Moderating effects of race-based rejection sensitivity on defeat and entrapment in black women: The integrated motivational volitional model of suicide

Abstract

Black women are often looked at as the backbone of society, with little to no acknowledgement of the impact of this pressure on their mental health. African American women's mental health and emotional wellness are regularly understudied, particularly in the field of suicidology due to their low rates of suicide. Black women face increased risk for the development of depressive symptomatology and suicide ideation due to factors such as racial/ethnic discrimination and poverty. The Motivational phase of the Integrated Motivational Volitional Model (IMV) may be a beneficial model to examine suicide ideation for Black women, as Black women may feel defeated and entrapped by racial rejection, societal pressures, and a lack of equity. Racial/ethnic marginalized people experience a distinct form of rejection sensitivity that forms via anxious expectations of social rejection in interracial settings or being discriminated against based upon their race (racial rejection sensitivity). Black women may experience racial rejection sensitivity due to the intersectionality of their identity. The aim of the proposed study was to examine the IMV model among a national sample of Black women. It was hypothesized that entrapment would mediate the relationship between defeat and suicide ideation, and that racial rejection sensitivity would moderate the relationship between defeat and entrapment. Results of a moderated mediation supported the hypothesis of entrapment mediating the relationship between defeat and suicide ideation. However, racial rejection sensitivity did not significantly moderate the relationship between defeat and entrapment. These results imply that the Motivational Phase may be a useful model to examining suicide risk for Black women, however further research is needed to identify the mechanisms that underlie this model.