Open AccessGendered Racial Microaggressions, Psychosocial Resources, and Depressive Symptoms among Black Women Attending a Historically Black University
Author(s) -
Christy L. Erving,
Tiffany Williams,
Whitney Frierson,
Megan Derisse
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
society and mental health/society and mental health.
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.795
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 2156-8731
pISSN - 2156-8693
DOI - 10.1177/21568693221115766
Subject(s) - psychosocial , psychology , mental health , stressor , intersectionality , clinical psychology , black women , stereotype (uml) , developmental psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , gender studies , sociology
The current study integrates stress process model and intersectionality framework to explore psychological effects of an intersectional stressor experienced by black women: gendered racial microaggressions (GRMs). Prior research suggests GRMS negatively influence black women's mental health. However, it is unclear whether specific dimensions of GRMS are more or less impactful to mental health. This study investigates: To what extent do black women experience GRMS overall and its specific dimensions: Assumptions of Beauty and Sexual Objectification; Silenced and Marginalized; Strong Black Woman Stereotype; Angry Black Woman Stereotype? What is the relationship between GRMS and depressive symptoms? Do psychosocial resources (i.e., social support, self-esteem, mastery) mediate the association between GRMS and depressive symptoms? We use data from black women attending a historically Black university in the Southeast ( N = 202). We employed ordinary least squares regression analysis and performed mediation analysis. Study results revealed a positive association between GRMS and depressive symptoms; the Angry Black Woman Stereotype GRMS dimension had the most robust influence on depressive symptoms. Psychosocial resources partially mediated the relationship between GRMS and depressive symptoms. Study results suggest that sociological stress research underestimates the influence of stress on black women's health when intersectional stressors like GRMS are not included in analytic models.