Keywords
identity shifting
microaggressions
mental health
STEM
How to Cite
Abstract
Black women in STEM graduate programs may develop coping strategies, such as identity shifting, to minimize gendered racial stressors, especially in the context of COVID-19. Identity shifting is the process of altering one’s speech, behavior, perspective, and appearance. Past studies found a positive association between identity shifting and mental health outcomes among young Black women; however, research on the mental health of Black women in STEM graduate programs is limited. The present study utilized a Black feminist standpoint theoretical framework to examine daily experiences of gendered racial microaggressions (GRM), identity shifting, perceived supervisor support (PSS), and mental health outcomes among 102 Black women in STEM graduate programs. Participants completed online daily questionnaires for 10 workdays using Qualtrics. We hypothesized that identity shifting and GRM would positively predict anxiety and depressive symptoms. Additionally, we hypothesized that PSS would significantly mediate the relationship between GRMs and mental health outcomes. Results showed that women with higher experiences of GRM and shifting reported more depressive and anxiety symptoms. PSS did not mediate the relationship between GRM and mental health outcomes. The results of this study can be used to develop culturally tailored support programs to create inclusive environments for Black women in academia.
References
Alfred, M. V. (2001). Expanding theories of career development: Adding the voices of African American women in the White academy. Adult Education Quarterly, 51(2), 108–127. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/07417130122087179
Arnold, A. C., Wilkens-Yel, K. G., Bekki, J. M., Bernstein, B. L., Natarajan, M., Randall, A. K., Francies, R., & Okwu, C. E. (2020). Examining the effects of STEM climate on the mental health of graduate women from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds. American Society for Engineering Education, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--34617
Beck A. T., Epstein N., Brown G., Steer R. A. (1988). An inventory for measuring clinical anxiety: Psychometric properties. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56(6), 893–897. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.56.6.893
Braithwaite, K. (2003). Predictors of depressive symptomatology among Black college women (Order No. 3114613). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I. (305328687). https://login.ezproxy.auctr.edu:2050/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/predictors-depressive-symptomatology-among-black/docview/305328687/se-2
Bronder, E. C., Speight, S. L., Witherspoon, K. M., & Thomas, A. J. (2014). John Henryism, depression, and perceived social support in Black women. Journal of Black Psychology, 40(2), 115–137. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798412474466
Bryson, T. C., & Grunert Kowalske, M. (2022). Black women in STEM graduate programs: The advisor selection process and the perception of the advisor/advisee relationship. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 15(1), 111–123. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000330
Bureau of Labor Statistics (2021). Employment in STEM occupations 2019 and projected 2029. https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/stem-employment.htm
Burke, L. A., Chijioke, S., & Lee, T. P. (2023). Gendered racial microaggressions and emerging adult Black women’s social and general anxiety: Distress intolerance and stress as mediators. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23460
Burt, B. A., Williams, K. L., & Palmer, G. J. M. (2019). It takes a village: The role of emic and etic adaptative strengths in the persistence of Black men in engineering graduate programs. American Educational Research Journal, 56, 39–74. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831218789595
Collins, P. H. (2004). Black sexual politics: African Americans, gender, and the new racism. Routledge.
Collins, P. H. (2000). Gender, Black feminism, and Black political economy. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 568(1), 41–53. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F000271620056800105
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory, and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1), 139–167. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/uchclf1989&div=10&id=&page
Davis, S. M. (2019). When sistahs support sistahs: A process of supportive communication about racial microaggressions among Black women. Communication Monographs, 86(2), 133-157. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637751.2018.1548769
Dickens, D. D., & Chavez, E. L. (2018). Navigating the workplace: The costs and benefits of shifting identities at work among early career U.S. Black women. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 78(11-12), 760–774. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0844-x
Dickens, D. D., Ellis, V., & Hall, N. M. (2021). Changing the face of STEM: Review of literature on the role of mentors in the success of undergraduate Black women in STEM education. Journal of Research Initiatives, 5(3), 1–11. https://digitalcommons.uncfsu.edu/jri/vol5/iss3/14
Dickens, D. D., Hall, N. M., Watson-Singleton, N. N., Mitchell, C., & Thomas, Z. (2022). Initial Construction and Validation of the Identity Shifting for Black Women Scale. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 46(3), 337–353. https://doi.org/10.1177/03616843221089330
Dickens, D., Jones, M., & Hall, N. (2020). Being a token Black female faculty member in physics: Exploring research on gendered racism, identity shifting as a coping strategy, and inclusivity in physics. The Physics Teacher, 58(5), 335–337. https://aapt.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1119/1.5145529
Dolson, J. M., & Deemer, E. D. (2020). The relationship between perceived discrimination and school/work–family conflict among graduate student-parents. Journal of Career Development, 49(1), 174–187. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845320916245
Dortch, D., & Patel, C. (2017). Black undergraduate women and their sense of belonging in STEM at predominantly White institutions. NASPA Journal About Women in Higher Education, 10(2), 202–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/19407882.2017.1331854
DuBois, W. E. B. (1903). The Souls of Black Folks. Of our Spiritual Strivings. AC McClurg and Co.
Eby, L. T. d. T., Allen, T. D., Hoffman, B. J., Baranik, L. E., Sauer, J. B., Baldwin, S., Morrison, M. A., Kinkade, K. M., Maher, C. P., Curtis, S., & Evans, S. C. (2013). An interdisciplinary meta-analysis of the potential antecedents, correlates, and consequences of protégé perceptions of mentoring. Psychological Bulletin, 139(2), 441–476. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029279
Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchison, S., & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(3), 500–507. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.71.3.500
Erving, C. L., Williams, T. R., Frierson, W., & Derisse, M. (2022). Gendered racial microaggressions, psychosocial resources, and depressive symptoms among Black women attending a historically Black university. Society and Mental Health, 12(3), 230–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/21568693221115766
Essed, P. (1991). Understanding everyday racism: An interdisciplinary theory. Sage. 2. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483345239
Flores, N., & Rosa, J. (2015). Undoing appropriateness: Raciolinguistic ideologies and language diversity in education. Harvard Educational Review, 85(2), 149–171. https://doi.org/10.17763/0017-8055.85.2.149
Fries-Britt, S., & Holmes, K. M. (2012). Prepared and progressing: Black women in physics. In Black female undergraduates on campus: Successes and challenges (Vol. 12, pp. 199–218). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Fruehwirth, J. C., Biswas, S., Perreira, K. M. (2021). The COVID-19 pandemic and mental health of first-year college students: Examining the effect of COVID-19 stressors using longitudinal data. PLoS ONE, 16(3). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247999
Gaynor, T. S., & Wilson, M. E. (2020). Social vulnerability and equity: The disproportionate impact of COVID-19. Public Administration Review, 80(5), 832–838. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13264
Hall, N. M., Dickens, D., & Guillaume, C. (2023, in press). Gendered racial microaggressions, acculturation, and identity shifting among Black women in STEM majors. Journal of Negro Education.
Hall, N. M., & Dickens, D. (2020). Invited submission. Celebrating and supporting Black women in physics: Creating a culture of inclusivity. APS Physics Gazette Newsletter. https://aps.org/programs/women/reports/gazette/index.cfm
Hall, W. M., Schmader, T., & Croft, E. (2015). Engineering exchanges: Daily social identity threat predicts burnout among female engineers. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 6(5), 528-534. https://doi.org/10.1177/194855061557263
Harding, S. (1991). Whose science? Whose knowledge: Thinking from women's lives. Cornell University Press.
Ileka, K., McCluney, C. & Robinson, R. (2020). White coats, Black scientists. Harvard Review.
https://hbr.org/2020/09/white-coats-black-scientists
Johnson-Bailey, J. (2004). Hitting and climbing the proverbial wall: Participation and retention issues for Black graduate women. Race Ethnicity and Education, 7(4), 331–349. https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332042000303360
Johnson, D. G., Mattan, B. D., Flores, N., Lauharatanahirun, N., & Falk, E. B. (2022). Social-cognitive and affective antecedents of code switching and the consequences of linguistic racism for Black people and people of color. Affective Science, 3(1), 5–13.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s42761-021-00072-8.
Johnson, D. R. (2012). Campus racial climate perceptions and overall sense of belonging among racially diverse women in STEM majors. Journal of College Student Development, 53(2), 336–346. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2012.0028
Johnson, G. (2022). Impostorism on campus: The effects of stereotype threat on state inauthenticity and state anxiety in two samples of African American college women [Master’s thesis, Georgia Southern University]. Electronic Theses and Dissertations.
Johnson, J. C., Gamst, G., Meyers, L. S., Arellano-Morales, L., & Shorter-Gooden, K. (2016). Development and validation of the African American Women’s Shifting Scale (AAWSS). Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 22(1), 11–25. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000039.
Jones, C., & Shorter-Gooden, K. (2004). Shifting: The double lives of African American women in America. Harper Collins.
Jones, M. K., Harris, K. J., & Reynolds, A. A. (2021). In their own words: The meaning of the Strong Black Woman schema among Black U.S. college women. Sex Roles, 84(5), 347–359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-020-01170-w
Jones, M. K., Leath, S., Latimer, K., Lawson, E., & Briones, M. (2022). The impact of COVID-19 on Black college students' mental health. Journal of College Student Development, 63(3), 239–254. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2022.0021.
Jones, M. S., Womack, V., Jérémie-Brink, G., Dickens, D. D. (2021). Gendered racism and mental health among young adult U.S. Black women: The moderating roles of gendered racial identity centrality and identity shifting. Sex Roles, 85, 221–231. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-020-01214-1
Jones, M. K., Leath, S., Settles, I. H., Doty, D., & Conner, K. (2022). Gendered racism and depression among Black women: Examining the roles of social support and identity. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 28(1), 39–48. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000486
Kim, H., Rackoff, G. N., Fitzsimmons-Craft, E. E., Shin, K. E., Zainal, N. H., Schwob, J. T., ... & Newman, M. G. (2022). College mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from a nationwide survey. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 46(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-021-10241-5
Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. (2001). The PHQ‐9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 16(9), 606–613. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x
Lacey, K. K., Parnell, R., Mouzon, D. M., Matusko, N., Head, D., Abelson, J. M., & Jackson, J. S. (2015). The mental health of US Black women: The roles of social context and severe intimate partner violence. BMJ Open, 5(e008415), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2015-008415
Lane, T. B., & Id-Deen, L. (2023). Nurturing the capital within: A qualitative investigation of Black women and girls in STEM summer programs. Urban Education, 58(6), 1298-1326. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085920926225
Leath, S., & Jones, M. (2022). Racial climate and mental health service utilization among Black college students at diverse institutions. Currents: Journal of Diversity Scholarship for Social Change, 2(1). https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/currents/article/id/1777/
Lewis J. A., Mendenhall R., Harwood S. A., Browne Huntt M. (2016). Ain’t I a woman?” Perceived gendered racial microaggressions experienced by Black women. The Counseling Psychologist, 44(5), 758–780. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000016641193
Lewis, J.A., Mendenhall, R., Harwood, S.A., & Huntt, M. B. (2013). Coping with gendered racial microaggressions among Black women college students. Journal of African American Studies, 17, 51–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-012-9219-0
Lewis, J. A., & Neville, H. A. (2015). Construction and initial validation of the Gendered Racial Microaggressions Scale for Black women. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62(2), 289–302. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000062
Lewis, J. A., Neville, H. A., & Spanierman, L. B. (2012). Examining the influence of campus diversity experiences and color-blind racial ideology on students' social justice attitudes. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 49(2), 119–136. https://doi.org/10.1515/jsarp-2012-6291
Longmire-Avital, B., & Robinson, R. (2017). Young, depressed, and Black: A comparative exploration of depressive symptomatology among Black and White collegiate women. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 32(1), 53–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/87568225.2017.1344114
Lovitts, B. E. (2002). Leaving the ivory tower: The causes and consequences of departure from doctoral study. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Loyd, A. B., Westberg, D. W., Williams, L., Humphries, M., Meca, A., & Rodil, J. C. (2023). “I just want to be me, authentically”: Identity shifting among racially and ethnically diverse young adults. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 52(4), 701–718. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-023-01744-3
McCluney, C. L., Durkee, M. I., Smith II, R. E., Robotham, K. J., & Lee, S. S. L. (2021). To be, or not to be… Black: The effects of racial codeswitching on perceived professionalism in the workplace. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 97, 104199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104199
McGee, E. O. (2016). Devalued Black and Latino racial identities: A by-product of STEM college culture? American Educational Research Journal, 53(6), 1626–1662. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831216676572
McGee, E. O., & Bentley, L. (2017). The troubled success of Black women in STEM. Cognition and Instruction, 35(4), 265–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2017.1355211
McGee, E. O. (2020). Interrogating structural racism in STEM higher education. Educational Researcher, 49(9), 633–644. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X20972718
McPherson, E. (2017). Oh you are smart: Young, gifted African American women in STEM majors. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 23(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2016013400
Newton, V. A. (2022). Hypervisibility and invisibility: Black Women’s experiences with gendered racial microaggressions on a White campus. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 9(2), 164–178. https://doi.org/10.1177/23326492221138222
Neal-Barnett, A. M., Stadulis, R., Payne, M. R., Crosby, L., Mitchell, M., Williams, L., & Williams-Costa, C. (2011). In the company of my sisters: Sister circles as an anxiety intervention for professional African American women. Journal of Affective Disorders, 129(1-3), 213–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2010.08.024
Njoku, A., & Evans, M. (2022). Black women faculty and administrators navigating COVID-19, social unrest, and academia: Challenges and strategies. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(4), 1–14. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2220
Ong, M., Smith, J. M., & Ko, L. T. (2018). Counterspaces for women of color in STEM higher education: Marginal and central spaces for persistence and success. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 55(2), 206–245. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21417
Onwuamaegbu, N. (2021). Many Black women felt relieved to work from home, free from microaggressions. Now they’re told to come back.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/07/24/black-women-office-work-home/
Patton, L.D. (2009). My sister's keeper: A qualitative examination of mentoring experiences among African American women in graduate and professional schools. The Journal of Higher Education, 80(5), 510–537. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2009.11779030
Patton, L. D., & Harper, S. R. (2003). Mentoring relationships among African American women in graduate and professional schools. New Directions for Student Services, 2003(104), 67–78. https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.108
Rhoades, L., & Eisenberger, R. (2002). Perceived organizational support: A review of the literature. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 698–714. https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2002-15406-008
Sanchez, M. E., Hypolite, L. I., Newman, C. B., & Cole, D. G. (2020). Black women in STEM: The need for intersectional supports in professional conference spaces. The Journal of Negro Education, 88(3), 297–310. https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroeducation.88.3.0297
Seaton, E. K., & Iida, M. (2019). Racial discrimination and racial identity: Daily moderation among Black youth. American Psychologist, 74(1), 117 27. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000367
Settles, I. H. (2006). Use of an intersectional framework to understand Black women’s racial and gender identities. Sex Roles, 54(9), 589–601. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-006-9029-8
Springer, K. W., Parker, B. K., & Leviten-Reid, C. (2009). Making space for graduate student parents: Practice and politics. Journal of Family Issues, 30(4), 435–457. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X08329293
Stoeger, H., Debatin, T., Heilemann, M., & Ziegler, A. (2019). Online mentoring for talented girls in STEM: The role of relationship quality and changes in learning environments in explaining mentoring success. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2019(168), 75–99. https://doi.org/10.1002/cad.20320
Swann Jr, W. B., Johnson, R. E., & Bosson, J. K. (2009). Identity negotiation at work. Research in Organizational Behavior, 29, 81–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2009.06.005
Takayanagi, Y., Spira, A. P., Roth, K. B., Gallo, J. J., Eaton, W. W., & Mojtabai, R. (2014). Accuracy of reports of lifetime mental and physical disorders: Results from the Baltimore epidemiological catchment area study. JAMA Psychiatry, 71(3), 273–280. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.3579
Theisen, M. R., McGeorge, C. R., & Walsdorf, A. A. (2018). Graduate student parents’ perceptions of resources to support degree completion: Implications for family therapy programs. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 30(1), 46–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/08952833.2017.1382650
Walkington, L. (2017). How far have we really come? Black women faculty and graduate students’ experiences in higher education. Humboldt Journal of Social Relations, 39, 51-65. https://www.jstor.org/stable/90007871
Watson-Singleton, N. (2017). Strong Black woman schema and psychological distress: The mediating role of perceived emotional support. Journal of Black Psychology, 43(8), 778–788. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798417732414
Wilkens-Yel, K. G., Arnold, A., Bekki, J., Natarajan, M., Bernstein, B., & Randall, A. K. (2022). “I can’t push off my own mental health”: Chilly STEM climates, mental health, and STEM persistence among Black, Latina, and White graduate women. Sex Roles, 86, 208-232. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-021-01262-1
Yuan-Huang, H. Y., Li, H., & Hsu, Y. C. (2022). Coping, COVID knowledge, communication, and HBCU student's emotional well-being: Mediating role of perceived control and social connectedness. Journal of Community Psychology, 50(6), 2703–2725. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22824
Authors retain copyright control of articles published in the journal. Reprints cannot be granted for articles in new issues. Except in these cases, those who wish to reprint articles, large excerpts, figures, graphs, tables, or images should contact authors directly. When referencing any published articles from this online journal, JAAWGE is to be credited as the publication outlet. We suggest including the URL link to JAAWGE. Permission to copy an article is provided to all subscribers, but cannot be sold, except by its author(s). Authors are free to disseminate and post their articles.