Project SOAR: Speaking Our African American Realities
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Introduction: African American Women (AAW) diagnosed with breast cancer are challenged with poor health outcomes; they also can experience low quality of life in specific areas, which can persist two years or more following diagnosis. There is little research and few theoretical models to inform effective approaches to well-being in AAW diagnosed with breast cancer. In two pilot studies, this research will examine contributors to quality of life in AAW diagnosed with breast cancer. Specifically, community partners have hypothesized that the Strong Black Woman schema may influence the ways in which women cope, and specifically coping through avoiding or approaching the breast cancer experience, as well as important outcomes such as depression, fatigue, cognitive problems, and perceptions of growth from the cancer experience. The Strong Black Woman Schema posits that AAW are driven by history and society to present an image of strength, suppress emotions, resist support from others, achieve success with inadequate resources, and prioritize caregiving over self-care. These facets of the schema are seen as having negative consequences for AAW’s health and well-being, but more positive facets, such as ethnic pride and commitment to complete treatment, also deserve attention. Further studies are warranted to determine the impact of positive and negative facets of the Strong Black Woman schema on health outcomes for breast cancer survivors. Two pilot studies will address these questions: 1) Is the Strong Black Woman schema relevant for AAW breast cancer survivors and if so, how? 2) Are the schema’s facets related to approach- and avoidance- oriented coping processes and primary (depressive symptoms) and secondary (fatigue, cognitive problems, cancer-related perceived growth) outcomes?
 
 
 Hypotheses: 1) Possible risky facets of the Strong Black Woman schema will be aligned with coping through actively avoiding the breast cancer experience (behavioral disconnect, mental disconnect, denial); 2) Possible helpful facets of the Strong Black Woman schema will be aligned with coping through actively approaching the breast cancer experience (i.e., active acceptance, positive reappraisal, problem solving, emotional expression and processing, spirituality); 3) As proposed in a conceptual model, risky and helpful facets of the Strong Black Woman schema, through their relationships with coping processes, will be related significantly to the outcomes. 
 
 
 General Methodology: Pilot Study 1 will consist of three Gatherings (focus groups) of 5-10 women each (N=15-30) African American Women (AAW) diagnosed with breast cancer to examine the positive and negative facets of the Strong Black Woman Schema and how they might relate to coping and quality of life. Building on the findings of that study, Pilot Study 2 will examine the potential influence of the schema in a cross-sectional study of 100 AAW in California diagnosed with breast cancer.
 
 
 Innovative Elements: Potentially negative facets of the Strong Black Woman schema have been explored as they pertain to some health issues that impact the African American community such as heart disease and diabetes. The schema has not been explored as it pertains to breast cancer or as it is related to coping processes that could be enhanced in order to improve AAW’s well-being and health. The proposed research also is innovative in that it will explore both the risky and helpful facets of the schema, and how they are related to the quality of life of AAW diagnosed with breast cancer.
 
 
 Community Involvement: The community partners are the originators of the research questions, which are founded in their personal experience as cancer survivors and interactions with thousands of AAW diagnosed with cancer since 2007. They are the leaders in the conduct of proposed Pilot Study 1 and full partners in all of the research, from its beginning to its dissemination in the African American community.
 
 
 Future Plans: In addition to sharing the findings with the AAW and scientific communities, plans also are to continue research to build an understanding of facets of the Strong Black Woman schema that help and hinder AAW as they live with a breast cancer diagnosis and to shape approaches to enhance psychosocial and physical health outcomes in AAW cancer survivors.