity, political attitudes and participation, and physical and mental health. Each chapter provides a concise up-to-date literature review, addresses the empirical results in light of that literature, and includes research and policy implications. Life in Black America will interest a wide range of audiences including researchers and students in psychology, African American studies, social work, public health, nursing, political science, and sociology. "Life in Black America, a product of that project [National Survey of Black Americans], is one of the most significant works on America′s largest minority group to appear in recent years. . . . Life in Black America provides a correction to the plethora of studies on blacks that have emerged over the last 15 to 20 years. . . . Life in Black America primarily presents the results of analyses that have focused upon many of the key issues of concern to the black community: neighborhood, religion, health, identity, and background and roots. Most important, these issues are addressed from an African-American perspective. . . . One of the most remarkable features of this work is the consistently high quality of the chapters. This is not easy to achieve in an edited work. . . . Together, the chapters present a holistic approach to the study of the black community in what Jackson terms the life-course framework." --Contemporary Sociology "A fascinating conclusion to 14 years of research into the economic, political and social statuses and the physical, psychological and social responses of Americans of African descent. The papers provide a history of the research, its methodological base and ′provide a substantive glimpse of a broad array of findings on the statuses and responses of a national sample of the black population.′--This is a project of major importance--later publications are awaited with great interest." --Journal of the Institute of Health Education "This volume achieves unusual unity for a collection. . . . The reader is also provided with relevant literature reviews and theoretical discussions. The former are usually fairly extensive and cover recent research. . . . This is an important volume. Scientifically defensible sampling, questionnaire construction and data collection procedures produced a reliable body of data that was capably analyzed. Important information about African Americans is reported which others can utilize in their own intra- and intergroup comparisons. . . ." --The Review of Black Political Economy