ABSTRACT
Research suggests that people at the interface of two different cultures may face a dilemma regarding how or whether to adopt aspects of the new culture in light of their existing cultural identity. A growing body of research in fan communities suggests that similar group processes may operate in recreational, volitional identities. We tested this by examining the associations between acculturation attitudes and identification with fan communities across three studies. Fanfiction fans, Star Wars fans, and furries completed measures of four different acculturation strategies with respect to managing their fan and non-fan communities as well as a measure of their identification with the fan community. Results across the three studies consistently found that integration and assimilation strategies positively predicted fan community identification, while separation and marginalization strategies negatively predicted fan community identification. Together, the results conceptually replicate and find evidence for the acculturation model.
ABSTRACT
Black women in the United States are faced with unrelenting chronic stressors that are often driven by racism and oppression and that result in mental health inequities. Similar to common U.S. societal views of Black women, ideological values about Black women's lives also permeate psychiatry and neuroscience research to prevent likely impactful research that fully examines the role of social power structures in the biological embedding of racism. This article's overall aim is to highlight the most urgent areas to address in mental health inequities utilizing a Black feminist lens that include 1) culturally grounded and contextually relevant considerations for the biological embedding of racism on mental health outcomes for Black women across the lifespan and 2) intersectional frameworks that address mental health inequities ingrained in multiple marginalization. We conclude with a call to action informed by Black feminist thought for the field of neuroscience to make a concerted effort to address mental health inequities among Black women and other disenfranchised groups from a frame of compassion, cultural humility, and a continuous pursuit of social justice.
Subject(s)
Health Equity , Neurosciences , Female , Humans , Mental HealthABSTRACT
There is growing evidence that general coping plays a role in the degree to which racial discrimination is associated with mental health symptoms (e.g., posttraumatic stress, depressive symptoms) for people of color. Relatively less is known about the role that race-based coping may play in the associations between racial discrimination and mental health for Black Americans. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we examined whether posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms differed based on race-based coping style and tested whether these responses moderated associations between racial discrimination and posttraumatic stress. METHOD: Black American adults (n = 401; 56.1% women, xÌ age = 44.02) were recruited from a community hospital setting. Based on a measure assessing race-based coping style, participants were classified as having either a passive, moderate, or active response style. RESULTS: First, we found that posttraumatic stress (F = 5.56, p < .01) and depressive (F = 4.49, p = .01) symptom severity differed based on race-based coping classification, with more severe symptoms found for the passive versus active group. Second, we found that race-based coping moderated racial discrimination's associations with posttraumatic stress (R2Δ = .02, F = 4.08, p = .02) and depressive (R2Δ = .02, F = 3.26, p = .04) symptoms, such that the associations between racial discrimination and symptom severity were only significant for the passive and moderate (but not active) groups. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that for Black Americans, coping with racism actively (vs. passively) may buffer the association between racial discrimination and psychological symptom severity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
