But Is It Okay? The Need to Still Ask Black/African American Mothers About Violence Exposure During The COVID-19 Worldwide Pandemic

Abstract

Black/African American communities endure the double pandemic of COVID-19 and police- and civilian-perpetrated anti-Black violence, with Black/African American mothers at risk for exposure to violence in the home. Questions remain about the potential harm in asking about violence exposure, particularly in the current climate. The purpose of the study is to examine Black/African American mothers’ reactions to participating in violence research during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. Participants (N = 127; Age: M = 32.46 years, SD = 5.61 years) were Black/African American mothers living in an urban, predominantly Black city in the Midwestern U.S. who completed online measures of exposure to violence before, during, and after shelter-in-place orders, as well as their reactions to participating in violence research. We found that the majority of participants did not find participation more distressing than other day to day experiences, with 100% of those with violence histories reporting such research is important. The current study’s findings can promote inclusion of violence measures in research and healthcare settings, with results guiding trauma-informed care for Black/African American mothers.

Two sides of the same coin: A mixed methods study of Black mothers’ experiences with violence, stressors, parenting, and coping during the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…There remains a concern about the ethics of asking about violence exposure in research, perhaps especially with marginalized populations during the current socio‐political unrest and hostility, alongside a worldwide pandemic. Therefore, as part of the current data collection, we asked participants about their experiences in participating in the research, with 100% of Black mothers who experienced violence in the home indicating that violence research is important, with one‐third indicating they experienced increased distress during participation notwithstanding (Gómez & Partridge, 2022 ). These findings are comforting insofar as they promote direct engagement with the intimate terrorism that Black mothers are presently facing.…”

“…The current study is part of a large data collection on the impact of COVID‐19 on urban parents (Gómez & Partridge, 2022 ; McGoron et al., 2022 ). Therefore, only some of the measures are reported here.…”

Assessing “Friendly Fire”: The Development & Validation of the Cultural Betrayal Multidimensional Inventory for Black American Young Adults (CBMI-BAYA) [preprint, v5, 2024])

“…Relational cultural therapy (Birrell & Freyd, 2006;Comstock et al, 2008;Gómez, 2020;Gómez et al, 2016;Miller, 1976;Miller & Stiver, 1997;Walker, 2010) (Jauk, 2013;Mizock & Lewis, 2008). Additionally, the current CBMI-BAYA is lengthy and thus less applicable to all settings (e.g., screening in primary care; Gómez & Partridge, 2022). Therefore, a validated short-form of the CBMI-BAYA may be useful.…”