PhD Student Cecelela Tomi published her first article, (Re)Framing Strength: How Superwoman Schema May Impact Perinatal Anxiety and Depression among African American Women, in Women’s Health Issues

The Strong Black Woman or Superwoman Schema has been generally described as how African American women are expected to perform and embody womanhood (Abrams et al., 2014; Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2007, Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2009; Nelson et al., 2016, Nelson et al., 2020, Nelson et al., 2023b; Watson and Hunter, 2016 ;Woods-Giscombé, 2010; Woods-Giscombé, 2018; Woods-Giscombé et al., 2016; Woods-Giscombé et al., 2019). Operationalized as an obligation to display strength, resistance to being vulnerable, an obligation to suppress emotions, an intense motivation to succeed despite limited resources, and an obligation to help others, some aspects of Superwoman Schema (Woods-Giscombé, 2010; Woods-Giscombé et al., 2019) have been associated with anxiety, depression, and stress among African American women (Nelson et al., 2023b; Leath et al., 2022; Woods-Giscombé et al., 2019). 

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