Culture
General Issues About Culture
Books
Brislin, R. (2000). Understanding culture’s influence on behavior (2nd ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College Publishers.
Defines culture as shared values and concepts among people who live in proximity to one another that provides guidance for everyday behavior that is passed down from generation to generation.
Gannon, M. J. (2001). Understanding global cultures: Metaphorical journeys through 23 nations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Evaluates culture according to three dimensions, as defined by the works of Florence Kluckhohn and Fred Strodtbeck, Edward T. Hall, and Geert Hofstede.
Hall, E., & Hall, M. (1990). Understanding cultural differences. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.
A summary of Edward T. Hall’s lifetime of work on evaluating high- versus low-context communication cultures.
Helms, J. E., & Cook, D. A. (1999). Using race and culture in counseling and psychotherapy: Theory and practice. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Defines culture as values, beliefs, language, rituals, traditions, etc., passed from one generation to the next within a social group.
Herskovits, M. J. (1955). Cultural dynamics. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Discusses culture as learned patterns of behavior created by people.
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s consequences. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
A classic study of “masculine” (hierarchical, vertical) versus “feminine” (horizontal) cultures, classified in terms of power distance.
Kluckhohn, F., & Strodtbeck, F. (1961). Variations in value orientations. Evanston, IL: Row, Peterson.
A classical evaluation of cultures using the dimensions of the nature of people, the relations of people to nature, the relations between people, the primary mode of activity, the conception of space, and the conception of time.
Kroeber, A. L., & Kluckhohn, C. (1952). Culture: A critical review of concepts and definitions. New York: Vintage Books.
Discusses the many different definitions and conceptions of culture.
McGoldrick, M., Giordano, J., & Garcia-Preto, N. (Eds.). (2005). Ethnicity and family therapy (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford.
This is the third edition of the very successful book on family therapy with ethnic minority populations. What makes this book unique is that it has over 50 chapters on conducting family therapy with families from different countries, not just the four broad ethnicities generally covered in books of this type. For example, the book does not just have a chapter on Latino families but on countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. It also contains chapters on families from Arab countries, Armenia, India, Pakistan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Germany, Hungary, Israel, and Poland, among others.
Mio, J. S., & Iwamasa, G. Y. (Eds.). (2003). Culturally diverse mental health: The challenges of research and resistance. New York: Brunner-Routledge.
This book discusses the four major ethnic groups and also has chapters on “diverse nonethnic populations,” such as women, individuals who are deaf, LGB populations, elderly populations, and individuals who practice diverse religions.
Rogoff, B. (2003). The cultural nature of human development. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
The author addresses human development from as a cultural process, with a focus on how cultural matters, with attention to similarities and differences in cultural communities.
Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2003). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice (4th ed.). New York: Wiley.
Defines culture within the context of a culturally-specific (culturally localized) construct (the -emic) versus the culturally-generalized (culturally universal) construct (the -etic).
Tylor, E. (1891). The primitive culture. New York: John Murray.
One of the earliest definitions of culture in the literature. This definition considers culture to be a complex whole of all aspects of a society.
Triandis, H. (1995). Individualism and collectivism. Boulder, CO: Westview.
A classic book that evaluates cultures according to the individualism–collectivism versus horizontal–vertical dimensions.
Articles and Chapters
Christensen, C. P. (1989). Cross-cultural awareness development: A conceptual model. Counselor Education and Supervision, 22, 270–289.
Discusses culture as commonalities that form norms in societies based upon life-styles, social factors, and other kinds of behaviors due to historical, political, economic, and social realities.
Trimble, J. (2003). Cultural competence and cultural sensitivity. In M. Prinstein & M. Patterson, (Eds.), The portable mentor: Expert guide to a successful career in psychology (pp. 13–32). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.
Achieving true cultural competence and cultural sensitivity is complex and daunting. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a framework for achieving and maintaining cultural competence and cultural sensitivity. To achieve the goal, the chapter is organized along several key points where cultural competence and sensitivity are salient and prerequisites for conducting research and providing psychological services. The chapter’s last section focuses on cross-cultural methodological and procedural concerns including gaining entry to the field, cultural measurement equivalence, and collecting data and reporting findings.
Trimble, J. E. (2006). Enriching introductory psychology with race and ethnicity: Considerations for history of psychology, biopsychology, and intelligence measurement. In D. S. Dunn & S. L. Chew (Eds.), Best practices in teaching introductory psychology (pp. 93–109). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
The fundamental purpose of this chapter is to provide sufficient material for the enrichment of an introductory psychology course or even advanced course with material concerning the history and influence of the race and ethnicity constructs in psychology. The chapter’s purposes are threefold; (a) To provide an overview of a range of various definitions and perspectives on the definition of race and ethnicity in the social and behavioral sciences; (b) To provide classroom exercises and materials for the inclusion of race and ethnicity in the teaching of sections on the history of psychology, biopsychology, and measurement; and (c) To provide numerous reference citations for use in following up on the various treatises and arguments written about the two disputatious constructs.
Ethnic Minority Cultures
African Americans—Books
Belgrave, F. Z., & Allison, K. W. (2005). African American psychology: From Africa to America. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Discusses aspects of the African American experiences in the United States. The book is designed as a textbook for African American psychology or Ethnic and Black Studies courses, discussing theory and research from both an American and an Afrocentric perspective.
Burlew, A. K. H., Banks, W. C., McAdoo, H. P., & Azibo, D. A. y. (Eds.). (1992). African American psychology: Theory, research, and practice. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
This book presents issues that have been covered in the Journal of Black Psychology in a form that is accessible to those who do not subscribe to the journal. Topics covered include methodology, the Afrocentric paradigm, three generational family issues, internalized racism, self-esteem in Black children, educational and psychological testing, cognitive style, and improving health outcomes for African Americans.
Coner-Edwards, A. F., & Spurlock, J. (Eds.). (1988). Black families in crisis: The middle class. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
This book discusses important issues for middle-class African American families—an often overlooked segment of the African American community. Issues include male–female relationships, parenting, education, substance abuse, and treating couples.
Jackson, L. C., & Greene, B. (Eds.). (2000). Psychotherapy with African American women: Innovations in psychodynamic perspectives and practice. New York: Guilford.
The book discusses issues important to African American women from a psychodynamic perspective. Topics include interweaving cultural and intrapsychic issues, lesbians and bisexual women, racial trauma, racial transference and countertransference, and iconic strong Black women.
Jones, R. L. (Ed.). (1972). Black psychology. New York: Harper & Row.
The first book entirely devoted to Black psychology. Topics covered include racism, Black identity development, and the context of White psychology within which Blacks are evaluated.
Parham, T. A., White, J. L., & Ajamu, A. (1999). The psychology of Blacks: An African centered perspective (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
This third edition on Black psychology takes an even stronger African centered perspective, suggesting that mental health for African descent people needs to be taken out of the Black–White context in the United States and to define oneself in terms of African wisdom and values.
Pinkney, A. (1993). Black Americans (4th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
The author takes a sociological perspective to discuss issues of importance to African Americans, such as AIDS, adolescent pregnancy, crack cocaine, and the aftermath of the Rodney King trial.
White, J. L. (1984). The psychology of Blacks: An Afro-American perspective. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
One of the early books on African American psychology, this book discusses issues such as racism and Black identity development.
White, J. L., & Parham, T. A. (1990). The psychology of Blacks: An African American perspective (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
This second edition on Black psychology discusses issues important to the Black community from the new African American perspective—a perspective that encourages African Americans to identify with their African roots.
African Americans—Chapters
Barker-Hackett, L. (2003). African Americans in the new millennium: A continued search for our true identity. In J. S. Mio & G. Y. Iwamasa (Eds.), Culturally diverse mental health: The challenges of research and resistance (pp. 121–140). New York: Brunner-Mazel.
This chapter explores the issue of identity, from “Black,” to “African American,” to “African.” It concludes that because African Americans live in the context of the United States, it is most appropriate to explore the unique experiences of African Americans in this country, thus the “African American” identity is more appropriate than the “African” identity advocated by some in the field.
Black, L., & Jackson, V. (2005). Families of African origin: An overview. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & N. Garcia-Preto (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (3rd ed., pp. 77–86). New York: Guilford.
This is an overview of issues related to African Americans, including immigration history, spirituality, gender differences, class, sociopolitical issues, and sexual orientation.
Hines, P. M., & Boyd-Franklin, N. (2005). African American families. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & N. Garcia-Preto (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (3rd ed., pp. 87–100). New York: Guilford.
This chapter discusses issues such as kinship bonds, gender roles, parent–child systems, religion and spirituality, and therapy issues with African American families.
Kamya, H. (2005). African immigrant families. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & N. Garcia-Preto (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (3rd ed., pp. 101–116). New York: Guilford.
This is a new chapter added to the McGoldrick et al. book, focusing on issues of immigration from Africa. These issues involve colonialism in both African and the United States, acculturation, relations to one’s home country, and issues of racism that are unique to African immigrants.
American Indians—Books
DuBray, W. (1993). American Indian values: Mental health interventions with people of color. St. Paul, MN: West.
This book discusses American Indian values and suggests that American Indian clients prefer concrete, practical advice in therapy.
Duran, E. (2006). Healing the soul wound: Counseling with American Indians and other Native Peoples. New York: Teachers College Press.
This book discusses issues that relate to conducting therapy with American Indian populations. It discusses American Indian values and how Western culture has disrupted the American Indian sense of connection with the land and its spirits. Mental health problems are characterized as spirits visiting the individual instead of being part of the individual.
Witko, T. (Ed.). (2006). Mental health care for urban Indians: Clinical insights from native practioners. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
This book is written by Native American scholars who work within the Native American communities. It provides a historical context of the impact of colonization on Native American culture. The repercussions related to urban migration and boarding schools on cultural identity, mental health care issues, and treatment are addressed by Native American practitioners.
American Indians—Chapters
Gone, J. P. (2003). American-Indian mental health service delivery: Persistent challenges and future prospects. In J. S. Mio & G. Y. Iwamasa (Eds.), Culturally diverse mental health: The challenges of research and resistance (pp. 211–229). New York: Brunner-Routledge.
This chapter discusses how mental health service delivery has traditionally been within the realm of the Indian Health Service (IHS). The IHS has traditionally fallen short of its promise to provide comprehensive health service to American Indians. The author suggests using underutilized community services, such as community psychology and Native healers to fill in the gaps the IHS has left.
McDonald, J. D., & Chaney, J. M. (2003). Resistance to multiculturalism: The “Indian problem.” In J. S. Mio & G. Y. Iwamasa (Eds.), Culturally diverse mental health: The challenges of research and resistance (pp. 39–53). New York: Brunner-Routledge.
This chapter discusses the value clashes between American Indians and the dominant Western cultures, leading to the exclusion of American Indians in the discussion of issues of culture. Part of this painful past has been the attempt of Europeans to wipe out American Indians and/or their cultures. A way of overcoming these disadvantages that modern day American Indians face is to train more in professions such as psychology.
Sutton, C. T., & Broken Nose, M. A. (2005). American Indian families: An overview. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & N. Garcia-Preto (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (3rd ed., pp. 43–54). New York: Guilford.
This chapter is an overview of American Indians in the United States. It describes the history of Western contact with American Indians, values, genocide, communication styles, and other issues important to the understanding of this population in therapy.
Tafoya, N., & Del Vecchio, A. (2005). Back to the future: An examination of the Native American holocaust experience. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & N. Preto (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (3rd ed., pp. 55–63). New York: Guilford.
This is a powerful chapter that discusses how American Indians were nearly wiped out after coming in contact with European cultures, and then how the United States government tried to wipe out the culture of American Indians by taking their children by force and trying to indoctrinate these children into Western concepts through the boarding school phenomenon.
Trimble, J. E. (2003). Infusion of American Indian and Alaska Native topics in psychology. In P. Bronstein & K. Quina (Eds.), Teaching gender and multicultural awareness: Resources for the psychology classroom (pp. 221–236). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Substantial psychological and sociocultural information is now available about American Indians and Alaska Natives. The goal of this chapter is to provide guidelines and resources for infusing some of this information into psychology courses. This approach can provide students with the opportunity to compare and contrast the information with conventional presentations of psychological topics, much of which is Euro-American-centric, individual-focused, and therefore, culturally encapsulated. The infusion of American Indian and Alaska Native topics can expand students' understanding of diverse cultures, and enhance their worldview to include an acceptance of alternative perspectives on human and social behavior.
Trimble, J. E., Fleming, C. M., Beauvais, F., & Jumper-Thurman, P. (1996). Essential cultural and social strategies for counseling Native American Indians. In P. B. Pedersen, J. G. Draguns, W. J. Lonner, & J. E. Trimble (Eds.), Counseling across cultures (4th ed., pp. 177–209). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
This chapter discusses numerous aspects of American Indian populations, from history to the number of Native communities to values to the kinds of characteristics of clients who might come in to treatment. It focuses on acculturation issues of the client, where clients may be acculturated into mainstream society versus those who maintain traditional cultural practices.
Asian Americans—Books
Hall, G. C. N., & Okazaki, S. (Eds.) (2002). Asian American psychology: The science of lives in context. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
This book focuses on issues of research with Asian/Pacific Islander populations. Such issues include the use of questionnaires, ethnic identity, aging, career choices, and multiracial Asians.
Lee, E. (Ed.). (1997). Working with Asian Americans: A guide for clinicians. New York: Guilford.
This book is practice oriented. It discusses values and traditions from various countries of origin (e.g., Cambodia, China, India, Philippines, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam), specific diagnostic topics (e.g., schizophrenia, depression, and PTSD), treatment modalities (e.g., psychoanalysis, monolingual psychological testing, and medications), and special issues (e.g., gay and lesbian issues, intermarriage, and domestic violence).
Leong, F. T. L., Inman, A. G., Ebreo, A., Yang, L. H., Kinoshita, L., & Fu, M. (Eds.). (2007). Handbook of Asian American psychology (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
This is a compendium of Asian American psychology. It focuses on pan-Asian issues as opposed to separate populations within the API spectrum. These issues include history, resilience, youth, the elderly, ethnic identity, acculturation, racism, international students, family violence, and assessment.
Wong, P. T. P., & Wong, L. C. J. (Eds.) (2006). Handbook of multicultural perspectives on stress and coping. New York: Springer.
This book focuses on how cultural differences in values and beliefs affect stress and coping. Several chapters deal with ethnic minorities.
Asian Americans—Chapters
Lee, E., & Mock, M. R. (2005). Asian families: An overview. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & N. Garcia-Preto (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (3rd ed., pp. 269–289). New York: Guilford.
This chapter is a general overview of families of Asian origin, including issues such as immigration history, trauma in their countries of origin, the “model minority” stereotype, psychopathology, service utilization, and family structures and subsystems.
Leong, F. T. L., & Wong, P. T. P. (2003). Optimal functioning from cross-cultural perspectives. In B. Walsh (Ed.), Counseling psychology and optimal human functioning (pp.123–150). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
This chapter focuses on how differences in cultural values affect people’s perception and practice of optimal functioning.
McKenzie-Pollack, L. (2005). Cambodian families. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & N. Garcia-Preto (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (3rd ed., pp. 290–301). New York: Guilford.
This chapter discusses the history and family issues regarding individuals from Cambodia. One of the major issues is that of trauma in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge takeover of the country after the United States left the area after the Vietnam War.
Mio, J. S., Nagata, D. K., Tsai, A. H., & Tewari, N. (2007). Racism against Asian/Pacific Island Americans. In F. T. L. Leong, A. G. Inman, A. Ebreo, L. H. Yang, L. Kinoshita, & M. Fu (Eds.), Handbook of Asian American psychology (2nd ed., pp. 341–361). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
This chapter discusses issues of stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, and racism against those of Asian/Pacific Island descent. It discusses the history of immigration and how racist policies of the past attempted to keep Asians from immigrating to the United States, the specific racist issue of the internment of Americans of Japanese descent during World War II, and more modern forms of racism against South Asians.
Root, M. P. P. (2005). Filipino families. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & N. Garcia-Preto (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (3rd ed., pp. 319–331). New York: Guilford.
This chapter discusses the immigration history of Filipinos, who were citizens of the United States at one point because of the territorial status of The Philippines in the first half of the 20th century. It also discusses clinically relevant issues, such as immigration stress, communication, family structure, and religion.
Sue, S., & Consolacion, T. B. (2003). Clinical psychology issues among Asian/Pacific Islander Americans. In J. S. Mio & G. Y. Iwamasa (Eds.), Culturally diverse mental health: The challenges of research and resistance (pp. 173–189). New York: Brunner-Routledge.
This chapter discusses topics such as rates of psychopathology for various kinds of disorders and mental health services and treatment. Interestingly, there is even some research on differences that Asian/Pacific Islander populations have in response to psychotropic medications, such as the need for less amounts of medication to achieve the same levels of clinical response.
Latinos—Books
Gonzalez, J. (2000). A history of Latinos in America: Harvest of empire. New York: Viking.
This book discusses the growing influence of Latinos in America, including a growing percentage of the population and greater political participation.
Mirandé, A. (1997). Hombres y machos: Masculinity and Latino culture. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
This book discusses the important topic of the definition, meaning, and role of machismo in the Latino culture.
Quinones-Rosado, R. (2002). Empowerment, Latino identity, and the process of transformation: Writing for people in the struggle against racism. Caguas, PR: Institute for Latino Empowerment.
This book discusses the rise of Latino power in the United States, including issues of identity and the question of the term “Hispanic” versus “Latino.”
Latinos—Chapters
Bernal, G., & Shapiro, E. (2005). Cuban families. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & N. Garcia-Preto (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (3rd ed., pp. 202–215). New York: Guilford.
This chapter focuses on the special relationship that Cuba has had with the United States, which relates to four distinct waves of immigration. The first wave was during the Cuban revolution, where primarily White Cubans who were middle and upper class professionals moved to the United States to avoid their possessions being taken by the revolutionary government. Subsequent waves included more Afro-Cubans who escaped Cuba and did not have the resources that the first wave did. Other clinically relevant issues are also discussed in this chapter, such as language, social support, and conceptualization of the family.
de las Fuentes, C. (2003). Latinos and mental health: At least you should know this. In J. S. Mio & G. Y. Iwamasa (Eds.), Culturally diverse mental health: The challenges of research and resistance (pp. 159–172). New York: Brunner-Routledge.
This chapter discusses many Latino values that are relevant for therapy. It connects these values to clinical cases so that the reader can see how they apply clinically. It also discusses issues such as acculturation, acculturative stress, and ethnic identity.
Falicov, C. J. (2005). Mexican families. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & N. Garcia-Preto (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (3rd ed., pp. 229–242). New York: Guilford.
This chapter discusses the issue of migration and immigration, connecting this issue with legal versus undocumented status. It also discusses some clinical implications of this issue, particularly since many families are now experiencing separation for long periods of time due to quite often the father working in the United States while his family stays in Mexico. This has implications for power differentials between the parents and issues of reunification.
Garcia-Preto, N. (2005). Latino families: An overview. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & N. Garcia-Preto (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (3rd ed., pp. 153–165). New York: Guilford.
This chapter provides an overview of Latino families that discusses the links among the various Latino populations, such as the terms “Latino” versus “Hispanic.” It also discusses some of the specific populations (Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Dominican) and some broader populations (Central Americans, South Americans).
Garcia-Preto, N. (2005). Puerto Rican families. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & N. Garcia-Preto (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (3rd ed., pp. 242–255). New York: Guilford.
This chapter discusses cultural issues, such as spirituality, respect, and the centrality of the family. It also discusses how Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, so issues of migration are different for this population in comparison with other Latino populations.