Gendered Racial Microaggressions and Black Women's Sleep Health

Overview

Journal Soc Psychol Q

Date 2024 Feb 19

PMID 38371316

Authors

Christy L Erving

Rachel Zajdel

Izraelle I McKinnon

Miriam E Van Dyke

Raphiel J Murden

Dayna A Johnson

Renee H Moore

Tene T Lewis

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Gendered racial microaggressions reflect historical and contemporary gendered racism that Black women encounter. Although gendered racial microaggressions are related to psychological outcomes, it is unclear if such experiences are related to sleep health. Moreover, the health effects of gendered racial microaggressions dimensions are rarely investigated. Using a cohort of Black women (N = 400), this study employs an intracategorical intersectional approach to (1) investigate the association between gendered racial microaggressions and sleep health, (2) assess whether gendered racial microaggressions dimensions are related to sleep health, and (3) examine whether the gendered racial microaggressions-sleep health association persists after accounting for depressive symptoms and worry. Gendered racial microaggressions were associated with poor sleep quality overall and four specific domains: subjective sleep quality, latency, disturbance, and daytime sleepiness. Two gendered racial microaggressions dimensions were especially detrimental for sleep: assumptions of beauty/sexual objectification and feeling silenced and marginalized. After accounting for mental health, the effect of gendered racial microaggressions on sleep was reduced by 47 percent. Future research implications are discussed.

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