Investigating Pathways to Depression Among Black Girls: The Role of Racial Socialization, Gendered Racial Socialization, and Racial Identity

Background: Black girls experience disproportionate rates of discrimination due to their race and gender. Consequently, they report more sadness, depression, and suicidality than Black boys and White youth.  One factor that may protect Black girls from psychological distress is a racial identity that emphasizes positive attitudes about being Black. These attitudes may be adopted via parental racial socialization – the transmission of messages about race (e.g., “You should be proud to be Black”). Evidence suggests that gendered racial socialization (e.g., “You should be proud to be a Black woman”) may also contribute to Black girls’ racial identity.

Methods: We investigate this claim in the current study by examining the relationship between general and gendered racial socialization, racial identity, and depressive symptoms in 287 Black girls (Mage = 15.40). A path analysis was conducted to investigate the model predicting depressive symptoms.

Results: Girls who received more general and gendered messages endorsing pride reported higher amounts of private regard and centrality. Gendered messages of pride were also indirectly associated with fewer depressive symptoms through private regard. Oppressive messages about Black women were negatively associated with private regard and positively associated with depressive symptoms. Finally, private regard was negatively associated with depressive symptoms.

Conclusion/Implications: The findings suggest that general and gendered messages can uniquely contribute to the racial identity of Black girls which influences their mental health. The effects of gendered racial socialization on depressive symptoms imply that these messages may be more salient. Implications for practices that acknowledge the intersection of race and gender among Black girls will be discussed.