More Than a Woman: A Scoping Review of the Role of the Strong Black Woman Schema in Black Women’s Romantic Relationships

Abstract

Black women are disproportionally impacted by intimate partner violence (IPV), yet limited research considers the role of culturally salient, gendered-racial schemas such as the Strong Black Woman (SBW) schema on Black women’s intimate relationships. Given the SBW schema’s emphasis on masking pain and vulnerability, self-sacrificial caretaking, and demonstrating unwavering emotional stoicism in the face of adversity, it is important to understand the adaptive and negative effects that high endorsement may have on Black women’s romantic relationship quality. This scoping review aimed to determine the extent to which the extant empirical research focusing on the SBW schema has included a focus on Black women’s intimate and romantic relationships and the culturally specific, sexually scripted roles that Black women are expected to uphold in their partnerships. Electronic databases were searched for empirical studies that focused on associations between the SBW schema and romantic relationships. Of the 290 articles identified in the initial search, only six articles met the full inclusion criteria. Findings revealed three ways that SBW schema manifests in Black women’s romantic relationships: prioritization of partner over self, resisting displays of vulnerability, and a sustained commitment to independence. Each of these domains may pose significant challenges to the quality of romantic relationships for Black women and the prevention of IPV, demonstrating the need for continued development of resources that can mitigate any specific sociocultural and gendered-racial barriers that Black women face when in intimate partnerships.