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Volpe VV, Collins AN, Ross JM, Ellis KR, Lewis JA, Ladd BA, Fitzpatrick SL. Black Young Adult Superwomen in the Face of Gendered Racial Microaggressions: Contextualizing Challenges With Acceptance and Avoidance and Emotional Eating. Ann Behav Med 2024; 58:305-313. [PMID: 38546737 DOI: 10.1093/abm/kaae017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/12/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Black young adult women (ages 18-35) are at disproportionate risk for obesity and emotional eating. Emotional eating interventions target psychological flexibility, such as reducing experiential avoidance and increasing acceptance of food-related thoughts. Yet Black women face gendered racism, and some endorse roles that reduce psychological flexibility, such as the superwoman schema role. Culturally centered stress and coping has often been overlooked, leading to an incomplete understanding of processes that engender emotional eating and the implications for appropriate and effective interventions for Black young adult women. PURPOSE We investigated direct and indirect pathways of associations between stress from gendered racial microaggressions to emotional eating through the endorsement of superwoman schema and two aspects of psychological flexibility. METHODS Black young adult women (N = 504; Mage = 24.72; 75.2% African American; 98.4% cisgender) participated in an online survey wherein they reported demographics, stress from gendered racial microaggressions, superwoman schema, experiential avoidance, acceptance of food-related thoughts, and emotional eating. Path analysis was conducted to examine direct and indirect effects. RESULTS Results provided evidence for indirect associations between more stress from gendered racial microaggressions and more emotional eating. More stress was associated with greater endorsement of the superwoman schema which was associated with more experiential avoidance and less acceptance of food-related thoughts, which were each associated with more emotional eating. CONCLUSIONS Endorsement of superwoman schema and concomitant avoidance and less acceptance may be one way that gendered racial stress propels emotional eating. Future research could test intervention components that disrupt this path.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa V Volpe
- Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Abbey N Collins
- Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Julia M Ross
- Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Katrina R Ellis
- Schools of Social Work and Public Health, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Jioni A Lewis
- Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Brianna A Ladd
- Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Stephanie L Fitzpatrick
- Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health, Manhasset, NY, USA
- Department of Medicine, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University/Northwell Health, Uniondale, NY, USA
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Erving CL, Zajdel RA, Blevins KM, Fields ND, Martin ZT, McKinnon II, Parker R, Murden RJ, Udaipuria S, Swanson S, Booker B, Burey T, Vaccarino V, Moore RH, Johnson DA, Lewis TT. The association between Superwoman schema and subjective sleep quality among Black women. Sleep Health 2024:S2352-7218(23)00326-1. [PMID: 38403559 DOI: 10.1016/j.sleh.2023.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Similar to women overall, Black women are socialized to be communal and "self-sacrificing," but unlike women from other racial/ethnic backgrounds, Black women are also socialized to be "strong" and "invulnerable." This phenomenon is labeled Superwoman schema. This study examined associations between Superwoman schema endorsement and subjective sleep quality. METHODS Participants included 405 Black women (ages 30-46). Superwoman schema was measured using a 35-item scale capturing five dimensions: obligation to present strength, suppress emotions, resistance to vulnerability, motivation to succeed, and obligation to help others. Superwoman schema overall and the five dimensions/subscales were analyzed. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to investigate overall subjective sleep quality (range: 0-19), poor sleep quality (PSQI >5), and specific sleep domains (eg, sleep duration, sleep disturbances). We fit linear and binary logistic regression models, adjusting for health-related and sociodemographic factors. RESULTS Superwoman schema dimension obligation to help others was associated with lower overall subjective sleep quality (β: .81, 95%CI=0.29, 1.32) and poor sleep quality (OR: 1.55, 95%CI=1.10, 2.19), as well as bad subjective sleep quality (OR: 1.76, 95%CI=1.18, 2.66), sleep disturbances (β: .73, 95%CI =0.07, 1.41), and daytime sleepiness (OR: 2.01, 95%CI=1.25, 3.26). Suppress emotions (OR: 1.41, 95%CI=1.01, 1.99) was associated with poor subjective sleep quality. Superwoman schema overall was associated with daytime sleepiness (OR: 2.01, 95%CI=1.06, 3.82). CONCLUSION Superwoman schema endorsement, especially obligation to help others and suppress emotions, may be important psychosocial risk factors for Black women's sleep health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christy L Erving
- University of Texas at Austin, Department of Sociology & Population Research Center, Austin, Texas, USA.
| | - Rachel A Zajdel
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), Division of Intramural Research, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Kennedy M Blevins
- University of California, Irvine, School of Social Ecology, Department of Psychological Science, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Nicole D Fields
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Zachary T Martin
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Izraelle I McKinnon
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Rachel Parker
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Department, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Raphiel J Murden
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Department, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Shivika Udaipuria
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Seegar Swanson
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Department, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Bianca Booker
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Taylor Burey
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Viola Vaccarino
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Reneé H Moore
- Drexel University, Dornsife School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Dayna A Johnson
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Tené T Lewis
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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Erving CL, McKinnon II, Van Dyke ME, Murden R, Udaipuria S, Vaccarino V, Moore RH, Booker B, Lewis TT. Superwoman Schema and self-rated health in black women: Is socioeconomic status a moderator? Soc Sci Med 2024; 340:116445. [PMID: 38043442 PMCID: PMC10959495 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Superwoman Schema (SWS) construct elucidates Black women's socialization to be strong, suppress their emotions, resist vulnerability, succeed despite limited resources, and help others at their own expense. Drawing from intersectionality and social psychological research on self-schemas, this study examined the extent to which SWS was associated with Black women's self-rated health. We also investigated whether socioeconomic status (SES) moderated the association between SWS, its five dimensions, and self-rated health. METHODS Data were from the Mechanisms Underlying Stress and Emotions (MUSE) in African-American Women's Health Study, a cohort of African American self-identified women. SWS was assessed using Giscombé's 35-item Superwoman Schema Scale. Socioeconomic status was measured by household income and educational attainment. Ordered logistic regression models were used and statistical interactions were run to test for moderation (N = 408). RESULTS First, SWS dimension "obligation to help others" was associated with worse self-rated health (p < .05). Second, household income, but not education, moderated the association between SWS and self-rated health (p < .05): SWS overall was associated with worse self-rated health among higher income women but better self-rated health among lower income women. Third, income moderated the association between SWS dimension "obligation to present an image of strength" and self-rated health (p < .05): presenting strength was associated with better self-rated health for lower income women only. Fourth, moderation results revealed that SWS dimension "obligation to help others" was inversely associated with self-rated health particularly among higher income women. CONCLUSIONS Findings speak to the complex interplay between SES and SWS dimensions as they relate to Black women's perceived health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christy L Erving
- The University of Texas at Austin, College of Liberal Arts, Department of Sociology, Population Research Center, USA.
| | - Izraelle I McKinnon
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, USA
| | - Miriam E Van Dyke
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, USA
| | - Raphiel Murden
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Department, USA
| | - Shivika Udaipuria
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, USA
| | - Viola Vaccarino
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, USA
| | - Reneé H Moore
- Drexel University, Dornsife School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, USA
| | - Bianca Booker
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, USA
| | - Tené T Lewis
- Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, USA
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McDaniel G, Akinwunmi S, Brenya V, Kidane H, Nydegger L. Superwoman schema: uncovering repercussions of coping strategies used among Black women at high risk for HIV. Ethn Health 2023; 28:874-894. [PMID: 36824000 PMCID: PMC10440248 DOI: 10.1080/13557858.2023.2179570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The Superwomen Schema (SWS) describes a social framework that encompasses the role that many Black women adopt in response to chronic stress, financial pressures, and an intersection of oppression. Woods-Giscombé (Superwoman Schema: African American Women's Views on Stress, Strength, and Health. Qualitative Health Research 20 (5): 668-683, 2010) characterizes SWS using five tenets: obligation to manifest strength, obligation to suppress emotions, resistance to vulnerability or dependency, determination to succeed despite a lack of resources, and an obligation to help others. The goal of this study is to determine the connection between SWS among Black women and substance use as a means of maintaining mental health, garnering resilience, and coping with external pressures. We aimed to highlight systemic and infrastructural racism and prejudice and how they relate, not only to the adoption of SWS, but also how they may contribute to substance use. This study is a secondary analysis of a larger study on HIV prevention Black and Latine women at high risk for HIV. Only Black participants (n = 10) were included in this secondary analysis. The interviews were conducted 3 times across 3 months. Interviews were coded and analyzed using thematic content analysis in NVivo. Themes of undiagnosed mental health symptoms, medical mistrust, institutional distrust, and aversion to help-seeking were recurrent in our data. Our research confirmed and assessed dual repercussions of SWS among Black women both as a defense that granted resilience in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds and as a construct that encouraged substance use as a coping mechanism for compromised mental health. This study contextualized this subset of coping and substance use to address and dismantle systemic contributors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabrielle McDaniel
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA
| | - Shalom Akinwunmi
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA
| | - Velta Brenya
- Department of Sociology & Health and Society, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA
| | - Heran Kidane
- Department of Kinesiology & Health Education, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA
| | - Liesl Nydegger
- Department of Kinesiology & Health Education, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA
- Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Perez AD, Dufault SM, Spears EC, Chae DH, Woods-Giscombe CL, Allen AM. Superwoman Schema and John Henryism among African American women: An intersectional perspective on coping with racism. Soc Sci Med 2023; 316:115070. [PMID: 35690497 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE John Henryism and Superwoman Schema (SWS) are dispositional characteristics adopted to overcome the challenges of chronic psychosocial stress, and have particular salience for African American women. Both show protective and harmful effects on health and share conceptual similarities and distinctions, yet there is no empirical evidence of the potential overlap resulting in uncertainty about the unique roles they may each play concerning the health of African American women. OBJECTIVE We examined: 1) whether and to what extent John Henryism and SWS represent similar or distinct constructs relevant to the unique sociohistorical and sociopolitical position of African American women, and 2) whether the two differentially predict health outcomes. METHODS Data are from a purposive and socioeconomically diverse sample of 208 African American women in the San Francisco Bay Area. First, we conducted a progressive series of tests to systematically examine the conceptual and empirical overlap between John Henryism and SWS: correlation analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), principal component analysis and k-modes cluster analysis. Next, we used multivariable regression to examine associations with psychological distress and hypertension. RESULTS John Henryism and SWS were moderately correlated with one another (rs = 0.30-0.48). In both EFA and cluster analyses, John Henryism items were distinct from SWS subscale items. For SWS, feeling an obligation to present an image of strength and an obligation to help others predicted higher odds of hypertension (p < 0.05); having an intense motivation to succeed predicted lower odds (p = 0.048). John Henryism did not predict hypertension. Feeling an obligation to help others and an obligation to suppress emotions predicted lower levels of psychological distress (p < 0.05) whereas John Henryism predicted higher distress (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS We discuss the implications of these findings for the measurement of culturally specific phenomena and their role in contributing to the unequal burden of ill health among African American women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda D Perez
- Divisions of Community Health Sciences and Epidemiology, University of California Berkeley School of Public Health, 2121 Berkeley Way #5302, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7360, USA.
| | - Suzanne M Dufault
- Divisions of Community Health Sciences and Epidemiology, University of California Berkeley School of Public Health, 2121 Berkeley Way #5302, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7360, USA
| | - Erica C Spears
- Louisiana Public Health Institute, 400 Poydras St., Suite 1250, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA
| | - David H Chae
- Department of Social, Behavioral, and Population Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 1440 Canal St, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA
| | - Cheryl L Woods-Giscombe
- School of Nursing, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Carrington Hall, CB #7460, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7460, USA
| | - Amani M Allen
- Divisions of Community Health Sciences and Epidemiology, University of California Berkeley School of Public Health, 2121 Berkeley Way #5302, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7360, USA
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Leath S, Jones MK, Butler-Barnes S. An examination of ACEs, the internalization of the Superwoman Schema, and mental health outcomes among Black adult women. J Trauma Dissociation 2022; 23:307-323. [PMID: 34622746 DOI: 10.1080/15299732.2021.1989113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Despite the growing literature on the mental health implications of adverse childhood events (ACEs), little empirical evidence considers the role of sociocultural scripts in Black women's experiences of trauma and mental health. Emerging scholarship suggests that gendered racial stereotypes, such as the Superwoman Schema, might worsen the impact of ACEs on the mental health outcomes of Black women in the U.S. To address this gap, we sought to examine relationships among Black women's exposure to ACEs, endorsement of the Superwoman Schema, and mental health outcomes. The current sample included 447 Black women (20-35 years old) who completed measures of adverse childhood events, Superwoman Schema endorsement, and mental health (stress, anxiety, and depression). ACEs and endorsement of the Superwoman Schema were associated with higher stress, anxiety, and depressive symptomology. Additionally, Black women who experienced more ACEs and felt a stronger obligation to present an image of strength indicated more stress. Black women who experienced more ACEs and had a stronger determination to succeed reported higher anxiety. These results offer further evidence of the role of the Superwoman Schema on Black women's mental health. The authors discuss future research directions and clinical implications regarding the interconnections among sociocultural scripts of Black womanhood and trauma experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seanna Leath
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Martinque K Jones
- Department of Psychology, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, USA
| | - Sheretta Butler-Barnes
- Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, Missouri, USA
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