Coping and Resilience: Exploring the Inner Lives of African American Children

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Abstract
In contrast to the conclusions commonly drawnfrom media portrayals ofAfrican American children, the majority are not poorly adjusted. Many do weU even by traditional standards, such as mental health, high school graduation, and employment. Although the simultaneous pursuit of diverse research strategies is possible, the focus on problems such as delinquency and aggression has so dominated the national agenda that it has diverted resources awayfrom research on normal development and resilience. A model is proposed to delineate several sociocultural, family, neighborhood4 and personal coping factors thought to moderate the effects of stress and risk factors that ordinarily contribute to adverse developmental outcomes in children and adolescents. The need for research on emotional development particularly the developing capacity for emotion regulation, is unquestionable. The article concludes by proposing research on issues related to resilience and coping that can advance our understanding of the emotional development of African American children.