Keywords
Strong Black Woman Schema; Racial-Ethnic Socialization; Emotional Suppression; Academic Confidence
Abstract
Culturally shaped strength-based coping frameworks among Black college students, particularly the Strong Black Woman Schema and John Henry’s Active Coping, are associated with responses to racism-related stress and academic pressure, yet the ways these internalized expectations interact with emotional regulation, perceived cultural norms, and academic functioning remain unclear. Prior research has primarily examined these constructs in isolation or focused on psychological distress or physical health outcomes, often relying on single-method self-report designs that do not capture how culturally embedded coping processes are reflected in lived experiences; as a result, limited work has integrated identity-based schemas, behavioral coping strategies, and narrative accounts within a unified analytic framework. To address these gaps, a mixed-methods design was used in which Black, African American, Afro-Caribbean, and African college students completed standardized measures of the Strong Black Woman Schema, John Henryism Active Coping, emotional suppression, anxiety symptoms, and academic behavioral confidence alongside open-ended narrative prompts assessing coping strategies and perceived cultural expectations, with narrative responses systematically coded using structured rating schemes and analyzed alongside quantitative data using correlational and comparative statistical approaches. Findings indicated that identity-based strength schemas were more closely associated with psychological strain and perceived cultural expectations, while behavioral coping patterns were more strongly linked to academic confidence; emotional suppression and coping narratives showed selective associations with these broader patterns rather than uniform effects across outcomes. Overall, results highlight the differentiated roles of culturally grounded coping processes in shaping emotional and academic functioning, suggesting that strength-based expectations may simultaneously support persistence in academic contexts while contributing to iii psychological burden, underscoring the importance of examining these processes in an integrated and culturally informed way.
Thesis Completion Year
2026
Thesis Completion Semester
Spring
Thesis Chair
Zaman, Widaad
College
College of Sciences
Department
Psychology
Thesis Discipline
Psychology
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Length of Campus Access
None
Campus Location
UCF Online
STARS Citation
Ashford, Aniya G., "Cultural Schemas Regarding Resilience And Strength In Blacks: Implications For Well-Being And Academic Success" (2026). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 553.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hut2024/553
Included in
Clinical Psychology Commons, Community Psychology Commons, Counseling Psychology Commons, Developmental Psychology Commons, Health Psychology Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Multicultural Psychology Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Social Psychology Commons, Social Psychology and Interaction Commons
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