DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/SRBY-C024
Defense Date
2019
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Counseling Psychology
First Advisor
Shawn O. Utsey, PhD
Second Advisor
Kristina Hood, PhD
Abstract
In the U.S., Black mothers experience fetal and infant mortality at alarming rates when compared to White and Latina mothers (Gregory, Drake, & Martin, 2018). The intent of this study was to examine perinatal loss among Black American women and to expand understanding of how the Strong Black Woman (SBW) ideology influences bereavement. Data were gathered from (N=109) Black American bereaved mothers. It was predicted that endorsement of differing aspects of the SBW would moderate the relationship between perinatal grief and psychosocial outcomes (i.e., depression and post-traumatic growth). Regression analyses, alongside a bootstrapping procedure via PROCESS (Hayes, 2017), were used to evaluate the moderation models. Results yielded a model of perinatal bereavement among Black American mothers. In particular, reliance on spirituality moderated the relationship between perinatal grief and depression, while the obligation to manifest strength moderated the relation between perinatal grief and posttraumatic growth (PTG). Neither moderated moderation model was significant. The model provided significant implications for clinical practice and intervention.
Rights
© Ashley Hill
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
12-10-2019