African American women have received relatively little attention in the research literature on racial and gender identity. The status is unique in that they comprise membership in both a racial and gender minority group, which may contribute to susceptibility to both racial and gender discrimination. This dual minority status can lead to negative consequence which may affect psychological well-being (Belle, 1982; Pyant and Yanico, 1991; Veroff, Kulka, and Douvan, 1981). This increased vulnerability may be the result of additional life stress associated with being both a racial and gender minority in this society (Landrine and Klonoff, 1996; Smith, 1985). The stress and coping literature has already demonstrated a link between stressful life events and psychological well being (e.g., Dohrenwend, 1973; Meyes, Lindenthal, Pepper, & Ostrander, 1972; Rabkin & Struening, 1976). However, these hypothesized relationships are still under examination because of the dearth of research on African American women, specifically focusing on their status as having both a racial and gender identity. The majority of the relevant literature that has examined the association between group identity and mental health in African American women, has focused primarily on racial identity. There has been relatively little research on the link between African American women's gender identity and mental health. My literature search produced only one study (Pyant & Yanico, 1991) that assessed both racial identity attitudes and gender-role attitudes in the investigation of African American women's psychological well-being. However, Pyant and Yanico, 1991) expressed some concerns that the assessment of gender identify attitudes utilized in their study (Attitudes Towards Women Scale) was out-dated and did not adequately measure the construct of gender identity for African American women. The proposed project attempts to address that shortcoming in the literature. This present research study presents a preliminary examination of the relationships among racial identity, gender identity, and psychological well-being in African American female college students in a social context reflecting four different institutional settings.
The specific aims of the project are to: 1) test the reliability and validity of a new measure of gender centrality developed from an existing measure of racial identity; 2) investigate the association among racial identity, gender identity, and psychological well-being in African-American female college students; 3) examine whether the social context as reflected by the racial and gender composition of the academic institution, influences racial identity, gender identity, and psychological well-being of African American female college students.
