Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-669899f699-2mbcq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-27T11:18:39.226Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 19 - Developmental Science, Institutional Structures, and a Scholarly Career in the Discipline: Reflections through a Racial Lens

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 February 2025

By
Vonnie C. McLoyd
Edited by
Frank Kessel
Frank Kessel
Affiliation:
University of New Mexico
Get access

Summary

Race is intricately woven into my personal history and identity, partly because I grew up in Alabama when Jim Crow laws kept a tight grip on institutions and core aspects of daily life. I came of age on the heels of institutional change that outlawed racial segregation and discrimination in public spaces and expanded African Americans’ access to opportunities in higher education. These occurred alongside social change that shifted away from Eurocentric conformity and celebrated Black culture and identity. In this chapter I situate within this broader sociohistorical context my pathway to a career in developmental science and my perspectives, intellectual pursuits, and contributions. I also discuss how these institutional and social changes shaped the discipline through their influence on the racial composition of doctoral programs, ascendant conceptual and ideological perspectives on African American children, adults, and families, and scholars of color engagement in professional organizational leadership and editorial activities.

Keywords

racismrace-comparative paradigmdeficit modelpovertyeconomic stressfamily processesfamily stress modelsocial policy
Type
Chapter
Information
Pillars of Developmental Psychology
Recollections and Reflections
 , pp. 209 - 221
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Suggested Reading

Ceballo, R. & McLoyd, V. C. (2002). Social support and parenting in poor dangerous neighborhoods. Child Development, 73(4), 1310–1321.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gard, A., McLoyd, V. C., Mitchell, C., & Hyde, L. (2020). Evaluation of a longitudinal family stress model in a population-based cohort. Social Development, 29(4), 1155–1175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLoyd, V. C. (1990). The impact of economic hardship on black families and children: Psychological distress, parenting, and socioemotional development. Child Development, 61(2) 311–346.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McLoyd, V. C. (1998). Children in poverty: Development, public policy, and practice. In Damon, W. (Series Ed.), Sigel, I., & Renninger, K. A. (Eds.), Handbook of Child Psychology: Vol. 4. Child Psychology in Practice (5th ed., pp. 135–208). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
McLoyd, V. C., Jayaratne, T., Ceballo, R., & Borquez, J. (1994). Unemployment and work interruption among African American single mothers: Effects on parenting and adolescent socioemotional functioning. Child Development, 65(2) 562–589.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McLoyd, V. C., Kaplan, R., & Purtell, K., & Huston, A. (2011). Assessing the effects of a work-based antipoverty program for parents on youth’s future orientation and employment experiences. Child Development, 82(1), 113–132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×