NiCole T. Buchanan

Effects of Racial and Sexual Harassment on Work and the Psychological Well-Being of African American Women

Research on workplace harassment has typically examined either racial or sexual harassment, without studying both simultaneously. As a result, it remains unknown whether the co-occurrence of racial and sexual harassment or their interactive effects account for unique variance in work and psychological well-being. In this study, hierarchical linear regression analyses were used to explore the influence of racial and sexual harassment on these outcomes among 91 African American women involved in a sexual harassment employment lawsuit. Results indicated that both sexual and racial harassment contributed significantly to the womens occupational and psychological outcomes. Moreover, their interaction was statistically significant when predicting supervisor satisfaction and perceived organizational tolerance of harassment. Using a sample of African American women employed in an organizational setting where harassment was known to have occurred and examining sexual and racial harassment concomitantly makes this study unique. As such, it provides novel insights and an important contribution to an emerging body of research and underscores the importance of assessing multiple forms of harassment when examining organizational stressors, particularly among women of color.

Racialized Sexual Harassment in the Lives of African American Women

Abstract To date, scholars who investigate sexual harassment have been disturbingly silent about issues facing women of color. The current study describes results of a qualitative study of sexual and racial harassment conducted with 37 African American women. These data indicate that African American women cannot easily separate issues of race and gender when considering their personal accounts of victimization, which creates a form of racialized sexual harassment. Implications for practice and therapeutic interventions are presented.

THROUGH THE LENS OF RACE: BLACK AND WHITE WOMEN'S PERCEPTIONS OF WOMANHOOD

The intersection of race and gender may create unique experiences for Black and White women in terms of work, family, domestic roles, and interpersonal relationships. Dissimilar gender-role norms may foster different perceptions of gender for these two groups of women. In the current study, we examined similarities and differences in Black and White womens perceptions of their gender using qualitative focus group methodology and grounded theory data analysis. The results identified five themes that were common to Black and White women: Gender-Based Mistreatment, Perceived Advantage, Friendships and Community, Caretaking, and Work and Family Options. One additional theme, Inner Strength, emerged only for Black women. Although many of the broad perceptions of womanhood were similar for Black and White women, analysis of the content within each theme highlighted important differences. We discuss the results in terms of how they may reflect socio-historical factors, gender discrimination, stereotypes, and gender-role norms.

School Staff Responses to Gender-Based Bullying as Moral Interpretation An Exploratory Study

Gender-based bullying is the most common form of violence that students encounter in U.S. public schools. Several large-scale surveys reveal its consequences for students. Fewer studies examine how school staff members make sense of and respond to such violence. The authors address this knowledge gap by presenting analyses of interviews conducted with high school faculty and staff. Synthesizing sociological studies of violence and positioning theory, the authors illuminate the webs of relationships and cultural narratives in which school staff responses to gender-based bullying are situated. The authors find that, although school staff members felt compelled to intervene when male students sexually harassed quiet girls, they were reluctant to intervene in abusive heterosexual dating relationships and were ambivalent about their responsibility toward gay and lesbian targets of bullying. The authors argue for expanding prevention efforts beyond intervention to engage school staff in critically examining sexist and heterosexist roles, norms, and practices.

Comparing sexual harassment subtypes among black and white women by military rank: double jeopardy, the jezebel, and the cult of true womanhood

Drawing upon feminist analyses of double jeopardy and the cult of true womanhood, we examine race, rank, sexual harassment frequency, and psychological distress for Black and White female military personnel (N = 7,714). Results indicated that White women reported more overall sexual harassment, gender harassment, and crude behavior, whereas Black women reported more unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion; enlisted women reported higher rates of each subtype than officers. Black enlistees reported more sexual coercion than White enlistees, and enlistees reported more than officers, but there were no racial differences across officers. Black women reported more psychological distress following gender harassment than White women, and enlisted women reported more distress following gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion than officers. Although Black officers were less distressed at low levels of sexual coercion, as coercion became more frequent, their distress increased significantly, and at high levels, all groups were similarly distressed.

Derogation, Discrimination, and (Dis)satisfaction with Jobs in Science: A Gendered Analysis.

In the current study of 353 science and engineering faculty members, we examined whether three types of gender-based mistreatment might “chill” individuals’ perceptions of the professional climate, which might in turn undermine satisfaction with their jobs. We also tested gender differences in these relationships. Results indicated that for women, the relationship between gender discrimination (e.g., unequal access to resources) and job satisfaction was mediated by scholarly alienation and a negative workplace climate; gender derogation (e.g., disparaging comments) was related to organizational sexism toward women (OSTW), which was associated with perceptions of scholarly alienation and a negative workplace climate; these perceptions in turn predicted lower job satisfaction. For men, gender derogation was indirectly related to job satisfaction via scholarly alienation, and OSTW was indirectly related to job satisfaction via both climate variables. Analyses indicated that most of these indirect effects were stronger for women than men. We discuss these results for both sexes and suggest reasons why men’s climate perceptions may be “chilled” by exposure to sexism toward women. We also discuss implications for individuals working with women in male-dominated environments, such as organizational administrators and clinical practitioners.

Factors Influencing Chronic Pain Intensity in Older Black Women: Examining Depression, Locus of Control, and Physical Health

BACKGROUND Chronic pain may function uniquely within a given race group, which may affect their physical health and psychological well-being. This is particularly relevant among women from diverse race populations. METHODS Hierarchical multivariate regression analysis was used to examine pain intensity and its relationship to depressive symptoms, health locus of control, life satisfaction, and various health and demographic characteristics in a cross-sectional sample of 181 black women >or=50 years old. RESULTS Results from the multivariate model showed that age, depression, physical functioning, and locus of control explained unique variance in pain intensity (44%), suggesting that younger age, reporting more depressive symptoms, limited functional capacity, the belief that one has control over ones health, and the belief that ones health is not controlled by others were significant predictors of greater pain intensity among this sample. CONCLUSIONS These findings underscore the importance of continued research on disease processes, as well as physical and mental health outcomes of older black women reporting chronic pain. Specifically, the study demonstrates the value of research focusing on within-group factors impacting a single population, thereby understanding the myriad of factors that may explain the unique pain experience of older black women.

Exploring gender differences in body image, eating pathology, and sexual harassment

This study examines the relationship between body image (weight/shape concerns), eating pathology, and sexual harassment among men and women (N=2446). Hierarchical regressions controlling for depression revealed main effects of gender such that women reported greater weight/shape concerns, eating pathology, dietary restraint, eating concerns, and binge eating compared to men. Main effects for sexual harassment indicated that as harassment increased, participants reported increased weight/shape concerns, eating pathology, dietary restraint, eating concerns, binge eating, and compensatory behaviors. There were small but significant interactions between gender and harassment for eating pathology total score (which included each of the domains listed above), weight/shape concerns, dietary restraint, and eating concerns such that the relationship between increased harassment and increased pathology was stronger for women compared to men. The largest interaction was found for compensatory behaviors, such that while women and mens scores both increased as harassment increased, the relationship was stronger for men.

THE MODERATING ROLES OF RACE AND GENDER‐ROLE ATTITUDES IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL‐BEING

Although previous research has linked sexual harassment to negative psychological outcomes, few studies have focused on moderators of these relationships. The present study surveyed Black (n = 88) and White (n = 170) female undergraduates who endorsed experiences of sexual harassment to examine whether traditional gender attitudes differentially moderated the relationship between sexual harassment and three outcomes: posttraumatic stress symptoms, general clinical symptoms, and satisfaction with life. We replicated past findings that sexual harassment is related to negative outcomes. Further, the results supported our hypothesis that less traditional gender attitudes (i.e., more feminist attitudes) would buffer the negative effects of sexual harassment for White women, whereas the same attitudes would exacerbate its negative effects for Black women. We discuss reasons for these differences, including Black womens double consciousness and differences in the meaning of feminist and traditional gender attitudes for Black and White women.

Unique and Joint Effects of Sexual and Racial Harassment on College Students' Well-Being

This study examined the sexual harassment (SH) and racial harassment (RH) experiences of Asian, Black, multiracial, and White male and female college students (N = 2,009). Research questions were (a) Do sex and race influence the frequency of SH and RH; (b) Do SH and RH have unique, additive, and/or interactive effects on psychological outcomes; and (c) Do sex and race moderate the relationship between SH/RH and psychological well-being? Analyses indicated that SH/RH frequency varied as a result of ones combined sex–race identity, SH/RH had individual, additive, and interactive effects on psychological well-being, and both sex and race moderate the relationships between harassment and well-being. Further, three-way interactions of sex, race, and harassment type were found for the prediction of well-being indicators.