**3. Results**

One purpose of this study was to identify techniques Black people in racialized environments most commonly use to cope with racism, as explored in the available published literature. In total, 25 relevant articles were identified [24–48]. Of these, 19 studies were quantitative and 6 were qualitative. Most studies reported more than one strategy, with a total yield of 58 coping strategies overall. All were about Black Americans, except one (Black Canadians), and as such the resulting findings most reliably relate to Black American approaches for racism in the US.

## **3.1 Different types of coping**

Although social support and religion were mentioned most often, there is variability when it comes to the other coping mechanisms used. Strategies that were presented for Black Americans included disengagement [27, 35, 36], avoidance [28, 31, 34], rumination [30, 31], direct strategies [37, 43, 45], emotion-focused coping [28, 40], Africultural coping [33, 34], venting [24], and mindfulness [26]. The full list can be found in **Table 1**, which presents an overview of the coping strategies described in the articles reviewed.

We found that the choice of strategies varies depending on the type of racist experience that occurs. The three different types of racism that were recognized in the studies in this review are institutional, cultural, and interpersonal (or individual) as shown in **Figure 1**. Four of the 25 articles highlighted differences in the responses to one or all three of the types of racism. Relating to institutional racism, a combination of different strategies were used: problem-solving [33] and active strategies [47]. When facing cultural racism, collective coping, problem-solving and social support were utilized [46].

For interpersonal racism, spiritual-centered coping strategies were specifically emphasized. Moreover, a few articles identified gender differences within responses to different forms of racism. In regards to interpersonal or individual racism, African American women prefer using avoidance strategies [46]. Lewis-Coles and Constantine [34] found that for institutional racism, African American women tend to utilize cognitive-emotional debriefing, spiritual-centered strategies, and collective coping strategies. For cultural racism, African American men preferred collective coping strategies, which refer to social support from friends, family and community members [34].


*Note: Many of the coping strategies identified are a part of a larger coping category. These subcategories are found underneath the main coping mechanism. The numbers in parentheses represents the number of papers that mentioned the specific coping strategy.*

#### **Table 1.**

*List of coping strategies used by black people when responding to racism.*

*Gender Differences in Coping with Racism: African American Experience and Empowerment DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99930*

#### **Figure 1.**

*Coping strategies model. The major categories of racism are depicted as a linked circle. Strategies used by black individuals are utilized preferentially in a specific way to cope with each of the three identified types of racism.*

Although the identified articles demonstrate how universal many coping mechanisms are for Black Americans, there was little discussion on their efficacy as tools to combat racial stress and trauma. Understanding that different forms of coping are habitually used for specific types of stressors could be useful for designing experiments which can inform researchers about which of these types of responses are most efficacious in which situations. This knowledge can then be used to better support interventions to address racial trauma.

#### **3.2 Similarities across genders**

Many similarities were found when examining the literature on coping in Black people. Most researchers found that Black Americans use a variety of strategies to respond to racism [24, 25, 28, 31–34, 36, 37, 43, 44, 46, 47]. Although these papers do not mention the same list of strategies, it is important to consider trends that reoccur within the articles when they are examined in detail. Multiple studies show that Black Americans use social support, religion, and problem-focused coping to respond to experiences of racism. Seven studies described social support mechanisms [29, 33, 34, 36, 42, 46, 47], five studies discussed religion [24, 27, 33, 34, 36], and four described problem-focused coping [27, 28, 33, 40]. In addition, there were similar interpretations of the efficacy and utilizations of these strategies. For example, social support referred to talking with friends, family and/or support groups such as alcoholics anonymous. Religion involved prayer, going to church, and spirituality. Whereas problem-focused coping describes active efforts an individual will make to directly confront the stressor in order to reduce, eliminate or modify it [49].

#### **3.3 Black women**

Many of the studies that were relevant for this review had a focus on the strategies employed specifically by Black American women, and they show prominent

gender differences when examining the broader question of Black people's responses to racism. For example, Black women were most likely to seek social support as a response to experiencing racism. There were seven articles that demonstrated this behavior [24, 34, 43–47]. The authors in these studies explain that Black women will rely on friends and family to discuss racist the incidents for validation and support [43].

The coping behavior that was next most frequently seen among Black American women was religion or spirituality, noted in five studies [24, 25, 34, 43, 44]. As mentioned above, this response can refer to praying or going to church. For participants in Spates' (2019) study, for example, religion/spirituality helped Black women to be optimistic despite hardships.

Other types of strategies that were observed in Black women were "overt strategies", mentioned in three studies [37, 43, 44]. This is an umbrella term that signifies observable behaviors or responses such as confronting or speaking out [50]. In Pittman [37], female faculty depended on assertive actions to respond to classroom racial stressors, for example one Black professor described speaking up for herself after a White student threw paper at her. Similarly, Black women in Spates et al.'s [44] study women used overt strategies such as calling out discriminatory behavior. A participant in Shorter-Gooden's [43] study actively fought back by filing a complaint against the officer after an experience of police abuse.

Additionally, "covert strategies" were also observed, which are intrapersonal actions unobservable by others [51]. In Spates et al. [44], some of the Black women participants described making an effort to blend in and not stand out to avoid racism by attempting to assimilate. Black American women will often adjust their behaviors and roles to reduce the amount of racialized stress they face [52]. Additionally, avoidance strategies were identified among Black women in four studies [34, 43, 46, 48]. This includes avoiding stressors instead of becoming actively involved with them and also includes minimizing or denying these experiences [53]. The cognitive-emotional debriefing coping style is an avoidance strategy that was identified in one of the studies. This strategy entails forgetting about the situation, minimizing the negative aspects of the situation, or engaging in distracting activities [48]. This study further explains that when more gendered racism is experienced by a Black woman, it will lead to more distress and more engagement in cognitive-emotional debriefing coping [48].

In sum, Black women in America are most likely to use a variety of strategies to cope with racism, the most common being social support and faith-based strategies, which is similar to American Black people in general, along with a combination

#### **Figure 2.**

*A model of American black Women's coping responses to racism. Note: The main coping categories are found under 'coping response'. The specific coping strategies (subcategories) are listed below theses.*

of overt and covert strategies. **Figure 2** displays all of the coping strategies that are used by Black women when responding to racism based on the findings of the articles in this review.
