SOCIAL STIGMAS AND ATTRIBUTIONS OF DISCRIMINATION

拟议研究的目标是调查个人的方式

The goal of the proposed research is to investigate the way individuals with two social stigmas perceive and cope with interpersonal discrimination. The proposed studies examine the attributions Black women make regarding outcomes of social interactions involving Whites of both genders and Black males. One of the specific aims of this research is to identify the way in which the centrality of being Black and female influences Black women's explanation of the outcomes of their social interactions. Another specific aim is to examine whether or not there are differences in mental health outcomes when Black women attribute the behaviors of White males to racial discrimination and when they attribute the behavior of White females to racial discrimination. Similarly, the proposed research will examine whether or not there are differences in mental health outcomes when Black women attribute the behaviors of White males to gender discrimination and when they attribute the behavior of Black males to gender discrimination. The issue of interest is the way Black women's psychological well-being is effected when they perceive discrimination from members of a group with whom they share a social stigma. The findings of the proposed research should have several implications for mental health research, including understanding the way perceptions of discrimination affect the self-esteem of stigmatized individuals and assessing the possibility that attributing negative outcomes to discrimination may be a coping strategy for stigmatized individuals.