“STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM, NOW WE’RE…WHERE?”” A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF STRESS AND COPING AMONG HIGHLY EDUCATED BLACK WOMEN

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dc.contributor.advisorLewin, Amy Ben_US
dc.contributor.advisorRoy, Kevin Men_US
dc.contributor.authorEllick, Kecia Lurieen_US
dc.contributor.departmentFamily Studiesen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2021-09-16T05:39:34Z
dc.date.available2021-09-16T05:39:34Z
dc.date.issued2021en_US
dc.description.abstractRationale: Black women suffer disproportionate rates of stress-related diseases including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, maternal mortality, and depression. Education is promoted as a protective factor against these outcomes. An increasing number of Black women are leveraging advanced degrees to secure leadership positions in education, law, science, and technology. Yet, highly educated, middle-class Black women experience the same deleterious health outcomes, at the same rates, as Black women living in poverty. This suggests that neither education nor its correlates protect Black women from harmful outcomes. It further suggests that, for Black women, the cost of social mobility afforded by advanced education may result in diminishing returns by reproducing and reinforcing social inequalities that inform and exacerbate negative experiences.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of highly educated Black women during their prime work, partnering, and reproductive years. This study examined the strategies that highly educated Black women employed to cope with stressors perceived while navigating, negotiating, and performing multiple roles, social identities, and responsibilities in their personal and professional lives. Methods: Data was collected from a sample of Black, middle-class women living in Georgia, ages 28 - 49, with doctorate degrees (n = 24, Mage = 40.2) via in-person, semi-structured interviews. Following a constructivist grounded theory approach, a triadic scheme of open, axial, and selective coding will be performed to uncover emergent themes from women’s narratives. Findings: Evaluation of the data revealed three central themes that serve as the main findings of this study and answer the study questions about how highly educated Black women experience and cope with stress: 1) redefining of the strong Black woman, 2) prioritization of self-care practices and, 3) unapologetic authenticity. Discussion: This study explored the heterogeneity of Black women and contributes to the body literature focused on the interactive effects of race, gender, and class. It provides empirical data on the ways in which Black women experience, perceive, and respond to stress and highlights the ways in which Black women take proactive approaches to protect their health and well-being.en_US
dc.identifierhttps://doi.org/10.13016/dnbv-51nl
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/27764
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledWomen's studiesen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledAfrican American studiesen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledHealth educationen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledauthenticityen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledBlack womenen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledcopingen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledself-careen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledstressen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledstrong Black womanen_US
dc.title“STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM, NOW WE’RE…WHERE?”” A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF STRESS AND COPING AMONG HIGHLY EDUCATED BLACK WOMENen_US
dc.typeDissertationen_US

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