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Ain’t I A Survivor Too: Contextualizing Black Women’s Experience Of Sexual Trauma And Healing

Samuel, Danielle Alyssa
http://orcid.org/0009-0003-3345-7998
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1722351647162928

Abstract Details

2024, Ph.D., Antioch University, Antioch New England: Marriage and Family Therapy.
The double bind of Black womanhood has been long documented in Black feminist literature. This dissertation seeks to greatly contextualize how Black women experience make sense of, and heal from, sexual trauma given the nature of gendered racism in the United States (U.S). Utilizing a convergent parallel design grounded in Black Feminist Theory and hermeneutic phenomenology, the lived experiences of 98 Black women from across the U.S. were investigated. Regression analyses revealed that the frequency of gendered racial microaggressions and the associated appraisal were not significant predictors of participants’ PTSD symptoms. Additionally, PTSD symptoms were inversely predictive of current perceptions of healing and healing progress. A mediation effect of negative alterations in cognitions and mood on the relationship between sexual objectification, specific to Black women, and progress in healing was also evident. Gendered racism did moderate the relationship between PTSD symptoms and perceived healing at the lowest point but not healing progress. The major themes that emerged from the interviews included “Negative Consequences of Sexual Assault,” “Pathways of Healing,” “Barriers to Help and Justice-Seeking,” “Dimensions of Racial-Ethnic Socialization,” and “Dimensions of Gendered Racial Socialization.” Combined, these findings highlight the unique sociocultural and historical context of Black female survivorship and amplify the necessity for clinicians to integrate Black feminist therapeutic praxis to inform treatment assessment, goal, and intervention. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu/) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).
Kevin Lyness, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Denzel Jones, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
DeAnna Harris-McKoy, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
145 p.
African American Studies; African Americans; Black History; Black Studies; Counseling Psychology; Ethnic Studies; Mental Health; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Psychology; Psychotherapy; Quantitative Psychology; Social Research; Social Work; Therapy; Womens Studies
Black feminism; gendered racism; sexual trauma; sexuality; trauma; mixed methods

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Samuel, D. A. (2024). Ain’t I A Survivor Too: Contextualizing Black Women’s Experience Of Sexual Trauma And Healing [Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1722351647162928

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Samuel, Danielle. Ain’t I A Survivor Too: Contextualizing Black Women’s Experience Of Sexual Trauma And Healing . 2024. Antioch University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1722351647162928.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Samuel, Danielle. "Ain’t I A Survivor Too: Contextualizing Black Women’s Experience Of Sexual Trauma And Healing ." Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1722351647162928

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

antioch1722351647162928
201
© 2024, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Antioch University and OhioLINK.