Gendered Racism and Mental Health among Young Adult U.S. Black Women: The Moderating Roles of Gendered Racial Identity Centrality and Identity Shifting

Abstract

Black women are uniquely located at the intersection of two marginalized identities which puts them at risk of experiencing a combined discrimination known as gendered racism. Among Black Women, experiencing increased gendered racism is associated with higher poorer mental health which includes higher levels of anxiety and depression. To cope with these experiences of gendered racism, Black women often engage in identity shifting by adjusting one’s behavior and language to conform to environmental norms. Paradoxically, having a strong sense of one’s gendered racial identity has been theorized to potentially protect Black women from the detrimental effects of gendered racism. Two hundred thirty nine young adult U.S. Black women, between the ages of 18 and 35, completed an online survey to examine the role of identity shifting and gendered racial identity centrality on the established link between gendered racism and mental health outcomes, specifically anxiety and depression symptoms. The results indicated that identity shifting did not moderate the associations between gendered racism and anxiety nor depression symptoms. Separate moderation analyses indicated that gendered racial identity centrality moderated the effect of identity shifting on depression but not on anxiety symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of considering identity factors when proposing theories and clinical practices that seek to reduce mental health concerns among young adult U.S. Black women.