Understanding the Impact of Maternal Messages Given to Single, Educated African American Women about Relationships

Abstract

This article investigates the messages that single, educated African American women acquired during their adolescence from their mothers about being single, attitudes about men and women, attitudes about education, and the importance of marriage. This study also examines the overall life satisfaction, self-esteem, and self-silencing behaviors of single, educated African American women. Results indicate that the educated African American female students received conflicting, dual messages from their mothers regarding gender roles and marriage. Implications include recognizing the importance of messages taught to African American daughters by their mothers in an effort to better understand the psychology of African American women.

The gendered racial and sexual socialization experiences of young Black women: A qualitative study.

“…This study reinforced that individuals from younger generations are not only taking heed of what is being directly said to them but also comparing and contrasting these messages to the observations that they are receiving from women and men within their families (Grange et al, 2011). The results from this study also reinforce how at times young women are provided with contrasting messages and they must attempt to make sense of these differing messages from family members (Johnson, 2013;Packer-Williams, 2009).…”

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“…Through enslavement, reconstruction, Jim Crow, and post-modern society, a set of social, economic, and political policies have made it exceedingly difficult to form Black families, keep them intact, and help them flourish. Whether it has been selling children away from parents during slavery, Tolnay, 2000;Ford, 2012;Keels, 2014;Packer-Williams, 2009). In large part, this is due to the structural absence of Black men, which is primarily a product of high incarceration rates, high unemployment rates, lower life expectancies, and a disparate wage and educational gap between Black men and Black women (Banks, 2011;Ford, 2012;Mouzon, 2015).…”

“…With respect to education, Banks (2011) finds that the ratio of Black female to male college graduates is two to one, which means that more Black women appear to be reaching middle-class status than men. In essence, educational mismatch, or gendered disparities in college graduation rates, significantly impact partner selection and marriage rates (Bulcroft & Bulcroft, 1993;Collins, 2005;Dixon, 2009;Ford, 2012;Keels, 2014;Packer-Williams, 2009). …”

“…Yet, the SALA phenomenon exists alongside a desire by many Black women to marry and have children (Keels, 2014;Packer-Williams, 2009). A recent Washington Post (2012) survey, for instance, found that 42% of Black women rate marriage as "very important to them" and 62% rate having children as "very important."…”