Early career Black women in school-based mental health fields: Understanding their experiences of workplace discrimination

Gendered racial microaggressions and stress in PAs who are Black women

OBJECTIVE

This mixed-methods study explored whether physician associates/assistants (PAs) who are Black women (for brevity, called Black women PAs throughout this article) experience gendered racial microaggressions and whether these experiences correlated with psychologic distress. The phrase Black women encompasses those who identify with the sociocultural roles, behaviors, and expressions of being a Black woman.

METHODS

We conducted an online survey of Black women PAs using the Gendered Racial Microaggressions Scale during a 2-month period in 2019.

RESULTS

Black women PAs experienced gendered racial microaggressions in clinical settings. Gendered racial microaggressions were correlated with stress, being silenced and marginalized, and assumptions of beauty and sexual objectification. No correlations were found between stress and the angry Black woman and strong Black woman variables.

CONCLUSIONS

This study revealed that Black women have interlocking forms of oppression related to their race and gender, which are associated with psychologic distress. Awareness of these occurrences can reduce the unknowing perpetuation of gendered racial microaggressions and create cultural awareness practices.

Trends in Suicide Among Black Women in the United States, 1999-2020

Objective:

Recent increases in suicide deaths among Black women in the US warrant further investigation. Our objective was to clarify the epidemiology of suicide among Black girls and women, by estimating age-period-cohort effects on suicide rates among decedents coded as female aged 15-84 years.

Methods:

The present study examined annual time-series data from the National Center for Health Statistics’ Multiple Cause of Death 1999-2020 database. Suicide rates by age, period, and cohort were visualized using hexagonal maps, and estimated using modified Poisson regression to address identifiability.

Results:

In total, our analysis included 9,271 suicide deaths. Results indicated the presence of all three effects: (i) a clear age effect, with higher rates at younger ages, regardless of cohort and time, (ii) a period effect, with rates generally increasing across time for most ages, and (iii) a cohort effect, with a clustering of increased suicide rates among the youngest cohorts. Across regions, rates were highest among the youngest age groups, concentrated in the West.

Conclusion:

Suicide is increasing rapidly among Black females – with particularly concerning trends among the youngest Black females born in the most recent birth cohorts. Findings suggest a need for increased mental health access and geographically targeted prevention efforts.

Women of color and the hidden curriculum of school psychology doctoral programs

Doctoral training programs educate future practitioners, scholars, and researchers. They therefore are an important site of inquiry for critical school psychologists interested in interrogating and confronting the inequities that exist within the field. We conducted four focus groups with 15 Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color (BIWOC) students in various APA-accredited school psychology Ph.D. programs to understand how they experienced their programs. We argue that the programs delivered a hidden curriculum to the participants through various socializing, vicarious, and disciplinary events, in addition to the official curriculum delivered to all students. Data analysis indicated that the hidden curriculum was delivered in four settings and consisted of six lessons, including (a) you do not belong here, (b) you cannot be trusted, (c) you are on your own, (d) you are not safe here, (e) you are a token, and (f) you will only get performative allyship from us. We discuss each of these lessons and contemplate on ways in which programs and faculty can combat their deleterious impact on the students.