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. 2023 Sep;51(7):2741-2757.
doi: 10.1002/jcop.23043. Epub 2023 Apr 3.

Gender differences in perceived racism threat and activism during the Black Lives Matter social justice movement for Black young adults

Bianca Lafreniere  1 , Élodie C Audet  1 , Frank Kachanoff  2 , N Keita Christophe  1 , Anne C Holding  1 , Lauren Janusauskas  1 , Richard Koestner  1
Affiliations

Gender differences in perceived racism threat and activism during the Black Lives Matter social justice movement for Black young adults

Bianca Lafreniere et al. J Community Psychol. 2023 Sep.

Abstract

A longitudinal study involving 455 Black young adults living in Canada investigated whether gender and autonomous motivation influenced the relationship between perceived racism threat and Black Lives Matter (BLM) activism, and whether BLM activism influenced life satisfaction over time. A moderated mediation analysis using PROCESS Macro Model 58 tested the indirect effect of autonomous motivation on the relationship between perceived racism threat and BLM activism varying by gender. Multiple linear regression assessed how well BLM activism predicted life satisfaction. Black women perceived greater racism threat than Black men related to increases in BLM activism via the influence of autonomous motivation. BLM activism had a positive influence on life satisfaction over time, regardless of gender. This research suggests Black young women are playing pivotal roles in the BLM movement and helps us understand how motivation may be influencing involvement and well-being in social justice issues.

Keywords: Black Lives Matter; activism; autonomous motivation; critical consciousness; perceived racism.

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References

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