Sutherland Marcia Elizabeth
State University of New York, Albany.
J Black Stud. 2011;42(8):1175-194. doi: 10.1177/0021934711410547.
Although the Americas and Caribbean region are purported to comprise different ethnic groups, this article’s focus is on people of African descent, who represent the largest ethnic group in many countries. The emphasis on people of African descent is related to their family structure, ethnic identity, cultural, psychohistorical, and contemporary psychosocial realities. This article discusses the limitations of Western psychology for theory, research, and applied work on people of African descent in the Americas and Caribbean region. In view of the adaptations that some people of African descent have made to slavery, colonialism, and more contemporary forms of cultural intrusions, it is argued that when necessary, notwithstanding Western psychology’s limitations, Caribbean psychologists should reconstruct mainstream psychology to address the psychological needs of these Caribbean people. The relationship between theory and psychological interventions for the optimal development of people of African descent is emphasized throughout this article. In this regard, the African-centered and constructionist viewpoint is argued to be of utility in addressing the psychological growth and development of people of African descent living in the Americas and Caribbean region.
尽管美洲和加勒比地区据称包含不同的种族群体，但本文的重点是非洲裔人群，他们在许多国家是最大的种族群体。对非洲裔人群的关注与他们的家庭结构、种族身份、文化、心理历史以及当代社会心理现实有关。本文讨论了西方心理学在美洲和加勒比地区针对非洲裔人群的理论、研究和应用工作方面的局限性。鉴于一些非洲裔人群对奴隶制、殖民主义以及更当代形式的文化入侵所做的适应，有人认为，尽管西方心理学存在局限性，但在必要时，加勒比地区的心理学家应该重构主流心理学，以满足这些加勒比地区人群的心理需求。本文自始至终都强调理论与心理干预对于非洲裔人群最佳发展的关系。在这方面，以非洲为中心的建构主义观点被认为有助于解决生活在美洲和加勒比地区的非洲裔人群的心理成长和发展问题。
