Copyright 2017 Danielle Leach All Rights Reserved

Characteristics and Prevalence of ODD
           
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) classifies Oppositional Defiant Disorder as a disruptive disorder typically diagnosed in childhood, among Intermittent Explosive and Conduct Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2014). It is one of the most stigmatizing disorders that a child or adolescent can receive and is reported to be the number one cause of referrals to youth mental health facilities (Nock, M.K. et al, 2007). Historically, ODD was associated with youth delinquency in the DSM-II and was broken down into the following three subtypes: runaway reaction, unsocialized aggressive reaction, and group delinquent reaction; whereby all three subtypes were explained by environmental factors (Pardini, D.A, et al, 2010). The unsocialized aggressive subtype, described in the DSM-II in 1987 consisted of behavior in children that was seen as hostile, aggressive, and disobedient, and was primarily due to parental neglect and lack of effective parenting and disciplinary control (Pardini, D.A, et al 2010). Conceptualization of ODD – unsocialized aggressive subtype is similar to the current understanding of ODD, described in the current DSM-5. Despite advances in the DSM-5 to make the criteria more specific and reliable, the current conceptualization of Oppositional Defiant Disorder is purported to be too general and broad in nature, making it easier to over-diagnose children and adolescents who wouldn’t otherwise meet the criteria (Grimmett, M.A., 2016).

According to the DSM-5 criteria for Oppositional Defiant Disorder, any child who is angry, loses his temper often, blames others for his or her mistakes/behavior, or refuses to obey and respect authority, would meet the criteria for ODD (American Psychiatric Association, 2014). To receive a diagnosis of ODD, the symptoms must be observed by someone who is not a sibling (American Psychiatric Association, 2014) – which is typically the child’s teacher at school - and must persist for at least 6 months, appear at least once per week, and cause distress to the client or others in the client’s environment (American Psychiatric Association, 2014). Other symptom criteria include: irritability, annoying others, and being vindictive/spiteful (American Psychiatric Association, 2014).

Understanding how the diagnosis of ODD has been formulated and conceptualized over the years is important to understanding how the disorder can become a crutch for school psychologists, teachers, and clinicians who work directly with children who exhibit problem behaviors. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (2009) views Oppositional Defiant Disorder as a byproduct of various biological, psychological, and social contributing factors. Some of the biological factors that make a child more susceptible to acquiring ODD include the following: having a parent with a history of ADHD, ODD, Conduct Disorder, Substance Abuse Disorder or Mood Disorder; having traumatic brain imagery or impairment in the region of the brain responsible for impulse control and decision making; toxin exposure; and poor nutrition (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2009). Psychological factors linked to ODD include having an absentee or neglectful parent and poor social skills (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2009). Last, but not least, several social and environmental factors have been identified as possible causes of ODD that include poverty, growing up in an adverse environment, and parental divorce (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2009). While the definitive cause of ODD in children and adolescents remains unknown, it’s reasonable and helpful to conceptualize ODD as a disorder that occurs in the context of maladaptive environmental factors and social influences. 
 
Diagnosis of ODD in African-American Boys
           
A qualitative study conducted by researcher and doctor, Marc A Grimmett uncovered some of the contextual factors and diagnostic processes of licensed mental health professionals when assessing, diagnosing, and treating clients with ODD (Grimmett, M.A., et al, 2016). The study consisted of in-depth interviews, which lasted approximately 1.5 hours and what he and his research team found concerning the process for which clinicians were assigning mental health diagnoses was quite alarming. The results of the data analysis showed that there were four domains that influenced the clinician to assign a diagnosis of ODD to a client which included: managed health care/insurance demands; ODD criteria being too broad; stigmatization of ODD; and counselor bias in assessment that excludes cultural/external factors (Grimmett, M.A., et al, 2016).  The researchers found some consistency in responses given by the clinicians in the study across these four domains in which they were assessed, suggesting that there could be some external and internal factors within the therapist and within the context of the system in which he or she practices that directly influence his/her decision to assign a diagnosis of ODD.
           
Since the criteria for ODD in the DSM is broad in nature, it serves as a “catch-all phrase” for clinicians who may not quite be able to put a finger on why their student is misbehaving or acting out in class. One participant in the study described it as a “holding cell for behaviors that are not understood” (Grimmett, M.A, et al, 2016). This points to a major problem with the use of the DSM by clinicians who are culturally incompetent and who rely heavily on the DSM as a tool for labeling as opposed to an instrument for assessing, understanding, and conceptualizing. Many clinicians are so hard pressed to end each intake session with a diagnosis that they forget to do a complete, comprehensive evaluation, taking into account family, social, and cultural influences that could be impacting their client’s symptomology.

​Cognitive Affective Symptoms of ODD
           
According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (2009), “difficulty or inability to form social relationship or process social cues,” is a likely leading contributing factor leading to the development of Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Although the development of ODD can be conceptualized in the context of the child’s social environment, it’s also helpful to see the cognitive aspects of behavior that impact ODD symptomology. Two theories serve to be very helpful in investigating the cognitive-affective role and relationship in the presentation of ODD, which include Appraisal Theory and Network Theory. According to Appraisal Theory, “Unconscious appraisal of stimuli takes place prior to the emotion whereas conscious attribution of the emotion to a cause and/or labelling of the emotion (e.g., as fear or anger) takes place after the emotion” (Houwer, J.D., 2010). Under this principle, emotions can be understood as happening both on the subconscious and conscious level. So that it’s likely that some emotions we experience happen in response to stimuli from our environment that we aren’t always aware of. Take for example the stimulus of the colors red and yellow. Typically, red and yellow are known to evoke a feeling of hunger in us, which happens on a subconscious level that we are unaware of. On the contrary, some emotional experiences happen more on a cognitive level (i.e. a person getting angry when they become aware that their rights have been violated). Differentiating between emotional responses that are conscious vs unconscious lends very important information for clinicians when treating disorders that encompasses an element of emotional dysregulation, a mechanism that is in within the client’s control.
           
Network Theory provides another explanation for understanding the connection between cognition and emotion which assumes that “initially only a handful of biologically relevant stimuli elicit unconditioned emotional responses and that the range of stimuli that evoke these emotional responses is progressively elaborated through conditioning procedures” (Houwer, J.D., 2010). This is to say that the majority of emotional responses experienced by humans occurs through the process of conditioning and learning. So while emotional responses linked to our biological adaptations to the environment may serve to protect us in life-threatening situations, those emotional responses can be manipulated through social learning and conditioning. This reality can be comforting for many clients who struggle with the challenge of regulating their emotions, regardless of their social context or historical background. Within the premise of Network Theory lies the notion of schemas (Houwer, J.D., 2010), which are cognitive networks formed through learning and conditioning over time. To illustrate this idea, consider a teen who is being raised in a single parent household, with an absentee father, living in a crime-ridden, poverty stricken neighborhood. Over time, the teen may have learned to institutively put up his defenses and become combative and argumentative, in an effort to protect himself, his mother, and his family. His unique experience of growing up in a neighborhood where murder and violent crime are rampant has caused him to develop various cognitive schematic networks in his brain surrounding safety and survival that aren’t necessarily healthy adaptive mechanisms in other social contexts (i.e. school). These schematic networks will directly impact his overall perception and ultimately his worldview. So subconsciously, he makes the mistake of generalizing the conditions of his current adverse environment to all environments, that forces him to wear a protective psychological guard with him everywhere he goes. The world, through his eyes, is unfair, dangerous, and unsafe. This negative cognitive schema directly impacts his emotional state, leading him to feel a need to always defend himself, become easily annoyed and angry, and become confrontational with others.
           
Cognition and affect are two inseparable systems that are constantly working together. What a person thinks inevitably affects how he or she feels. So it’s not unlikely for a kid who is experiencing parental neglect, poverty, and negativistic thinking to feel angry, isolated, and oppositional. It’s also not uncommon for a kid who is presenting with symptoms of ODD to endorse symptoms of other disorders, specifically ADHD, Mood Disorders, and PTSD (Boat, T.F., & Wu, J.T., 2015). The likelihood that a clinician will accurately assess and treat a person who has multiple diagnoses decreases as the number of presenting symptoms and provisional diagnoses increases. So the difficulty in being able to appropriately ascertain whether symptoms presented by a client are a function of his or her culture, environment, psychological state, or another diagnosis can present some serious challenges for clinicians working with children and adolescents with problematic behaviors. It’s much easier to narrow the etiological causes of these symptoms down to cognitive-affective factors that may help better explain the innerworkings of ODD. It takes the burden off of society and partially relieves the clinician of the responsibility to work from a cultural framework, therefore embodying more of a cognitive-affective, individualistic approach.

Current Treatments for ODD

The good news is that ODD is treatable and typically involves an interdisciplinary approach for optimum therapeutic outcomes. The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (2009) states that a combination of therapeutic approaches is necessary for the treatment of clients with ODD which include: parent training and family therapy, cognitive problem-solving skills training, social skills training, and medication (in severe circumstances). Cognitive problem-solving and social skills training typically involve a cognitive-affective component where the clients receive training on being able to identify and understand social cues (i.e. non-verbal communication, emotional expressions) and learn techniques and skills on ways they can better communicate and express their thoughts and feelings with others (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2009). Cognitive problem-solving involves teaching the child/adolescent how to make appropriate choices in stressful situations, which allows them the chance to learn emotional regulation, whereby they come to a greater understanding of how their cognition influences their emotion and behavior and vice versa. Such techniques have been used in camp settings, group therapy, and in the context of individual and family therapy.

Proposal of Novel Treatment for ODD that address Cognitive Affective Component
           
A treatment model that involves a multi-disciplinary approach and takes into consideration psychological, biological, cultural, social, and environmental factors that contribute to the onset, development, and maintenance of ODD would likely be most effective in treating children and adolescents with ODD. Current treatments typically fail to take into consideration cultural and societal factors when assessing and treating clients which often lead to over-diagnosis, stigmatization, and worsening of the symptoms (Grimmett, M.A, 2016). Having a sensitivity to cultural influences not only informs diagnosis, but it informs the process of therapy as well. It shapes how the counselor perceives and treats the client, whereby strengthening the relationship between client and therapist, or creating a divide. A counselor who views a kid’s symptoms as a matter of choice and free will may be insensitive to what their client is experiencing, thus taking a harsher more punitive approach in treatment. However, a therapist who views the client as a product of his or her environment and understands the social, political, and environmental factors that help influence the development of maladaptive behaviors will be more cautious in his/her approach to working with the client and less likely to judge them by their inappropriate behaviors. This distinction points to one of the most important aspects of therapy – the therapeutic relationship – which lays the foundation for everything else that happens thereafter.

An understanding of the client’s problem through a socio-cultural lens is important to the success of therapy, but isn’t all encompassing. There still needs to be a level of responsibility taken on behalf of the individual client, so this is where the cognitive-affective component comes in to play. Utilizing an approach that has a healthy balance within the cognitive-affective-socio-cultural framework would be optimum for treating a client with ODD because they give the power back to the client, while at the same time, not undermining the significance that external factors beyond the client’s control play in leading them to come to a therapist’s office in the first place. Teaching a client about their emotions, makes them more cognitively aware and puts them in control of their own behavior. Being able to identify and recognize symptoms before they get out of control is also empowering for the client who has a history of reacting to social situations in an impulsive, aggressive manner. Creating a treatment protocol that teaches the client mindfulness, relaxation, and impulse control appears to be a likely effective approach in working with a client who has trouble regulating their emotions, which is typical for children who present with ODD. Psychoeducation has been used with a variety of client populations from various socio-economic statuses and educational levels, and can be effective when the curriculum is adapted to the client’s cognitive level and ability. Lastly, incorporating opportunities where youth can express themselves outside the context of therapy, and in the real-world, whether it is through art, music, dance, or sports can also be effective. Typically, when an individual attempts to assert their rights and power, when they feel powerless, they do it by resisting the “system,” which would include authority figures like teachers and law enforcement. So, in theory, it’s likely that children who come from oppressed families and communities are more likely to be engaged in behavior that makes them feel “powerful.” For teenagers, these behaviors typically are risky in nature and include drug use, promiscuity, breaking the law, and the list goes on. So directing them to positive outlets that support and encourage emotional expression would be beneficial and necessary.

It’s one thing to spend an hour a week with a child telling them the appropriate way to think, act, and behave; it’s another thing to be able to direct them to resources that provide opportunities for them to shine. More often than not, children enter therapy just to return to a bad environment that overpowers the effect four hours per month of therapy has done anyway. So the approach one takes in working with one client from one demographic, may be much different than the approach and techniques used with a client from another demographic, age, and socio-economic status. The important thing to take away from this is that behavior, to a certain extent, is within an individual’s control. Meeting the client where he or she is at through empathic listening and maintaining a non-judgmental attitude is the first step; broadening their understanding of the world and themselves, within the context of a cognitive affective approach, would be the next. Helping them create new healthy schemas in their brain that allows them to be more functional and adaptive in the world could serve them well; and the reality that the client’s environment (which they may or may not have control over) is always constantly shaping how they think, feel and behave should always be in the back of the therapist’s mind when working with a client who presents with ODD.
 
 
References

American Psychiatric Association. (2014). Desk Reference to the Diagnostic Criteria from DSM-
5. Washington, DC. American Psychiatric Publishing. pp 219-220

Boat, T.F., & Wu, J.T. (2015). Mental disorders and disabilities among low-income children.
Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press; chapter 7

Grimmett, M.A., Dunbar, A.S., Williams, T., Clark, C., Prioleau, B., & Miller, J.S. (2016). The
Process and Implications of Diagnosing Oppositional Defiant Disorder in African
American Males. The Professional Counselor, 6(2), 147-160. Doi: 10.15241/mg.6.2.147

Houwer, J.D. (2010). Cognition and emotion: reviews of current research and theories. New
York, NY: Psychology Press. pp 13, 18

Nock, M.K, Kazdin, A.E., Hirpi, E., & Kessler, R.C. (2007). Lifetime prevalence, correlates, and
persistence of oppositional defiant disorder: results from the National Comorbidity
Survey Replication. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48(7(, 703-713. doi:
10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01733.x

ODD – American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. (2009). Retrieved July 6, 2017,
from www.aacap.org

Pardini, D.A., Frick, P.J., & Moffitt, T. E. (2010). Building an evidence base for DSM-5
conceptualizations of oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder: Introduction to
the special section. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 119(4), 683-688. doi:
10.1037/a0021441

Copyright 2017 Danielle Leach All Rights Reserved

To many Americans, America is the land of equal opportunity, freedom, and liberty. They are born into a middle to upper-class household, attend a good public or private school, live in safe and clean neighborhoods, and never have to worry about being denied a job, forced to live in poverty, and risk being targeted and arrested because of the color of their skin. Since 2012, when Trayvon Martin was targeted, harassed, and brutally murdered by a White Hispanic neighbor for being Black and a threat to the community, there have been thousands of cases of racial violence, resulting in murder towards African-Americans by police officers. 258 of those homicides took place last year in 2016 (Craven, 2017). Meanwhile the White perpetrators are let free, often not having to pay the penalty for their crime. It has become apparent that we live under a system of White Supremacy aimed at keeping one group of people on the margins while putting measures in place to ensure the advancement and security of the other group that is in power. Within this social context creates an interesting dynamic within the African-American that has caught the attention of some researchers in the field of psychology on the notion of ethnic identity. What exactly does it mean to be an African-American and how was this identity developed and shaped over time? These are complex questions that this paper attempts to answer by taking a look at several studies done over the years on the African-American population.
           
In 1971, William E. Cross developed the Cross Racial Identity Scale, a measure designed to assess African-Americans identity salience which places them in one of five nigrescence profiles, including: Miseducation-Pro-Black, Conflicted-Self-Hatred, Multiculturalist, Low Race Salience, and Conflicted-Anti-White within African-Americans (Worrell, Vandiver, & Cross, 2004). The term “nigrescence,” refers to the degree to which a person identifies with and appreciates his or her own Blackness. From a health perspective, having an appreciation for one’s own race and cultural traditions serves a positive function in their development as a person and in relation to their role in their family, church, and community. In traditional African culture, to be Black is to be strong, smart, and beautiful. However, over time, the concept of Blackness has changed and the way people view what it means to Black has also drastically changed.
           
Slavery in America was one of the first institutions created for the purpose of demoralizing and dehumanizing Blacks by stripping away their identity, traditions, culture, and way of life. The identity they once knew would slowly vanish and be replaced with a new identity of slave and servant to a cruel White master. Before the slave identity emerged, Africans embodied a sense of pride in who they were. How they ended up in shackles still remains a mystery, and what interests many psychologists is how Black identity has been influenced by slavery and institutionalized racism, a byproduct of the System of White Supremacy.
           
The process of becoming an “African-American” is heavily shaped by what it means to be Black. To be Black in America holds with it many connotations which come as a result of many systems that work to perpetuate an image of what Black is. It’s difficult to discuss the culture of Blackness without talking about the color of black itself. The systematic racial oppression African-Americans experience is tied directly to the color of one’s skin. If the color of one’s skin is Black, their experience while living in America will be drastically different than if they were White, or if the tint of their skin was even red or yellow.  In US history, past and present, the color of one’s skin can determine many things – where you live; where you work; where you go to school; what kind of food you eat; the kind of car you drive; the amount of rights you have; how you can assert those rights; and overall, how you’re viewed by society and the law, which governs society. This experience of Blackness, inevitably will dictate the personal choices people of color make and more importantly their attitudes towards themselves, other Black people, and the world as a whole.
           
Knowing the context of how one’s racial and ethnic identity is shaped helps us understand the stages of identity development Blacks go through during their journey in life. According to Cross, Blacks go through five stages of identity development throughout their life, which include: Pre-encounter; Encounter; Immersion/Emersion; Internalization; Internalization-Commitment (Sue & Sue, 2013). These stages are not black and white, and often overlap. So a person can be experiencing more than one stage at a time or even revert back to an earlier stage, depending on external events in their environment and how they process those experiences (Pope-Davis, Liu, Ledesma-Jones, & Nevitt, 2000). This model for understanding ethnic identity in African-Americans is rooted in African-American’s perceptions and attitudes towards mainstream culture. So inherently, the more one becomes more accepting and acculturated to the dominant culture, the more likely they will be able to move from the pre-encounter phase where feelings of insecurity, low self-esteem and self-hatred exist towards the internalization-commitment phase, likened to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and self-actualization. In this phase, one is purported to be more in tune with his own culture while having a greater acceptance towards the dominant culture, being able to put aside any ill feelings of hatred towards one’s self and others. A person in the final phase of the Cross’ Racial Identity Development Model has presumably reached a state of acceptance and appreciation, not only for one’s own culture but also for the dominant culture in which one must learn to adapt to and function in (Sue & Sue, 2013).
           
The advantage of having such a model as the Cross Racial Identity Development Model and scale is that they both help us to understand some of the crises and issues African-Americans could be experiencing under the context of racial oppression. It paints a picture of some of the phases of life Blacks are going through as they try to navigate through life. It also gives us a possible prototype or solution that may work in solving some of the identity crises and racial conflicts many African-Americans may be experiencing as a result of slavery and systematic racial oppression. From past research on ethnic identity, using the CRIS, we have learned that blacks typically fall under one of the five stages and identities (Worrell, Vandiver, & Cross, 2004).  It’s not to say that there aren’t exceptions to the rule, but it does give us some insight as to what an African-American client may be experiencing when they’re sitting across from us in our office and are in deep distress. It helps us to consider the social context that has helped shaped their ethnic identity and psychological state of being. If we as clinicians can pinpoint the source of a problem, it gives us some insight on what tools we may need to use to fix it. In treating an African-American client, a therapist may not know where to begin because there could be a swarm of emotions or concerns that arise from various things that the client may or may not attribute to racism or systematic racial oppression. Some African-Americans take pride in being African-American while others despise the skin they are in and would do anything to trade it and become a difference race.
           
Regardless if an African-American client prefers to identify with the African culture or not, it is important when working with African-American clients to assess the client’s attitudes towards their race because it could explain the etiology behind the clinical issues that lead them to your office in the first place. If not for the purpose of effectively treating African-Americans, understanding ethnic identity development in the context of racial oppression is helpful to understanding the psychology of a group of people who are often ignored.
           
Cross Model of Identity Development highlights that African-Americans typically start from a position of shame, low self-esteem, and self-hatred before encountering some tragic racial event that causes them to question the status quo and the dominant culture. Following the encounter, they go to a period of Emersion/Immersion where they battle between trying to fit their own culture into the context of the dominant culture (Worrell, Vandiver, & Cross, 2004).  This perhaps can be a very challenging stage to conquer and overcome because of the reality that the African-American is steadily battling between accepting the dominant culture and becoming an American, meanwhile fighting to hold on to their traditional values of their African culture (Sue & Sue, 2013). Being an African-American woman myself, I can attest that this experience can be the most challenging and usually is an ongoing battle that one has to face throughout the entirety of his or her life.
           
The final stages, Internalization and Internalization-Commitment are where the African-American has developed a greater sense of cultural identity and maturity that fits within the context of the American system of White Supremacy, whereby making a commitment to bring about change to social injustices imparted on their race by the dominant culture by joining forces with people from other cultures who are also oppressed and fighting injustices (Sue & Sue, 2013). To reach this stage of identity development, one has worked through their own negative attitudes and feelings towards the system of White Supremacy and is no longer negatively impacted by injustices of the dominant culture, where they feel shame and self-hatred, but however are motivated to come to an acceptance of themselves within the dominant culture to join with other ethnic groups to bring about social change.
           
Some of the criticisms African-Americans face with acculturating to the dominant culture and reaching a level of mature ethnic identity development, stem from how they are consequently perceived by other members of their group who are less acculturated to the dominant culture and are still in the pre-encounter or encounter stages. Typically, as an African-American becomes more acculturated to the dominant culture, inadvertedly, he or she becomes less immersed into their own culture. Often times, to advance within the American system and in corporate America, African-Americans are met with the challenge of sacrificing their own cultural values and traditions to meet the expectations and demands of the dominant culture. This experience is shared by many other minorities from other ethnic groups across America, especially among immigrants who move to America in search of a better life. They more than often find themselves having to give up their traditional values of family and collectivism to advance through the ranks in an individualistic, every man for himself, capitalist society. So forming an ethnic identity that works in the best interest of the African-American, his group members, and a racially biased White Supremist society can be very tough.
           
Developing a healthy identity for an African-American is a matter of accepting one’s own culture and values despite the negative connotations associated with the term “Black.” Perhaps this is why African-Americans have experienced so many different types of identities and have worn so many different names. First we were Africans; then we became niggers; then we were Negroes; Coloreds; Afro-Americans, African-Americans and now we’re back to being called “Black.” It’s interesting to see the disparity in preference by African-Americans in what they prefer to be called. Through personal observation, I’ve witnessed there are some Blacks who will give you the evil eye for calling them African-Americans because they refuse to be associated with Africa, being that they were born in America and not the land of their ancestors. To other African-Americans, dropping the “African” is a sign of self-hatred and a form of disowning one’s heritage and ethnic identity. There is no general consensus on what we should call ourselves, as some still prefer to “keep it real” and call each other “niggas.” The term that was once used to shame and ostracize a group of people has been redefined and repurposed into a term that is a sign of endearment and love. So you will hear many African-Americans refer to their brothers and sisters and friends and family members as “my nigga”.
           
There are some adaptive and maladaptive aspects of accepting one’s ethnic identity that are worth mentioning. If an African-American comes to an acceptance of their identity to the point of having self-pride, it can be seen as anti-White (Worrell, Vandiver, & Cross, 2004) or an act of nationalism, which in today’s society is being perceived as a terrorist act by some political groups. But embracing one’s identity and coming to an acceptance of self is vital to one’s mental, emotional, and physical health. So identity formation and acceptance for the African-American can be a very fine line to walk, literally and figuratively.
           
Considering Cross’ model for Racial Identity Development, it’s apparent that the stages of identity development for African-Americans are inconstant and vary over time. Consistent with the Baltes’ concept of normative history and age-graded life events and tasks (Baltes, 1987), it’s also evident that Cross wanted to make the claim that there are some life experiences that African-Americans are expected to go through. According to Cross, these experiences or stages are likely to occur across the span of a Black person’s life, beginning as early as infancy and childhood where the child is being shaped and directly influenced by their family and parent’s emulation of culture and response to the system of racial oppression (Yip, Seaton, & Sellers, 2006). We know that much of what a child knows is learned behavior, that is nurtured through their environment and interaction with their parents, families, teachers, and immediate surroundings. So ethnic identity is shaped early on before a child ever comes to an understanding of what color and racism even are. According to Cross and Fhagen-Smith, the racial identity development in African-Americans is characterized by repeated exposure to encounters that challenge their racial and ethnic identities (Yip, Seaton, & Sellers, 2006).
           
These special encounters experienced by most African-Americans are what set this race apart from other races because it forces them to question their own identity as a person, based merely on the color of their skin. A painstaking look back into history shows us a time when Blacks were considered 3/5 of a human being. Even after the abolishment of slavery, Blacks were treated less than human with the implementation of  Black Codes that restricted their access to many resources that were afforded to Whites. Fast forward over 150 years, and we find ourselves with an African-American president of the United States of America. Having a positive representation of Blacks in the media with the election of President Barack Obama has served to empower many African-Americans, giving us a greater appreciation for our race and ethnic identity. Meanwhile, during his presidency, there was an influx of racially motivated killings of innocent Black men, women, and children by White police officers that sent the Black community back to a stage of fear, shame, and self-hatred.
           
Ultimately, the Cross Racial Identity Development Model is helpful for understanding African-American identity on an individual level, and even greater, on a social level. Just as we can observe an individual pass through these stages of identity development throughout his/her life, we can observe the Black community as a whole and watch their progression through the stages of the Cross Racial Identity Development Model. Collectively, many of us have already encountered instances of racism, that have moved us to do something about the injustices we are faced with. We eventually reach a state of self-acceptance and pride where we feel a sense of control, power, and freedom to exert our Blackness and express our identities without fear of repercussion, then something tragic happens that makes mainstream news that sets us back to a stage of anger, bitterness, self-hatred and insecurity.

Conclusively, it’s important to remember the unique way in which some groups of people form identities over time and develop. Not everyone fits the neat cookie-cutter model for development as described in most lifespan development models, such as Levinson’s Stages of Life or Erickson’s Stages of Life Development. It’s interesting to see how external and internal factors can play a significant role in shaping one’s identity and as clinicians, we must keep this in mind when working with clients from various ethnic minority groups.
 
 
References
 
Baltes, P. B. (1987). Theoretical propositions of life-span developmental psychology: On the
dynamics between growth and decline. Developmental Psychology, 23(5), 611-626.
doi:10.1037//0012-1649.23.5.611

Craven, J. (2017, January 01). More Than 250 Black People Were Killed by Police In 2016
[Updated]. Retrieved June 21, 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-
people-killed-by-police-america_us_577da633e4b0c590f7e7fb17

Pope-Davis, D. B., Liu, W. M., Ledesma-Jones, S., & Nevitt, J. (2000). African American
Acculturation and Black Racial Identity: A Preliminary Investigation. Journal of
Multicultural Counseling and Development, 28(2), 98-112. doi:10.1002/j.2161-
1912.2000.tb00610.x

Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2013). Counseling the culturally diverse: theory and practice. Hoboken,
NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Worrell, F. C., Vandiver, B. J., & Cross, W. E. (2004). The cross racial identity scale: technical
manual. Berkeley, CA: F.C. Worrell.

Yip, T., Seaton, E. K., & Sellers, R. M. (2006). African American Racial Identity Across the
Lifespan: Identity Status, Identity Content, and Depressive Symptoms. Child
Development, 77(5), 1504-1517. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00950.x

Photo retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/13/one-drop-rule-black-identity-photos-yaba-blay_n_4775100.html