Association between psychological resilience and changes in mental distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Atlanta University Center Faculty Publications: A Selective Bibliography

Racial discrimination has been linked to allostatic load (i.e., cumulative biological stress) among African American women. However, limited attention has been given to psychosocial processes involved in the stress response-critical for understanding biological pathways to health-in studies examining racial discrimination as a social determinant of health. We examined whether the superwoman schema (SWS), a multidimensional culture-specific framework characterizing psychosocial responses to stress among African American women, modifies the association between racial discrimination and allostatic load. We used purposive sampling to recruit a community sample of African American women ages 30-50 from five San Francisco Bay Area counties (n = 208). Path analysis was used to test for interactions while accounting for the covariance among SWS subscales using both linear and quadratic models. Significant interactions were observed between racial discrimination and four of the five SWS subscales. Feeling obligated to present an image of strength and an obligation to suppress emotions were each protective whereas feeling an intense motivation to succeed and feeling an obligation to help others exacerbated the independent health risk associated with experiencing racial discrimination. Our findings affirm the need to consider individual variability in coping and potentially other psychosocial processes involved in the stress response process, and offer several insights that may help elucidate the mechanisms by which racial discrimination gets "under the skin."

Racial discrimination, the superwoman schema, and allostatic load: exploring an integrative stress-coping model among African American women

Recommendations for a culturally-responsive mindfulness-based intervention for African Americans

The internalization of the Strong Black Woman (SBW) schema is associated with negative psychological outcomes. However, not much is known about the mechanisms through which this schema leads to poo...

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0361684319883198

The Misunderstood Schema of the Strong Black Woman: Exploring Its Mental Health Consequences and Coping Responses Among African American Women:

The purpose of this research was to examine the psychometric properties of the Giscombe Superwoman Schema Questionnaire. Three separate studies conducted with 739 African American women provided preliminary evidence that the Questionnaire's factor structure aligns with the Superwoman Schema Conceptual Framework and has good reliability. In addition, it is positively associated with perceived stress, depressive symptoms, using food to cope with stress, poor sleep quality, and physical inactivity. This study provides preliminary evidence to suggest that the Giscombe Superwoman Schema Questionnaire is psychometrically sound; Superwoman Schema is associated with health behaviors and psychological states that may increase risk for illness.

The Giscombe Superwoman Schema Questionnaire: Psychometric Properties and Associations with Mental Health and Health Behaviors in African American Women.

African American women experience stress-related outcomes due to race and gender (i.e., gendered race-related stress). Mindfulness meditation training (MMT), an intervention that facilitates increased self-regulation of stress, may reduce the effect of gendered race-related stress on African American women’s psychological and physical health. However, little is known about the perceived benefits and barriers African American women associate with MMT. The current study used the Health Belief Model to investigate how African American women’s (a) severity of symptoms, (b) expected benefits of MMT, and (c) perceived barriers to MMT contributed to their interest in MMT. Data from 12 African American women were analyzed with qualitative thematic analysis. Women reported a need for MMT given their gendered race-related stress experiences. Perceived benefits of MMT included easy accessibility, fit with existing daily activities, and positive health outcomes. Perceived barriers to use of MMT were incongruence with African American culture, stigma, caretaking tensions, and extensive time commitment. Themes are discussed with respect to their implications for increasing MMT engagement among African American women.

Angela R. Black

Papers

Racial discrimination, the superwoman schema, and allostatic load: exploring an integrative stress-coping model among African American women

The Giscombe Superwoman Schema Questionnaire: Psychometric Properties and Associations with Mental Health and Health Behaviors in African American Women.

African American Women’s Perceptions of Mindfulness Meditation Training and Gendered Race-Related Stress