Perspectives on the Strong Black Woman Schema Based on SES Among Black Women: A Qualitative Study Using the Agentic-Communal Model

Abstract

The strong Black woman (SBW) schema is the stereotype that Black women in the United States are strong and resilient despite adversity. Black women have adopted this schema in response to structural oppressions, though the effects of endorsing the SBW for Black women's well-being are mixed. Importantly, the extent to which a Black woman is able to enact the SBW schema may depend on her socioeconomic status (SES). Using an intersectional approach and the agentic-communal model, higher SES Black women may find it easier to enact the SBW than lower SES Black women. The aim of this study was to understand how SES may limit or enhance Black women's perceptions and fulfillment of the SBW schema. Data were collected from 20 adult Black women participants using semi-structured interviews. Results were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify themes and differences in perceptions across levels of SES. Findings demonstrated that women across classes felt they had little choice but to enact strength, and both experienced high levels of burnout as a result of the SBW. Higher SES Black women felt enacting strength was easier as a result of having access to economic resources. However, they reported not having social resources to depend on like lower SES women—an emergent effect of holding both marginalized and privileged identities simultaneously. Findings are discussed in terms of how to better support the health and well-being of adult Black women across social classes in the United States.

Keywords

strong Black woman schema socioeconomic status agency communion

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