Stressors and Resiliency Resources: Explaining the Significance of Subjective Social Status and Objective Social Status for Depressive Symptoms Among African American and Afro-Caribbean Women Residing in the U.S

Studies in the U.S. often find that black women report more subclinical depression and psychological distress than whites or black males.  Scholars argue that these disparities arise from the intersection of race, gender, and social class that converge in unique ways to place Black women at higher risk of poverty and its associated stressors that challenge their emotional well-being.   Stress research indicates that the strong inverse relationship observed between objective measures of social standing (e.g., education and income) and mental health arises from greater exposure to stressors and/or the lack of coping resources among the economically disadvantaged.  Recent research suggests that subjective rankings relative to others may be even more influential.   This study used data from the National Survey of American Life to investigate the association between objective and subjective social status and depressive symptoms among black women residing in the U.S. Using regression analyses, we investigated the extent to which two chronic stressors—perceived discrimination and financial strain---and four resiliency resources---religious involvement, relationships with friends, emotional support from family, and racial/ethnic group evaluation---mediated or moderated the association between status and symptoms.  Findings revealed a strong negative relationship between subjective status and symptoms for both groups of women and a less robust relationship between education and symptoms for African American women.  Family support and economic strain mediated this relationship for Afro-Caribbean women, while discrimination, economic strain, friends, family, and group evaluation did so for African American women.   Our findings speak to the paradox of inclusion.  Although the experience of subjective social status is similar for both African American and Afro-Caribbean women, the different effects education, perceived discrimination and group evaluation suggest the need to avoid homogenization of the life experiences of women of color when examining disparities in mental health.