Weathering the Storm: Exploring the Use of the Strong Black Woman Role in the Coping Strategies of Black Women Survivors of Hurricane Katrina

Background:

Historical and ongoing racist and sexist oppression has shaped the context of U.S. Black women’s lives. In this context, expectations of strength and perseverance have been incorporated into the socialization of Black girls and women. The “Strong Black Woman” (SBW) schema describes specific cultural gender role expectations held of Black women. This schema has functioned as a source of resilience and resolve for generations of Black women, informing the use of culturally-specific coping strategies that Black women use to survive in a white supremacist, patriarchal society. Yet, research has also illuminated how the SBW schema functions as a risk factor for negative health outcomes, through expectations that Black women prioritize the care of others over themselves and suppress emotional expressions not consonant with the SBW expectations. Guided by Black Feminist Thought, this study explored how the SBW schema manifested over time in the coping strategies of five Black women who survived Hurricane Katrina.

Methods:

For this qualitative secondary data analysis, we utilized longitudinal data collected for the Resilience in Survivors of Katrina (RISK) project. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from 2006 until 2018, with three waves of interviews. Five participants who had completed all 3 interviews were included in this analysis. All 5 were Black women who had a high school diploma or greater level of education. We used an analysis of narratives approach, identifying themes across transcripts and focusing on the plot and temporal sequencing of stories shared in interviews. Analysis was iterative, beginning with open-coding and then focused coding related to the SBW schema. SBW-related narratives were evident in participants’ stories about their past, present, and future, as they recalled learning from their own mothers, navigating life as women and mothers, and challenging the expectations of the SBW. Coders practiced reflexivity throughout analysis.

Results:

Analysis identified threads of strength and vulnerability, as participants engaged with the SBW schema throughout their lives as daughters and mothers. In childhood, participants observed their mothers employ SBW-related coping strategies of self-reliance and emotional suppression. As adults, participants utilized similar strategies to cope with multiple forms of adversity, including the hurricane. The dichotomy of the SBW schema was apparent in participants’ parenting, in their efforts to stay calm for their children, emphasize their children’s own strength and resilience, and sometimes minimize their children’s need for mental health services. Evolution of the SBW schema was reflected in participants’ acknowledgements of the emotional impact of the hurricane and multiple structural inequities. Participants sought support from other women, as well as male partners, and discussed barriers to engaging formal health care services.

Conclusion and Implications:

Narrative analysis identifies some of the intergenerational ways that Black women inherit, engage with, and challenge the expectations of the SBW schema over time. Findings highlight the unique cultural and gendered pressures on Black women towards self-reliance and avoiding expressions of feelings associated with vulnerability. Findings also illustrate the role of structural oppression in coping and help-seeking, and reinforce the need for culturally appropriate interventions to support survivors of disasters.