Exploring Psychological Trauma: Considering Differences in Conceptualization, Exposure, and Growth in Black Americans

Abstract

Introduction: Social sciences scholars are increasingly studying psychological trauma in Black Americans stemming from anti-Black racism. These scholars vary in their methods including developing theoretical models to connect emerging understandings of the Black American experience to psychological knowledge, conceptual models to explain where racial differences may lead to different outcomes compared to White Americans, and empirical investigations to establish the presence and severity of these deeper understandings. These scholars are working in silos without cross-disciplinary collaboration. This dissertation contributes to the scholarly field by systematically synthesizing the findings today from key social science disciplines, investigating the importance of place on select trauma exposures, and synthesizing critical findings to date about Black American experiences of post-traumatic growth.

Methods: This dissertation includes three investigations into psychological trauma. The first investigation was a meta-narrative review that collated the published literature to date in four traditions of trauma – 1) post-traumatic stress disorder, 2) complex post-traumatic stress disorder, 3) racial trauma, and 4) group-based trauma. The second investigation was an empirical, cross-sectional analysis that examines the association between two measures of neighborhood context and an experience of abuse. The measures of neighborhood include the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation Grade (HOLC/redlining) and the Opportunity Atlas. The measures of abuse include intimate partner violence and child abuse. Finally, the third investigation was a systematic review of the published literature on post-traumatic growth in Black and White populations.

Results: Our meta-narrative review found the social identity of the defining population and the sociopolitical context important for trauma conceptualization. Across the four traditions of trauma, we found identity and cumulative frequency to be important components to all traditions that are conceptualized and discussed differently. In our empirical investigation, we found our contemporary neighborhood deprivation to be associated with the risk of abuse. Additionally, our stratified analysis found neighborhoods to operate differently between Black and White respondents. In Black respondents, a trend of greater risk of abuse was observed in higher opportunity neighborhoods; meanwhile, in White respondents, a trend of greater isk of abuse was observed in lower opportunity neighborhoods. Finally, our systematic investigation demonstrated that Black Americans have a higher post-traumatic growth score than White Americans when measured at the same time. Racial differences in the underlying belief pathways of post-traumatic growth and racial differences in the subscales that compromise post-traumatic growth, specifically religiosity and social support, require further research.

Conclusion: As the scope of trauma broadens to understand the impact of colonialism and history on trauma transmission, the field of public health will witness fluctuations and refinement of trauma prevalence rates. These refined understandings should be thoroughly investigated and welcomed as progress to move us toward a more just society.