Jasmine A. Abrams

Carrying the World with the Grace of a Lady and the Grit of a Warrior: Deepening Our Understanding of the “Strong Black Woman” Schema

Across varied disciplines, attempts have been made to capture the multidimensionality of Black womanhood under a unifying framework illustrative of Black women’s perceived roles, responsibilities, and experiences of intersectional oppression. The result has been the emergence of a number of divergent but overlapping constructs (e.g., Superwoman Schema, Sojourner Truth Syndrome, Sisterella Complex, and Strong Black Woman [SBW] Schema). The goal of our study is to integrate overlapping attributes of existing constructs beneath a single term while also expounding upon the defining characteristics of the SBW Schema. Thematic analyses were conducted with data gathered from eight focus groups with 44 Black women from the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Women ranged in age from 18 to 91 and were diverse in religious and educational backgrounds. Data analysis involved iterative processes (i.e., continuous development of new codes and constant comparison of themes). Prominent themes identified as characteristics of the SBW Schema were (a) Embodies and Displays Multiple Forms of Strength, (b) Possesses Self/Ethnic Pride in Spite of Intersectional Oppression, (c) Embraces Being Every Woman, and (d) Anchored by Religion/Spirituality. Mental and physical health outcomes (e.g., psychological distress, depressive symptomology, obesity, and cardiovascular disease risk) associated with characteristics of the SBW Schema underscore the importance of the construct and its exploration.

What’s Color Got To Do With It? Skin Color, Skin Color Satisfaction, Racial Identity, and Internalized Racism Among African American College Students

Although skins tone perceptions influence the African American community, less is known about how skin color satisfaction differs across complexion. Employing an intersectionality framework, the current study assessed (a) the relationships between gender, self-reported skin color, skin color satisfaction, and the private regard aspect of racial identity; (b) whether skin color satisfaction moderates the relationship between perceived skin color and racial identity; and (c) whether internalized racism relates to skin color satisfaction. African American college students (N= 191) provided their perceived skin color and completed the private regard subscale of the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity, the Nadanolitization Scale, and an abbreviated version of the Skin Color Satisfaction Scale. Hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted to test most hypotheses. Although skin color was not significantly associated with skin color satisfaction, skin color satisfaction moderated the relationship between perceived skin color and private regard. Darker skin African Americans high in skin color satisfaction reported higher private regard than those low in skin color satisfaction. Additionally, internalized racism significantly predicted skin color satisfaction. Psychosociological implications are discussed.

Conducting community-engaged qualitative research in South Africa: memoirs of intersectional identities abroad

The influence of intersectional identities on social experiences is most often explored within research on minority populations (e.g. LGBT, African American women, etc.). However few, if any, studies have extended the subject of intersectionality to address the intersectional identities of researchers or their influence on the conduct of qualitative research in international settings. Through reflexive memoirs offered from student researchers that engaged in an international collaborative research project, this article highlights the challenges intersectional identities posed while conducting community-engaged qualitative research in Durban, South Africa. Within each memoir, particular attention is paid to (a) how the intersection of the student researchers’ perceived and actual racial, gendered, class, and national identities determined or obfuscated their statuses as ‘outsiders’ or ‘insiders’, (b) the influential nature of these mutually constitutive identities on the interview process, and (c) how the student researchers successfully or unsuccessfully negotiated the collective impact of their intersecting positions and identities in the field. By critically examining the complex and interdependent influence of race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, and class on researchers’ collection and interpretation of qualitative data, this article extends the application and relevance of the intersectionality framework to an international context and to the experiences of the interviewer/researcher.

Development and Validation of a Preliminary Measure of African American Women’s Gender Role Beliefs

Gender role beliefs of African American women differ from those of women in other ethnic/racial groups and a culturally valid measure of their gender role beliefs is needed. Three studies were conducted to develop a preliminary measure. In Study 1, focus groups were conducted with a community and college sample of 44 African American women. Transcripts reviewed resulted in an initial pool of 40 items. These items were reviewed by an expert panel and 18 items were retained. In Study 2, an exploratory factor analysis was computed with data from 94 African American female college students. The 18 items were included along with measures to assess convergent and discriminant validity. Nine items were retained. These nine items comprised two subscales labeled Agency and Caretaking. The scales demonstrated good internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity. In Study 3, a confirmatory factor analysis was computed with a different sample of 184 African American female college students. The confirmatory factor analysis showed acceptable fit for the two-factor structure of Agency and Caretaking.

Fear of Negative Evaluation as a Mediator of the Relation between Academic Stress, Anxiety and Depression in a Sample of Ghanaian College Students

This study examined the mediator effects of the fear of negative evaluation (FNE) on the relation between academic stress and psychological symptoms in a sample of Ghanaian college students (N = 431). A multi-step structural equation modelling (SEM) procedure was used to test the specified mediator model and several fit indices were calculated to assess how well the model fit the data. In addition, path coefficients were calculated to determine whether mediation had been established. The results indicated that the specified model produced a good fit to the data. Moreover, the findings revealed that FNE partially mediated the relation between academic stress and the psychological symptoms of anxiety and depression. Implications for the study’s findings are discussed and recommendations for future research are presented.

Assessing the Psychological Consequences of Internalized Colonialism on the Psychological Well-Being of Young Adults in Ghana

This study examined the psychometric properties of a revised version of the Colonial Mentality Scale in a sample Ghanaian young adults (CMS-G; N = 431). In addition, the degree to which mental health and self- and group-concept was effected by internalized notions of colonial mentality was assessed. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to evaluate the underlying factor structure of the CMS-G. The findings indicated that the CMS-G produced a four-factor orthogonal model as best representing the construct of colonial mentality among Ghanaian young adults. CMS-G scores correlated in the anticipated direction with self-esteem, collective self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. Additional analyses indicated that Ghanaian young adults endorsed colonial mentality items associated with physical characteristics and colonial debt with a higher frequency than other CMS-G items. Men endorsed colonial debt items statistically significantly more than women. Implications for the study’s findings are discussed and recommendations for future research are presented.

Distant but relative: Similarities and differences in gender role beliefs among African American and Vietnamese American women.

OBJECTIVES Research attempting to identify similarities or disentangle differences in ethnic minority gender role beliefs has been largely absent in the literature, and a gap remains for qualitative examinations of such phenomena. The purpose of this study is to fill this gap in the literature by providing a qualitative examination of the differences and similarities of gender role beliefs among African American and Vietnamese American women. METHODS Thematic analyses were conducted with data gathered from 8 focus groups with 44 African American women (mean age = 44 years) and 4 focus Groups 47 Vietnamese American women (mean age = 42 years). Women were diverse in generational, religious, and educational backgrounds. RESULTS Two similar primary themes emerged: (a) womens roles as chief caretakers and (b) womens responsibility to fulfill multiple roles. There were also similar experiences of a need to convey strength and be self-sacrificial. Two distinct differences that emerged from the focus groups were beliefs about interpersonal interactions and perceptions of societal expectations. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that the conceptualization of gender role beliefs, although at times similar, diverges among culturally different groups. To account for these and other culturally nuanced differences, measures of gender role beliefs should be culturally tailored and culturally specific. However, researchers have largely excluded ethnic minority women in the development of the most widely used measures of gender role beliefs in the U.S. The inclusion of diverse women in research will help prevent pitfalls of conflating and ignoring intragroup differences among different groups of marginalized women.

Considerations for Implementing Group-Level Prenatal Health Interventions in Low-Resource Communities: Lessons Learned From Haiti

Haitis high maternal and infant mortality rates evidence an urgent need for implementation of evidence-based strategies. A potential cost-effective strategy to mitigate high maternal and infant mortality rates is group prenatal care, an innovative model that combines antenatal clinical assessment with pregnancy education. Despite research demonstrating the effectiveness of this model in high-resource settings, less is known about the challenges of implementing it in low-resource settings. The purpose of this article is to provide recommendations for overcoming challenges of implementing group prenatal care in low-resources communities globally. Challenges addressed include language, literacy, space, cultural appropriateness of intervention content, and sociopolitical climate. Using examples from work conducted in Haiti, this information can be used to assist practitioners and researchers with overcoming challenges of implementing models of group care in international low-resource communities.

Redbones and earth mothers: The influence of rap music on African American girls’ perceptions of skin color

While a small body of research has implicated rap music as a disseminator of colorist messages, more systematic explorations in this area are needed, particularly among youth. Employing an objectivist grounded theory approach, this study explored contemporary rap music as a medium through which skin color related messages are covertly or overtly transmitted to African American female adolescents. In addition, this study investigated the degree to which such lyrical and visual messages are understood and evaluated by this group. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with African American female adolescents (N = 30). Iterative coding and thematic analysis revealed rap music to be an influential purveyor of skin color messages, especially with regard to skin tone preferences. Three primary themes emerged: 1) Preferences for light-skinned females, 2) Unfavorable messages about or exclusion of dark-skinned females, and 3) Use of skin color nicknames. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Heart Rate Variability as a Correlate of Trauma Symptom Expression, Psychological Well-Being, and Emotion Regulation in African Americans With Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury

This study examined the relationship between heart rate variability, trauma symptom expression, and psychological distress in a sample (N = 28) of African Americans with traumatic spinal cord injury. Participants’ heart rate (R-R interval) was recorded at baseline, during a mental arithmetic task, and then again at recovery. Heart rate variability was indexed as the root mean square of successive difference (rMSSD) of participants’ R-R interval. Following this procedure, participants were administered a battery of surveys to assess levels of trauma and psychological distress. Findings indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship between heart rate variability, trauma symptoms, and psychological distress. Implications of the study’s findings are discussed in the context of future research and clinical interventions.