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Evaluation ViewAttendees 6

Culture / Ethnicity / Race
Symposia

Symposium 96 - Strength in Black Womanhood: Implications of Strong Black Woman Schema for Mental Health and Clinical Practice

Saturday, November 16, 2024
2:30 PM – 4:00 PM EST
Location: Franklin Hall 10, Level 4, Downtown Marriott
CE: 1.5

Keywords: African Americans / Black Americans, , Race
Level of Familiarity: All
Recommended Readings: Beauboeuf-Lafontant, T. (2007). You have to show strength: An exploration of gender, race, and depression. Gender & Society, 21(1), 28-51. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124320629418,   Castelin, S., & White, G. (2022). “I’ma strong independent Black woman”: The strong Black woman schema and mental health in college-aged Black women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 46(2), 196-208. https://doi.org/10.1177/03616843211067501,   Woods-Giscombé C. L. (2010). Superwoman schema: African American women's views on stress, strength, and health. Qualitative health research, 20(5), 668–683. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732310361892,   ,  

Black women face unique stressors and intersectional challenges due to their marginalized racial and gender identities in the United States. Although intersectionality theory has gained support in the research literature, the mechanisms through which race and gender intersect to influence mental health outcomes for Black women have received limited clinical attention. One potential mechanism proposed to impact mental health outcomes for Black women is the culturally-specific coping mechanism to gendered racialized oppression of the Strong Black Woman (SBW). The SBW schema is a cultural expectation that prescribes Black women to display extreme strength, resilience, self-reliance, and care-taking abilities, while suppressing their emotions (Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2007). While strength, care-taking, and resilience are seen as foundational images of Black womanhood and may be an asset to survival, they can also characterize Black women as “Superwoman” which may confer added vulnerabilities and exacerbate stress-related health outcomes (Woods-Giscombé, 2010). In light of the potential benefits and liabilities of SBW schema, it is imperative to continue investigating the role of SBW schema in mental health outcomes for Black women. The goal of this symposium is to describe unique stressors and intersectional challenges faced by Black women in the United States, present methods by which SBW schema influences mental health outcomes for Black women, and learn key culturally specific coping mechanisms to inform treatment approaches for promoting mental health and well-being among Black women.

This symposium will begin with a brief introduction by the chair Jasmin Brooks Stephens, who will highlight the importance of studying the psychological impacts of the SBW schema and identifying mechanisms of coping for Black women. In the first presentation, Jessica Pitts will utilize a developmental framework to detail how early SBW socialization experiences can influence mental health outcomes in adulthood. Janae Best will then discuss sexual orientation differences in aspects of SBW schema on depressive symptoms for young Black women attending an HBCU, illustrating the importance of addressing intersectional oppression rooted in racism, sexism, and heterosexism. Jasmin Brooks Stephens will illustrate the differential role of SBW schema on the association between discrimination and mental health for young Black women, noting how in some instances SBW schema may confer protection, but in others, it may lead to added vulnerability. Briana Spivey will examine the potential role of cultural coping mechanisms, SBW schema and John Henryism, on the relationship between gendered racism and health outcomes among college-aged women. Finally, Ramya Ramadurai will describe the pilot testing of a single-session intervention aimed at adapting Dialectical Behavior Therapy to fit the experiences and values of Black women, notably connecting SBW beliefs to emotion regulation strategies. The symposium will conclude with an open discussion and Q&A with all presenters to discuss implications and future directions for research and clinical practice in understanding the psychological health implications of SBW schema for Black women.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. Learn unique stressors and intersectional challenges faced by Black women in the United States.
  2. Understand how race and gender intersect to influence mental health outcomes for Black women.
  3. Define the Strong Black Woman (SBW) schema, understanding the potential benefits and liabilities of SBW schema.
  4. Understand the methods by which Strong Black Woman schema influences mental health outcomes for Black women.
  5. Describe key culturally specific coping mechanisms to inform treatment approaches for promoting mental health and well-being among Black women

Presentations:

  • 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM EST
    (SYM 96) Discrimination and Mental Health: The Role of Strong Black Woman Schema for Young Black Women

    Speaker: Jasmin Brooks Stephens, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Massachusetts General Hospital

    Co-author: Rheeda Walker, PhD (she/her/hers) – University of Houston

  • 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM EST
    (SYM 96) Super Strength: Associations Between Messages of Strength, Strong Black Woman Endorsement, and Mental Health

    Speaker: Jessica Pitts, B.S., M.S. (she/her/hers) – University of Michigan

    Co-author: Rona Carter, PhD (she/her/hers) – University of Michigan

    Co-author: Monique Ward, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of Michigan

  • 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM EST
    (SYM 96) Intersectionality Matters: An Examination of the Role of Sexual Orientation in the Association Between Superwoman Schema and Depressive Symptoms of Black Women at Hbcus

    Speaker: Janae N. Best, M.P.H. (she/her/hers) – University of Michigan

    Co-author: Kristi E. Gamarel, Ph.D. – University of Michigan

    Co-author: Natalie N. Watson-Singleton, Ph.D. – Spelman College

  • 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM EST
    (SYM 96) Development and Pilot Testing of a Single Session Intervention for Black Women Focused on SBW Emotion Beliefs and Emotion Regulation

    Speaker: Ramya Ramadurai, M.A. (she/her/hers) – American University

    Co-author: Jasmin Brooks Stephens, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Massachusetts General Hospital

    Co-author: Macy Ward, B.A. – American University

  • 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM EST
    (SYM 96) Gendered Racism, Cultural Coping, and Health Among College-aged Black Women

    Speaker: Briana Spivey, M.S. (she/her/hers) – University of Georgia

    Co-author: Natalie N. Watson-Singleton, Ph.D. – Spelman College

    Co-author: Justin Lavner, Ph.D. – University of Georgia