Psychologists are exploring how "racial socialization" may help black boys understand their cultural context so they can more skillfully address interpersonal problems that may arise.
An intervention using this concept is PLAAY, or Preventing Long-term Anger and Aggression in Youth. For 15 years, University of Pennsylvania psychologist Howard Stevenson Jr., PhD, has been developing and studying the protocol, which teaches boys about racial history in America and uses basketball, martial arts and other activities to assess how these boys might deal with interpersonal conflicts, whether they are fights with girlfriends or confrontations with police.
Once he and his team get a read on boys' reactions and styles, they teach them more savvy ways of addressing conflict. These include identifying their own stress levels, locating that stress in the body, communicating their feelings and seeking to gain composure through breathing techniques that help them face the situation more calmly. A signature communication tactic is helping boys develop what Stevenson calls "the healthy racial comeback line," where they use wit to address tense situations but still make their views known.
The idea is to give the boys tools to more effectively and powerfully deal with racially charged or other difficult situations, preferably with humor, says Stevenson, who says the intervention has been shown to increase boys' rates of homework completion, reduce fighting and aggression, and increase anger awareness.
"Kids get angrier once they start seeing things [like subtle racial discrimination], but they're better able to talk about them," he says. "It's a different kind of bravado."
— Tori DeAngelis
