Participants:
- 158 Black women aged 18 to 59.
- Majority were employed with some college or a higher degree.
- Over 80% were childless and single.
- 50% reported a yearly salary under \$50,000.

Procedure:
- Participants were recruited using a psychology subject pool (compensated with course credit) and Amazon Mechanical Turk (Mturk, compensated with \$3.50).
- Mturk used a screener to identify Black women and kept the study closed from individuals who did not identify as such.

Wellesley College

Google

The Strong Black Women (SBW) schema has been suggested to correlate with poor health outcomes in Black women. The central aim of this study was to determine what mechanisms could result in mental distress, and if the perception of emotional support could intervene between the SBW schema and psychological distress. Evidence from 158 adult Black American women suggested partial mediation from perceived emotional support, and a clear link between the SBW schema and subsequent psychological distress and a perceived lack of emotional support. The SBW schema as a result has proof of being connected to psychological distress in Black women.

Strong Black Woman (SBW) Schema and Psychological Distress

Strong Black Woman Schema and Psychological Distress: The Mediating Role of Perceived Emotional Support

- The Strong Black Woman (SBW) schema is a cultural concept adopted by Black women to survive anti-Black and/or sexist discrimination.
- It is based in the idea of the Strong Black Woman, a portrayal of Black women as exceptionally resilient in the face of hardship. The concept was used during the American slavery era to justify their forced labor.
- The SBW schema includes cognitive traits like repression of emotions and caregiving, used as stress response behaviors.
- While the schema may result in more self-confidence in their capacity for resilience, it also has been linked to binge eating, depression, and anxiety in Black women.

Strong Black Woman (SBW) Schema

- 52.63% of participants endorsed the SBW schema based on the subscales' scores (scored between 58-80).
- 51.89% scored high on perceived emotional support.
- 52.65% scored high on psychological distress.
- A positive association between SBW schema and psychological distress (.55 on Figure 1) exists.
- There is a negative association (-.18 on Figure 1) between perceived social support and SBW schema.
- Perceived social support and psychological distress had an inverse relationship. As perceived social support increased, psychological distress decreased, and vice versa.
- Perceived social support did mediate between the schema and distress, but was limited by the strong relationship between schema and distress. A bootstrap confidence interval for the indirect and direct effect did not contain zero, supporting the mediation, but only partially. 

Results for SBW Schema and Psychological Distress

- The researchers conclude that the SBW schema is inversely associated with perceived social support and positively associated with psychological distress.
- Black women higher on the SBW schema reported more distress and perceived less social support.
- Kin support is valued in Black communities, suggesting that Black women perceived less social support because they are more often the offerers of support rather than the recipients. 
- The SBW schema may used to combat hardships faced by Black women who perceive that they must struggle alone.
- Lack of educational/other social diversity among participants (few mothers, wives, etc), reliance on self-reported data, and inability to make causal claims in a cross-sectional study limits the study's argument.
- In the future, evaluations of other forms of social support may be beneficial.
- Clinicians are urged to teach Black female clients how to use the SBW schema to their benefit while avoiding harmful ideas about seeking support.
- Interdependence, an Africentric idea relating the person and group's mutual support and reliance, can lead to healthier habits.
- The SBW schema has value for Black women facing oppressive environments, but its endorsement can equally result in personal damage. Further research on cultural understandings and expectations of Black women can encourage more self-compassion and better health among the demographic.

Further Discussion on SBW Schema and Psychological Distress

Social support can be found through family and friends and varies based on structure, quality, and type. The study's focus is emotional support. Black women who internalize the SBW schema may:
- avoid seeking support
- believe they lack enough people to gain support from

Perceived support, or personal beliefs about one's levels of support is highlighted due to it being a stronger indicator of psychological health than actual levels of support. Weaker perceived support has been connected to the following outcomes for Black women.
- smoking
- poor exercise habits
- symptoms of depression


Social Support in the SBW Schema and Psychological Distress

- A demographic questionnaire was used to obtain information about the participants' personal information.
- The Stereotypical Roles for Black Women Scale, found in previous research concerning social roles of Black Women, was used to evaluate aspects of the SBW schema.
    - Two subscales, the Superwoman and Mammy scales, were combined.
    - The Superwoman scale contains 11 items measuring opinions on 
       expectations for Black women's strength in adversity.
    - The 5-item Mammy subscale, based on the stereotype of motherly Black 
       women in service of white families, measures opinions on selflessness in 
       Black women.
    - Both scales were answered using a 5 point scale (1: strongly disagree to 5: 
       strongly agree). The higher the score, the more apparent belief in the SBW 
       schema. 
- A similar 5-point scale was used to measure the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. The test uses statements related to feelings of support (i.e. "I can discuss problems with my friends.") to measure perceived emotional social support.
- A 4-point scale (1: not at all to 4: extremely) measured psychological distress using the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-21. Higher scores suggest more distress.

Learn Before

Related