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Abstract
The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the relationship between the stereotypic roles of Mammy, Jezebel, Sapphire, and the SBW, and depression and anxiety. The quantitative part investigated the relationship between the stereotypic roles of Black women, mental health, and fear of intimacy. It examined if perceived social support moderates the relationship between stereotypes and mental health. The researcher used snowball sampling to recruit 250 participants. Data were collected through electronic survey submission from a Qualtrics secure online study website. Simultaneous linear regression was utilized to analyze the data and test whether there was a relationship between the endorsement of gendered racial stereotypes and symptoms of depression and anxiety for Black women. Jezebel (r = .567, p= .0) and Sapphire (r = .299, p= .0) were significantly correlated with overall intimacy-related behavior. The Superwoman Schema (r = -.162, p= .0) was negatively correlated with overall intimacy-related behavior. This aspect indicates that when these stereotypes are endorsed, lower levels of intimacy-related behaviors are indicated. Each stereotype was positively correlated with mental health symptoms. Superwoman schema (r = .454, p = .0), Jezebel (r = .113, p = .04), Sapphire (r = .349, p = .0), and Mammy (r = .423, p = .0) indicating that the endorsement of the stereotypes had higher levels of mental health distress. To investigate whether social support moderates the relationship between stereotypic roles of Black women and mental health, a moderational analysis was used via structural equation modeling. The study found that perceived social support moderated the relationship between Superwoman, Jezebel, and Sapphire and mental health symptoms. The qualitative section employed phenomenological thematic analysis paradigm to interpret participants’ account of their lived experiences of these four Black Woman stereotypes. Twelve participants were selected through purposive sampling for the semi-structured interviews. According to the findings, endorsement of Jezebel was related to higher levels of familial social support and depressive symptoms. The Sapphire, Superwoman, and Mammy stereotypes evidenced inverse relations with some or all of the social support dimensions, but showed all dimensions of the DASS, mainly depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress.