Document Type
Working Paper
Publication Date
2025
Subjects
African Americans -- Mental health, Intergenerational relations, Resilience (Psychology), Social determinants of health, Culturally competent care, Ethnopsychology
Abstract
The Chitlins Effect is a practice framework developed to help behavioral health professionals distinguish between culturally rooted strengths and trauma-based patterns in the communities they serve. Named after a cultural example rooted in Black American history — where necessity became tradition, and survival became meaning — the framework describes how beliefs, behaviors, and coping mechanisms are transmitted across generations, becoming normalized within families, communities, and cultures even when those patterns carry harm. This paper introduces the conceptual foundation of the framework, situates it within existing research on historical trauma, intergenerational transmission, and social determinants of health, and outlines its application in behavioral health practice and prevention settings. The Chitlins Effect is not a diagnostic tool. It is a lens for understanding — one that centers the intelligence behind survival while creating space to examine what has been carried forward and whether it still serves.
Rights
© 2025 Steffannie Roache. All rights reserved.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/44629
Citation Details
Roache, Steffannie, "The Chitlins Effect: Distinguishing Cultural Resilience from Normalized Harm" (2025). School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations. 796.
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/44629