Using incense or lighting a candle may seem like good ways to let go of racial stress, but a recent study found that might not be the case in terms of racial tension among women. In fact, some coping strategies employed by African-American women may actually increase their stress instead of alleviate it, according to a recent study from Psychology of Women Quarterly.
Race-related stress has been studied extensively. This new research looks at the various methods of coping with the effects of race-related stress among African-American women to determine whether the use of various methods of coping were more successful. Coping strategies were categorized as:
- Collective-centered coping, such as asking for advice from elders or the community
- Cognitive-emotional coping, such as seeking out people who could draw out emotions like laughter or happiness
- Spiritual-centered coping, such as prayer
- Ritual-centered coping, such as lighting a candle
"African American women are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of race-related stress, given their socially constructed identities as African Americans and as women," wrote Greer. "Thus, it is critical to the overall well-being of African American women that coping efforts are identified that assist in alleviating the psychological impacts associated with race and the intersection of race- and gender-related challenges."
More information: The article "Coping Strategies as Moderators of the Relation Between Individual Race-Related Stress and Mental Health Symptoms for African American Women" in Psychology of Women Quarterly is available free for a limited time at: pwq.sagepub.com/content/35/2/215.full.pdf+html
Aug 19, 2007
