Using intersectionality as a guiding framework, the current study examined how gendered and racialized perceptions of Black women as "strong Black women" may be shaped by colorism. This experimental study sampled 314 Black and White participants from the community. Participants were presented with a vignette that described a Black woman coping with workplace stress in one of two ways, one congruent with strong Black womanhood (emotional restriction) and one incongruent with strong Black womanhood (emotional vulnerability), alongside the image of a light skin or dark skin Black woman. Then, participants were asked to rate how "strong" they perceived the woman in the vignette to be. A factorial ANCOVA was conducted to test how perceptions of the woman in the vignette varied based on her emotional response to workplace stress and skin tone, while controlling for perceptions of likability and competence. As hypothesized, we observed that participants perceived the woman responding to workplace stress with emotional restriction as stronger than the women who responded with emotional vulnerability. However, skin tone, nor the interaction between emotional response and skin tone had a bearing on participants' perceptions. There were also no differences in perceptions based on participant race. Through its intersectional framing, this study challenges scholars and practitioners to consider how the interplay between racism, sexism, and colorism shapes how Black women are seen by others and, in turn, how they may see themselves as strong Black women. Implications of the findings, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

The purpose of the current study is to revise the wording of the items in the Strong Black Woman (SBW) attitudes scale and investigate the psychometric properties of this revised scale (renamed the SBW Cultural Construct Scale, SBWCCS). Another goal is to determine if the scale predicts racial identity, stress, and social support. The sample consisted of 152 women of African descent, who were recruited from a community based organization. An exploratory factor analysis on the SBWCCS scale suggested a 3-factor model consisting of (1) caretaking, (2) affect regulation, and (3) self-reliance. These factors parallel those found in the original scale (Thompson, 2003). The internal consistency was adequate for the overall scale and the caretaking subscale, but somewhat low for affect-regulation and self-reliance. The SBWCCS scale predicted centrality of racial identity and stress (measured as perceived stress and number of stressful events). Specifically, women who reported higher levels on the SBWCCS also reported higher levels of centrality and stress. In addition, higher levels on the caretaking subscale predicted lower reciprocity of social support. Other aspects of racial identity (public and private regard) and social support (received and satisfaction) were not predicted by SBWCCS. Methodological limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

The purpose of the current study is to revise the wording of the items in the Strong Black Woman (SBW) attitudes scale and investigate the psychometric properties of this revised scale (renamed the SBW Cultural Construct Scale, SBWCCS). Another goal is to determine if the scale predicts racial identity, stress, and social support. The sample consisted of 152 women of African descent, who were recruited from a community based organization. An exploratory factor analysis on the SBWCCS scale suggested a 3-factor model consisting of (1) caretaking, (2) affect regulation, and (3) self-reliance. These factors parallel those found in the original scale (Thompson, 2003). The internal consistency was adequate for the overall scale and the caretaking subscale, but somewhat low for affect-regulation and self-reliance. The SBWCCS scale predicted centrality of racial identity and stress (measured as perceived stress and number of stressful events). Specifically, women who reported higher levels on the SBWCCS also reported higher levels of centrality and stress. In addition, higher levels on the caretaking subscale predicted lower reciprocity of social support. Other aspects of racial identity (public and private regard) and social support (received and satisfaction) were not predicted by SBWCCS. Methodological limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.