Gendered Racism and Mental Health for Black Men

In This Post

Featured Article
Article Title
Authors
Abstract
Keywords
Summary of Research
Translating Research into Practice
Other Interesting Tidbits for Researchers and Clinicians

Featured Article

Journal of Counseling Psychology | 2025, Vol. 72, No. 3, p. 223 - 239

Article Title

Gendered racism and mental health for Black men in the United States: Examining moderating factors

Authors

Kurt J. Loiseau; Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology, Boston College

James R. Mahalik; Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology, Boston College

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between gendered racism and psychological distress in Black men, and how racial identity and conformity to masculinity norms may moderate that relationship. Two hundred twenty-nine Black men in the United States recruited through Prolific completed the Brief Symptom Inventory–18, African American Men’s Gendered Racism Stress Inventory, Cross’s Racial Identity Scale, and the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory–30 via online survey. A series of moderated moderation analyses using Hayes’ PROCESS program (Model 3) indicated that gendered racism, Black racial identity, and the two masculinity norms significantly predicted psychological distress; that several racial identity attitudes and conformity to emotional control moderated the relationship between gendered racism and psychological distress; and that emotional control moderated the moderated relationship between gendered racism, psychological distress, and some of the racial identity attitudes. These findings emphasize the importance of addressing Black men’s psychological distress from an intersectional perspective, suggesting that clinicians explore how Black men’s experiences of negative stereotypes, their positive and negative attitudes toward their racial identity, and their conformity to masculine norms about being self-reliant and emotionally controlled co-occur to better understand sources of distress. Future research and limitations are discussed.

Keywords

Black men, gendered racism, racial stereotyping, Black racial identity, masculinity

Summary of Research

“Black men experience well-documented health disparities in the United States compared to White Americans (Gilbert et al., 2016). Research examining these health concerns highlights the

pervasive and detrimental role that racism contributes to Black men’s well-being. For example, evidence demonstrates consistently that experiences of racism contribute to increased rates of chronic illnesses, such as hypertension (Williams et al., 2010), cardiovascular disease (Chae et al., 2018), and overall mortality (Geronimus et al., 2006). Examining mental health, the literature documents how encountering discrimination contributes to the development of unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as substance abuse (Read et al., 2018) and risky behaviors (Brown et al., 2019), which, in turn, contribute to negative physical and mental health consequences. In addition, racism-induced stress has been linked to elevated levels of psychological distress beyond everyday stress (Pieterse & Carter, 2007), including depression (Mouzon, 2018) and anxiety (Borrell et al., 2007), leading to compromised mental health outcomes for Black men. Thus, for psychologists interested in addressing the mental health concerns of Black men in the United States, it is crucial to understand the impact of racism and factors that contribute to their experience of racism, to develop interventions and policies aimed at mitigating these negative effects” (p. 223).

“Based on the review of literature, we hypothesize that Black men who experience lower levels of African American gendered racism, more positive and less negative Black racial identity attitudes, and less conformity to self-reliance and emotional control masculine norms will report less psychological distress. Moreover, we hypothesize that both racial identity and conformity to masculine norms will moderate the relationship between gendered racism and psychological distress, such that Black men with more positive Black racial identity attitudes and who conform less to self-reliance and emotional control norms will experience less psychological distress at higher levels of gendered racism. Finally, we hypothesize that conformity to masculinity norms will moderate the moderated relationship between gendered racism, psychological distress, and racial identity such that greater conformity to self-reliance and emotional control norms will reduce the protective factors of positive racial identity attitudes and increase the negative effects of negative racial identity attitudes” (p. 226).

“Two hundred fifty-two men completed the online survey. Responses were removed if participants failed either of the two attention checks (n = 23), which resulted in a sample of 229 men, five of whom identified as transgender men and the rest cisgender. In terms of ethnicity, participants were African American (86.9%), Caribbean/Caribbean American (6.6%), Afro-Latin (3.9%), African (1.7%), and multiethnic (0.4%). These men’s ages ranged from 18 to 65 (M = 32.32, SD = 11.03)... Participants were asked to complete a 15–20-min. anonymous online survey via Prolific… After consenting to participate in the study, they were asked to complete demographic questions followed by the four measures presented in randomized order. In addition, participants were asked four open-ended questions as part of another study, as part of a separate study, about their personal experiences of gendered racism and its impact on them” (p. 226 - 227).

“The study’s results supported the four hypotheses and extended previous research findings. First, as hypothesized, gendered racism, racial identity attitudes, and conformity to self-reliance and emotional control norms significantly predicted psychological distress… There was mixed support regarding the main effects of racial identity. Supportive of our hypothesis were findings that preencounter self-hatred (PSH) and Immersion-emersion anti-White (IEAW) attitudes related to greater psychological distress, and that culturalist attitudes were associated with less psychological distress” (p. 234 - 235).

“We note that several of the racial identity attitudes (i.e., assimilation, miseducation, Afrocentricity, and salience) were not related to psychological distress as main effects. However, assimilation, miseducation, and Afrocentricity were significant as moderators in the analysis, indicating the importance of these racial identity attitudes as part of an intersectional understanding of gender racism” (p. 236).

“The second hypothesis, that racial identity moderated the relationship between gendered racism and psychological distress, was supported. However, conformity to masculine norms did not

significantly moderate this relationship. Specifically, results indicated that PSH and IEAW attitudes amplified the effect of gendered racism on psychological distress, whereas internalization multiculturalist attitudes buffered this negative relationship when Black men were negatively stereotyped. Specifically, there was more of a negative psychological impact on Black men experiencing negative stereotypes when they reported negative feelings toward their Black identity (i.e., self-hatred) or anger toward White people (i.e., anti- White), whereas Black men experienced less psychological distress when encountering negative stereotypes if they internalized concern for other marginalized groups (i.e., multiculturalist attitudes)” (p. 237).

“There was also support for the third hypothesis that conformity to masculinity norms would moderate the moderated relationship between gendered racism, psychological distress, and racial

identity. Specifically, conformity to masculine norms moderated the relationship between racial identity, gendered racism, and psychological distress when examining conformity to emotional control but not self-reliance. Generally, endorsing more negative racial identity attitudes (i.e., assimilation, miseducation, self-hate, and anti-White) was associated with a stronger relationship between gendered racism and psychological distress when Black men conformed less to emotional control” (p. 236 - 237).

Translating Research into Practice

“We view these findings as having implications for clinical work with Black men. Given the effects of racism on psychological well-being (Borrell et al., 2007; Brown et al., 2019; Mouzon, 2018; Read et al., 2018), our findings emphasize the importance of addressing psychological distress from an intersectional perspective. More specifically, our results suggest that clinicians should explore Black men’s experiences of negative stereotypes, their positive and negative attitudes toward their Blackness, and their conformity to masculine norms about being self-reliant and emotionally controlled. Identifying and confronting their experiences with negative stereotypes, positive and negative attitudes toward racial identity, and men’s constructions of masculinity may help foster greater psychological well-being through exploration of these critical parts of identity and their relationship to each other. In addition, these conversations around stereotyping may be beneficial within the group context in the form of affinity or community spaces dedicated to Black men. Such spaces can function as meaningful support groups in which Black men can be in community, as well as share and hear each other’s experiences of stereotyping, which has been found to function as a buffer between gendered racism and distress (Ramseur et al., 2024). In the context of individual treatment, the significant moderators suggest that both attitudes toward one’s Blackness and constructions of masculinity add another layer of distress to the experience of gendered racism. As such, clinicians might create space for clients to explore and process the emotions and beliefs around one’s Blackness and/or masculinity that may come up when talking about experiences of stereotyping. For example, it may be beneficial for a client that holds anti-White attitudes, stemming from a lifetime of experiencing negative stereotypes, to have a clinician that both validates and gives space to process the anger they hold toward White people. Similarly, a client that holds self-hatred attitudes needs space to manage the sadness resulting from both the instance of racism as well as the personal, negative feelings toward their own Blackness. Within all these conversations, the client’s relationship to their masculinity is relevant and may come up, which would bring forth personal attitudes and emotions, perhaps emerging from trying to gain acceptance as a man in a racist society. In addition, clinicians should be mindful of the connection and role of racial identity and masculine conformity and thus utilize liberation-minded theories geared toward people of color to help promote healing from both racial and gender-based trauma. For example, clinicians may want to incorporate a critical consciousness (Freire, 1970) framework to help the client engage in reflection (e.g., examining personal beliefs, learning history of Black male stereotyping, etc.) and action (e.g., having conversations within community, political movements, etc.). Finally, psychologists should use their power and resources as health professionals to develop and advocate for antiracism programs and interventions to reduce the impacts of racism and stereotyping for Black men and other persons of color” (p. 237).

Other Interesting Tidbits for Researchers and Clinicians

“Future research should also address the limitations in this study. First, caution should be exercised when generalizing our findings as participants needed to be proficient in English, a member of the Prolific research community, and have internet and computer access to participate in the study. Participant men also averaged 30 years of age, with most men being heterosexual, having a college education, and a middle-class income. Men of different ages, sexual orientations,

education, and economic resources may have different experiences with gendered racism, different stereotypes, different attitudes toward their racial identity, and may conform differently to masculinity norms. Second, although the AMGRaSI (Schwing et al., 2013) is a useful measure of gendered racism with strong psychometric properties, it only assesses three stereotypes of Black men (i.e., being violent, absent fathers, and excelling in athletics), which likely does not represent the entire content domain of gendered racism experiences for all Black men in America. Future research might incorporate a more comprehensive assessment of gendered racism to assess the construct and identify specific stereotypes contributing to psychological distress more fully. In addition, it is important to note that these three stereotypes are unique to the stereotypical idea of what Black men, who are cishet-presenting, looks like, so future research could explore the differing stereotypes to different presentations and intersecting identities to one’s Black and masculine identities. Also, although quantitative studies such as ours are useful for confirming or rejecting specific hypotheses, qualitative research that centers Black men’s personal experiences of gendered racism, its effect on their own and others well-being, and ways of coping and resisting these negative stereotypes would more likely lead to the development of new theory, research directions, and psychoeducation and clinical interventions” (p. 237).