Intersectional discrimination from black women, white women, black men, or white men impacts young adult black women’s affective states and risky health cognitions

Abstract

Objective

Black women experience pronounced inequalities in alcohol use and sexual risk outcomes. Racial discrimination is a known contributor to health inequalities. However, Black women face unique and intersectional forms of discrimination beyond racial discrimination. The current study investigates how exclusion from four distinct social groups effects Black women’s negative affect and risky health cognitions.

Design

Black women (N = 124; ages 18-29) were randomly assigned to be excluded in Cyberball by Black women, Black men, White women, or White men.

Main Outcome Measures

Participants responded to measures of internalising (depressive, anxious) and externalising (anger) affect, heavy alcohol use willingness, and risky sex expectations.

Results

Participants primarily attributed exclusion from White women to racial discrimination, exclusion from Black men to gender discrimination, and exclusion from White men to both gender and racial discrimination. When excluded by White women, participants reported the highest levels of anger, depressive affect, and anxiety. Exclusion by White men predicted the greatest heavy drinking willingness, though exclusion by Black men predicted the greatest risky sex expectations.

Conclusion

This study is the first to demonstrate that exclusion from different social groups leads to differing patterns of negative affect and risky health cognitions in young adult Black women.

Keywords:

• Intersectionality
• racial discrimination
• gender discrimination
• risk cognitions
• negative affect
• Cyberball

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author note

This work was supported by a Luther Rice Research Fellowship awarded to Abby G. Lieberman.

We have no known conflict of interest to disclose.

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, Dr. Michelle Stock, [email protected]. The data are not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Notes

1 If suspicious participants were removed or controlled for, the results pattern remained the same.

2 As expected, the majority of participants excluded by Black men attributed this exclusion to gender only, and the majority of participants excluded by White women attributed their exclusion to only race. When excluded by White men, the majority attributed their exclusion to both gender and race. The majority of participants excluded by Black women reported free-response options for the exclusion attribution. Responses included being a student from a different university, wearing glasses, or being “too nice.”