Weathering Probation and Parole: The Protective Role of Social Support on Black Women’s Recent Stressful Events and Depressive Symptoms

Abstract

Despite an overrepresentation of Black women in the criminal justice system, Black women’s mental health at the precarious intersection of race, gender, and community-based correctional supervision has been underresearched. Building on weathering theory, this study conceptualized criminal justice involvement as a social inequality that negatively affects Black women’s mental health. This study investigated the relationships between recent stressors, forms of social support, and depression through moderated regression analyses with a sample of 169 Black women on probation and parole. Almost half of the women met criteria for clinical levels of depression. Distinct forms of social support served as statistically significant protective factors between stressors and depression symptoms. Our findings highlight the importance of studying the mental health of Black women under correctional surveillance and bolstering multiple forms of support to promote their well-being. The impact of criminal justice involvement and institutional racism on Black women’s mental health requires further research.