TY - JOUR
T1 - Stress and Mental Health
T2 - Moderating Role of the Strong Black Woman Stereotype
AU - Donovan, Roxanne A.
AU - West, Lindsey M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014, © The Author(s) 2014.
PY - 2015/8/14
Y1 - 2015/8/14
N2 - Research indicates that Black women highly endorse the Strong Black Woman (SBW) stereotype—a perception that Black women are naturally strong, resilient, self-contained, and self-sacrificing. This endorsement appears to be a good thing, providing Black women protection against the numerous stressors they must contend with daily. However, anecdotal and qualitative evidence suggests that SBW endorsement limits Black women’s ability to cope healthily which exacerbates the negative mental health outcomes of stress. Because few empirical studies of SBW have been conducted, how SBW endorsement might influence the stress–mental health association is unknown. The current study addresses this gap by quantitatively examining the relationships among SBW endorsement, stress, and anxious and depressive symptoms with a sample of 92 Black female college students. Results revealed that both moderate and high levels of SBW endorsement increase the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms, while low levels of SBW endorsement do not. These data extend previous qualitative findings and suggest that embracing the SBW stereotypic image increases Black women’s vulnerability to depressive symptoms associated with stress.
AB - Research indicates that Black women highly endorse the Strong Black Woman (SBW) stereotype—a perception that Black women are naturally strong, resilient, self-contained, and self-sacrificing. This endorsement appears to be a good thing, providing Black women protection against the numerous stressors they must contend with daily. However, anecdotal and qualitative evidence suggests that SBW endorsement limits Black women’s ability to cope healthily which exacerbates the negative mental health outcomes of stress. Because few empirical studies of SBW have been conducted, how SBW endorsement might influence the stress–mental health association is unknown. The current study addresses this gap by quantitatively examining the relationships among SBW endorsement, stress, and anxious and depressive symptoms with a sample of 92 Black female college students. Results revealed that both moderate and high levels of SBW endorsement increase the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms, while low levels of SBW endorsement do not. These data extend previous qualitative findings and suggest that embracing the SBW stereotypic image increases Black women’s vulnerability to depressive symptoms associated with stress.
KW - African American women
KW - Strong Black Woman stereotype
KW - anxiety
KW - depression
KW - stress
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84936943685&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1177/0095798414543014
DO - 10.1177/0095798414543014
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84936943685
SN - 0095-7984
VL - 41
SP - 384
EP - 396
JO - The Journal of Black Psychology
JF - The Journal of Black Psychology
IS - 4
ER -