C N Hargons
Biographic Data
| ID | 51294 |
|---|---|
| NAME | C N Hargons |
| GIVEN NAMES | C N |
| FAMILY NAME | Hargons |
| SIGNATURE | HARGONS C N |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Kentucky |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9329-3401 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 50 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 142 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 50 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
“Nobody Ever Sat Me Down to Talk About That Kind of Stuff”
8 heterosexual Black men ages 24-43 participated in semi-structured interviews as a part of the Generation Genital (Gen2) Messages Study. Grounded in the culture-centered approach's epistemological commitment to centering marginalized voices, this study integrates sexual socialization theory as an analytical framework to examine how sociohistorical and sociocultural constructs of masculinity shape heterosexual Black men's grooming and hygiene pra…
Sexual healing (and harming)
“Drug Use with Racism…The Reason I Wanted to Do This Study”
Background: Several studies link racism with drug use disparities among systemically marginalized populations. However, few invite Black Americans to discuss how they perceive racism’s impact on their drug use. Objectives: To examine qualitative accounts from N=40 Black adults reporting non-medical prescription opioid use on their experiences of racism and drug use. Results: A deductive structural tabular thematic analysis informed by Jones’s (Ci…
“Make Sure You Wash Your Monkey”
In the United States, the messages Black women receive about vaginal hygiene are often rooted in misogynoir. As a result, Black women across multiple generations may engage in extensive vaginal hygiene practices that are harmful to their health as a means of decreasing the potential for dehumanization or confirming racist stereotypes. The purpose of the current qualitative study is to explore the messages four generations of Black women (n = 12) …
“God Did for Me What I Couldn’t Do for Myself”
Sexual healing
(Hargons & Thorpe, 2022) invite qualitative methodologists to investigate these constructs with more authenticity, pleasure, joy, sex-positive discourses, and a commitment to citing Black women; this is a radical pleasure disruption to scholastic anti-Blackness. In addition to the epistemologically liberating undertaking, there may also be opportunities to facilitate sexual healing-the movement toward an optimal sexual self-through the qualitativ…
A Content Analysis of Cultural Mistrust Among African Americans in Therapy Settings
A 35-year (1984-2019) content analysis was conducted of scholarship focused on examining the impact of cultural mistrust on African Americans' willingness to engage and utilize mental health services. Twenty-five articles were systematically evaluated from several academic journals and databases. Articles were coded and analyzed to focus on cultural mistrust by demographics (e.g., gender, age, and socioeconomic status), valence of the discourse, …
Hard to Remember, then Hard to Forget
Naming practices within the Black American community are vibrant, deeply rooted in cultural traditions, and reflect shared values. Like other ethnic groups, these names tell stories, honor heritage, and connect individuals to their community. However, due to systemic anti-Blackness, Black Americans often have a complex relationship with their names. While prior research has focused on negative associations using quantitative methods, this qualita…
Understanding Coping Strategies and Sociocultural Context in Black Americans' Mental Health
“Not knowing that I could get addicted at any moment”
) of drug use initiation among Black adults with recent prescription opioid misuse. Results highlight features of Black opioid users' awareness and self-representation while detailing systemic and cultural factors related to drug initiation. Results also indicate initiation ages, common substances first used (e.g., marijuana), routes of administration during initiation (e.g., smoking, swallowing), and the circumstances that lead to use. We discus…
Black people’s constructions of good sex
Existing conceptualizations and measures of good sex are varied and inconclusive. Additionally, few studies have defined good sex from the margins, thus definitions are primarily informed from privileged perspectives. People with marginalized racial, gender, and sexual identities can offer culturally informed definitions of good sex that may expand current definitions. This study fills that gap by identifying factors that constitute good sex amon…
Nonbinary Black womxn gender identity
Pronouns and experiences of misgendering among nonbinary Black womxn
It Felt Sexually Liberating”
Kink and BDSM can have healing and liberatory potential for practitioners, whether kink-identified or not, particularly Black women and those who are members of alternative sexual communities. This study presents data from N = 22 kink/BDSM-identified, experienced, and non-kinky/BDSM Black ciswomen on their awareness of and engagement in kink and BDSM (bondage and discipline, sadism and masochism, dominance, and submission). Qualitative data were …
The State of Your Psyche”
Using structured-tabular thematic analysis, this study examines Black people’s conceptualizations of mental health in response to the following question: What is mental health? Sixty participants reported an array of interrelated characteristics pertaining to mental health. Five themes were identified across participant responses, including: (a) Overarching Orientation to Mental Health, (b) Integrated Parts of a Whole, (c) Dynamic Balance, (d) Ex…
Mental Health First Aid for Black Populations
Community-based participatory action research can facilitate counseling psychologists’ engagement in social justice to benefit Black people’s mental health. One way to improve Black mental health is to equip credible and trustworthy community members with mental health knowledge and skills to support other community members experiencing mental health challenges. This study presents the Neighborhood Healers Project—a community-based participatory …
Blood and Bone
This community-based participatory action research project led by the C.I.R.C.L.E. (Collective Infiltrating Research to Center Community, Liberation, and Embodiment) employed interpretative phenomenological analysis via eco-womxnist and Afro-Indigenous cosmological frameworks to examine the connection between gendered-racial identity and sacredness among 11 nonbinary Black womxn (NBBW) from the US. Using semi-structured qualitative interviews, we…
Identifying and addressing barriers to effective substance misuse treatment in rural settings
From Sin to Sexual Self-Awareness
Race-Related and Mental Health Factors of Powder Cocaine Use Among Black Incarcerated Men
Incarceration disproportionately impacts Black men in the United States, which can have compounding effects on mental health and substance use among this population. Cocaine use, in particular, carries higher severity of dependence and overdose risks among Black Americans, though research examining cocaine use correlates among Black incarcerated men is limited. The present study examines race-related and mental health correlates of powder cocaine…
My partner will think I’m weak or overthinking my pain’
Black women experience persistent sexual pain that may often last longer than White women. Despite the value of sexual communication to alleviate sexual pain concerns, many women do not disclose sexual pain to their partners. Limited research explores barriers to disclosing sexual pain to partners among Black women. This study seeks to fill this gap. Relying on an integration of Sexual Script theory and Superwoman Schema, the study explored the b…
Analyzing (pluri)sexual satisfaction and pleasure
Answering the Call for Systems Change
There is much agreement within counseling psychology on the importance of social justice, yet social justice education and training remain limited in counseling psychology programs (Beerman et al., 2012; Pieterse et al., 2009; Singh et al., 2010). Critical components to social justice education and training include an emphasis on systems theories that could inform interventions (i.e. advocacy and activism) at the exosystem and mesosystem levels a…
Listen to Black Women
It’s what boys do”
Black Lives Matter
Police brutality and widespread systemic racism represent historical and current sources of trauma in Black communities. Both the Black Lives Matter movement and counseling psychology propose to confront these realities at multiple levels. Black Lives Matter seeks to increase awareness about systemic racism and promote resilience among Black people. Counseling psychology states values of multiculturalism, social justice, and advocacy. Executive l…
Superwoman Schema
Objective: Current racial mental health disparities among African American women have been attributed to chronic experiences of race-related stressors. Increased exposure to racism in predominately White spaces may increase reliance on culturally normative coping mechanisms. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between psychological distress, perceived racial microaggressions, and an obligation to show strength/suppress…
Abortion Knowledge and Attitudes Among Psychologists and Graduate Students
Abortion is often misunderstood and steeped in misinformation. Laypeople and medical professionals tend to have limited abortion knowledge. Among the public, individuals who hold accurate information about abortion are more likely to endorse pro-choice attitudes than individuals who are misinformed. We explored knowledge of, and attitudes toward, abortion among 142 psychologists and graduate students. Participants responded accurately, on average…
White people stress me out all the time
The findings of this study contribute to the existing literature by providing an academic and community definition of racial trauma grounded in the voices of Black collegians. These definitions of racial trauma may be used to inform future research, clinical services, and outreach. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved
Becoming a Bridge
Women with multiply-marginalized identities remain underrepresented in the American Psychological Association and Society of Counseling Psychology leadership. As early entrants into the leadership pipeline, female student leaders can potentially shift that trend; however, we know little about their leadership emergence processes. In this study, we employed collaborative autoethnography to analyze the positional standpoints of four diverse female …
Studying Sex
Using a sex positive framework, the authors conducted a 61-year (1954-2015) content analysis of sexuality research in the flagship counseling psychology journals, the Journal of Counseling Psychology and The Counseling Psychologist . Given counseling psychology's core strengths- and multiculturalism-related values, this study aimed to uncover which human sexuality topics were published most, whether publications aligned with a sex positive, neutr…
Race-Based Stress Reactions and Recovery
Twenty-six Black collegians were exposed to a vicarious racial harassment stimulus (VRHS) then randomized into a Black Lives Matter Meditation for Healing Racial Trauma condition or a silence control condition. Heart rate (HR) was recorded throughout the experiment. Semi-structured interviews were then conducted to elicit participants’ appraisal of the VRHS and meditation. Using a Qual:Quan mixed methods experimental design, this pilot study qual…
Why Would I Talk To Them About Sex
Ineffective patient-provider communication poses a potential health risk to Black women if medical providers are not addressing their needs or concerns. Additionally, less than half of OBGYNs report asking their patients about sexual difficulties, which limits women's opportunities to disclose their experiences of sexual pain. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore Black women's experiences of patient-provider communication about sex…
Injustice in the Justice System
True justice is equitable. Counseling psychologists, through their skills, knowledge, and values, can be a powerful force in reforming a system that oppresses marginalized groups to one that is just. In this paper, we focus on three major aspects of the justice system: laws and the courts, law enforcement, and detention and corrections, and we further describe injustice in these three areas. We then use critical race theory and counseling psychol…
The State of Your Psyche”
Using structured-tabular thematic analysis, this study examines Black people’s conceptualizations of mental health in response to the following question: What is mental health? Sixty participants reported an array of interrelated characteristics pertaining to mental health. Five themes were identified across participant responses, including: (a) Overarching Orientation to Mental Health, (b) Integrated Parts of a Whole, (c) Dynamic Balance, (d) Ex…
The Peak of Pleasure
Society of Counseling Psychology Leadership Academy
The Society of Counseling Psychology Leadership Academy is a year-long program designed to engage and develop student and early career psychologist leaders in counseling psychology. As a division of the American Psychological Association, the Society of Counseling Psychology is part of a nonprofit professional organization that seeks to recruit and retain members as well as to develop talent to meet future organizational leadership needs. This ar…
Sexual identity factors and minority stressors associated with healthcare stereotype threat and access to care among Black sexual minority women
Black sexual minority women (SMW) are disproportionately impacted by negative health outcomes, healthcare discrimination, and provider bias. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate which sexual identity characteristics and minority stressors are associated with healthcare stereotype threat and healthcare access for Black SMW. Using secondary data from the Generations Study data, N = 142 Black and/or biracial cisgender women were a…
It Feels So Good
A sex-positive lens is needed to investigate Black sexuality, which is often depicted through deficit and risk models. Extant sex research leaves an opportunity to understand Black experiences of sexual pleasure untapped. Using narrative inquiry coupled with constructivist grounded theory methods, we examined 18 Black university students' last sexual encounter narratives. An explication of their disclosure about and meaning making around pleasure…
Listen to Black Women
An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Black Women’s Meaning and Experiences of Sexual Anxiety
Sexual anxiety can activate the stress response cycle during sex, compromising a woman's ability to experience sexual pleasure. Black women face additional cultural and contextual factors, such as hypersexualization, partner scarcity, and higher rates of sexual trauma that may increase the magnitude, frequency, and odds of experiencing sexual anxiety. However, limited research has explored this phenomenon among Black women. Thus, we sought to qua…
Nonbinary Black womxn gender identity
Blood and Bone
This community-based participatory action research project led by the C.I.R.C.L.E. (Collective Infiltrating Research to Center Community, Liberation, and Embodiment) employed interpretative phenomenological analysis via eco-womxnist and Afro-Indigenous cosmological frameworks to examine the connection between gendered-racial identity and sacredness among 11 nonbinary Black womxn (NBBW) from the US. Using semi-structured qualitative interviews, we…
Rising Up, Pushing Forward
At the one-year mark since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, there is an urgent, vital need for feminist scholarship that addresses the ways structural stigma and oppressive policy affect diverse groups of women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB). Accordingly, in this introduction to the special issue of Psychology of Women Quarterly, we provide a historical overview and timeline of reproductive rights and (in)justice in the United States i…
It Felt Sexually Liberating”
Kink and BDSM can have healing and liberatory potential for practitioners, whether kink-identified or not, particularly Black women and those who are members of alternative sexual communities. This study presents data from N = 22 kink/BDSM-identified, experienced, and non-kinky/BDSM Black ciswomen on their awareness of and engagement in kink and BDSM (bondage and discipline, sadism and masochism, dominance, and submission). Qualitative data were …
Answering the Call for Systems Change
There is much agreement within counseling psychology on the importance of social justice, yet social justice education and training remain limited in counseling psychology programs (Beerman et al., 2012; Pieterse et al., 2009; Singh et al., 2010). Critical components to social justice education and training include an emphasis on systems theories that could inform interventions (i.e. advocacy and activism) at the exosystem and mesosystem levels a…
It’s what boys do”
Black Women Saved my Life”
The painful consequences of intersectional racial trauma on the mental health of Black women have been examined in the existing literature. However, limited research explicates how to assess, conceptualize, and treat intersectional racial trauma in clinical practice. Practicing psychologists seeking to integrate science and practice for mental health and social justice breakthroughs desire innovative clinical models to facilitate this work. This …
Racial Discrimination and Risky Sex
Using the lifespan biopsychosocial model of cumulative vulnerability and minority health as a theroretical lens, the present study proposed two models to test the relationships among racial discrimination, cognitive–emotional factors, and risky sexual behaviors in a sample of 302 Black college students in the United States. Our models provided support for some of the hypothesized direct and indirect pathways. As expected, overt racial discriminat…
Humanity in Homelessness
Students in counseling psychology have cited a desire for more opportunities to engage in social justice within their programs. Pressing national issues, such as homelessness, offer an opportunity to use transferrable psychology skills, including consultation, to address and prevent systemic oppression, while affording students necessary training. This paper describes a doctoral level counseling psychology course on social justice consultation an…
Studying Sex
Using a sex positive framework, the authors conducted a 61-year (1954-2015) content analysis of sexuality research in the flagship counseling psychology journals, the Journal of Counseling Psychology and The Counseling Psychologist . Given counseling psychology's core strengths- and multiculturalism-related values, this study aimed to uncover which human sexuality topics were published most, whether publications aligned with a sex positive, neutr…
Becoming a Bridge
Women with multiply-marginalized identities remain underrepresented in the American Psychological Association and Society of Counseling Psychology leadership. As early entrants into the leadership pipeline, female student leaders can potentially shift that trend; however, we know little about their leadership emergence processes. In this study, we employed collaborative autoethnography to analyze the positional standpoints of four diverse female …
Black Lives Matter
Police brutality and widespread systemic racism represent historical and current sources of trauma in Black communities. Both the Black Lives Matter movement and counseling psychology propose to confront these realities at multiple levels. Black Lives Matter seeks to increase awareness about systemic racism and promote resilience among Black people. Counseling psychology states values of multiculturalism, social justice, and advocacy. Executive l…
Society of Counseling Psychology Leadership Academy
The Society of Counseling Psychology Leadership Academy is a year-long program designed to engage and develop student and early career psychologist leaders in counseling psychology. As a division of the American Psychological Association, the Society of Counseling Psychology is part of a nonprofit professional organization that seeks to recruit and retain members as well as to develop talent to meet future organizational leadership needs. This ar…
Abortion Knowledge and Attitudes Among Psychologists and Graduate Students
Abortion is often misunderstood and steeped in misinformation. Laypeople and medical professionals tend to have limited abortion knowledge. Among the public, individuals who hold accurate information about abortion are more likely to endorse pro-choice attitudes than individuals who are misinformed. We explored knowledge of, and attitudes toward, abortion among 142 psychologists and graduate students. Participants responded accurately, on average…
It Feels So Good
A sex-positive lens is needed to investigate Black sexuality, which is often depicted through deficit and risk models. Extant sex research leaves an opportunity to understand Black experiences of sexual pleasure untapped. Using narrative inquiry coupled with constructivist grounded theory methods, we examined 18 Black university students' last sexual encounter narratives. An explication of their disclosure about and meaning making around pleasure…
Humanity in Homelessness
Students in counseling psychology have cited a desire for more opportunities to engage in social justice within their programs. Pressing national issues, such as homelessness, offer an opportunity to use transferrable psychology skills, including consultation, to address and prevent systemic oppression, while affording students necessary training. This paper describes a doctoral level counseling psychology course on social justice consultation an…
Injustice in the Justice System
True justice is equitable. Counseling psychologists, through their skills, knowledge, and values, can be a powerful force in reforming a system that oppresses marginalized groups to one that is just. In this paper, we focus on three major aspects of the justice system: laws and the courts, law enforcement, and detention and corrections, and we further describe injustice in these three areas. We then use critical race theory and counseling psychol…
Superwoman Schema
Objective: Current racial mental health disparities among African American women have been attributed to chronic experiences of race-related stressors. Increased exposure to racism in predominately White spaces may increase reliance on culturally normative coping mechanisms. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between psychological distress, perceived racial microaggressions, and an obligation to show strength/suppress…
Critical consciousness of anti-Black racism
The negative impacts of racism, including experiences of racial trauma, are well documented (e.g., Bryant-Davis & Ocampo, 2006; Carter, 2007). Because of the deleterious effects of racial trauma on Black people, interventions that facilitate the resistance and prevention of anti-Black racism are needed. Critical consciousness is one such intervention, as it is often seen as a prerequisite of resistance and liberation (Prilleltensky, 2003, 2008). …
Balancing the sexology scales
Existing research adopting a sex positive and intersectional framework for investigating Black women's sexualities is scarce. We conducted a 46-year (1972-2018) content analysis of sexualities research focussed on Black women. It sought to examine which sexualities topics were published most; whether the publications aligned with sex-positive, neutral or negative discourse; what methodologies were used; and differences in how various identities w…
Incarcerated Black men’s restrictive emotionality
The present study suggests childhood abuse, specifically sexual abuse by multiple individuals, is an important risk factor for restrictive emotionality among Black incarcerated men. Additionally, this study highlights the importance of close supportive relationships, particularly with parents, as factors to consider for prevention and intervention approaches, and correctional strategies to foster emotional wellness for this population
Correlates of Sexual Self-Consciousness Among Black Women
White people stress me out all the time
The findings of this study contribute to the existing literature by providing an academic and community definition of racial trauma grounded in the voices of Black collegians. These definitions of racial trauma may be used to inform future research, clinical services, and outreach. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved
Exploring identity and coping among Black viewers of Marvel’s Black Panther
Black Psychology and Whiteness
The main objective of this article is to introduce and examine whiteness as a source of trauma for Black people. We explore Black psychology scholarship to conceptually ground whiteness as the impetus for racism, while identifying it as an interpersonal, psychosocial, and contextual phenomenon that informs the race-based traumatic experiences of Black people. The primary factors constituting whiteness are ethnocentric monoculturalism, White stand…
The Peak of Pleasure
Sexual identity factors and minority stressors associated with healthcare stereotype threat and access to care among Black sexual minority women
Black sexual minority women (SMW) are disproportionately impacted by negative health outcomes, healthcare discrimination, and provider bias. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate which sexual identity characteristics and minority stressors are associated with healthcare stereotype threat and healthcare access for Black SMW. Using secondary data from the Generations Study data, N = 142 Black and/or biracial cisgender women were a…
An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Black Women’s Meaning and Experiences of Sexual Anxiety
Sexual anxiety can activate the stress response cycle during sex, compromising a woman's ability to experience sexual pleasure. Black women face additional cultural and contextual factors, such as hypersexualization, partner scarcity, and higher rates of sexual trauma that may increase the magnitude, frequency, and odds of experiencing sexual anxiety. However, limited research has explored this phenomenon among Black women. Thus, we sought to qua…
Black sexual minority women’s social well-being and psychological distress
149) who responded to the Generations Study's initial round of surveys collected in 2016-2017. Participants were between the ages of 18-60, with a mean of 29.3 years old. Descriptive and bivariate correlations were conducted for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) stigma, internalized homophobia, gender presentation, ethnic identity affiliation, LGB community connectedness, and social support. Multiple regression models were conducted to analyze cor…
Racial Discrimination and Risky Sex
Using the lifespan biopsychosocial model of cumulative vulnerability and minority health as a theroretical lens, the present study proposed two models to test the relationships among racial discrimination, cognitive–emotional factors, and risky sexual behaviors in a sample of 302 Black college students in the United States. Our models provided support for some of the hypothesized direct and indirect pathways. As expected, overt racial discriminat…
Race-Based Stress Reactions and Recovery
Twenty-six Black collegians were exposed to a vicarious racial harassment stimulus (VRHS) then randomized into a Black Lives Matter Meditation for Healing Racial Trauma condition or a silence control condition. Heart rate (HR) was recorded throughout the experiment. Semi-structured interviews were then conducted to elicit participants’ appraisal of the VRHS and meditation. Using a Qual:Quan mixed methods experimental design, this pilot study qual…
Why Would I Talk To Them About Sex
Ineffective patient-provider communication poses a potential health risk to Black women if medical providers are not addressing their needs or concerns. Additionally, less than half of OBGYNs report asking their patients about sexual difficulties, which limits women's opportunities to disclose their experiences of sexual pain. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore Black women's experiences of patient-provider communication about sex…
Identifying and addressing barriers to effective substance misuse treatment in rural settings
From Sin to Sexual Self-Awareness
Psychology (47 works) · Sociology (31 works) · Social Psychology (29 works) · Gender Studies (22 works) · Social Psychology (20 works) · Clinical Psychology (17 works) · Medicine (17 works) · Clinical Psychology (14 works) · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research (14 works) · Gender Studies (13 works)