(PS8-69) Understanding Affective Outcomes of Racial Trauma for Black Women: A Community-based Mixed-methods Examination of Emotional Beliefs and Regulation

Intersectional racism, a pervasive and invalidating system of power, contributes to processes that fuel poor mental health outcomes for Black women. Racial stress may fuel emotion regulatory profiles characterized by avoidance and suppression of emotion, as well as beliefs that emphasize emotional control stemming from the Strong Black Woman (SBW) stereotype. While often considered an unhelpful response to emotions, control may be a protective and effective response in some contexts. We use a community-based mixed-methods approach to examine whether self-reported SBW cognitions and difficulties regulating emotions converge with qualitative reports of emotional beliefs (EB) and regulation (ER) among Black women who have experienced discrimination. We hypothesize higher endorsement of SBW schema will predict emotion control beliefs, and that each will predict both emotion dysregulation and psychological distress. We will also present qualitative data on experiences that have fueled the development of beliefs and regulation strategies. Adult Black women (n = 9) participated in two focus groups in February-March 2024. Participants completed measures of daily discrimination, SBW schema, ER, EB, and psychological distress, and provided qualitative feedback on their experience of emotion dysregulation and emotional beliefs. Qualitative coding methods will be used to examine whether feedback on emotion beliefs and regulation aligns with the underlying constructs of emotion dysregulation or beliefs, as well as whether positive affective outcomes of SBW are mentioned. Linear regression and correlations will be used to examine relations between EB, ER, and distress. Findings will underscore the impact of experienced racism on emotional pathways to psychological distress, as well as help to identify relevant resilience pathways related to SBW beliefs that could be emphasized in clinical work. This project seeks to validate and affirm responses to environmental injustice that exemplify resilience, and illuminate areas where psychological treatment can better support the unique emotional needs of Black women.