Please remember, this column is designed to help the consumer seeking behavioral-health information, and not intended to be any form of psychotherapy or a replacement for professional, individualized services. Opinions expressed in the column are those of the columnist and do not represent the position of other SelfhelpMagazine.com staff.

Question

I am interested in any research you know of which sheds light on athletic superiority of African Americans, specifically in the area of swimming.

Answer

I'm afraid I don't know of any such research. I'd like to suggest that you approach your area of interest more from a perspective of individual differences. I am wary of research into differences based on ethnicity since it always runs the risk of being used in a discriminative manner. For example, there have been controversial efforts to demonstrate a difference in intelligence based upon IQ.

While the researchers who studied that area may not have been motivated by a desire to "put down" a given ethnic group, others of a more bigoted inclination jumped on such research to justify their own beliefs in racial superiority, etc.

Try researching the issue in terms of personality traits which might correlate with athletic success independent of ethnicity.

12/12/98

Richard B. Patterson is a clinical psychologist in private practice in El Paso, TX. He is the author of three books on psychology and spirituality.