ERIC Number: EJ950711
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Jun
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0361-6843
EISSN: N/A
Coping Strategies as Moderators of the Relation between Individual Race-Related Stress and Mental Health Symptoms for African American Women
Greer, Tawanda M.
Psychology of Women Quarterly, v35 n2 p215-226 Jun 2011
The purpose of this investigation was to examine coping strategies as moderators of the relationship between individual race-related stress and mental health symptoms among a sample of 128 African American women. Coping strategies refer to efforts used to resolve problems and those used to manage, endure, or alleviate distress. Culture-specific strategies were examined in the current study (i.e., efforts that are commonly used by members of a cultural group). Culture-specific efforts were hypothesized to influence the severity of psychological symptoms associated with individual race-related stress, such that frequent use of culture-specific efforts would lessen the strength of the relationship between race-related stress and psychological symptoms. Moderated hierarchical regression analyses revealed that high use of ritual-centered strategies to address race-related stress was related to severe anxiety and interpersonal sensitivity. No moderating effect of coping strategies was found for depression, obsessive-compulsion, and somatization symptoms. The findings suggest that African American women may inadvertently utilize coping efforts that serve to increase the severity of psychological symptoms related to individual race-related stress. Mental health professionals should explore underlying emotions related to coping efforts utilized to address race-related stress among African American women. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)
Descriptors: African Americans, Females, Mental Health Workers, Mental Health, Coping, Severity (of Disability), Depression (Psychology), Stress Variables, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Problem Solving, Cultural Differences, Correlation, Race, Regression (Statistics), Anxiety Disorders, Interpersonal Relationship
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A