Background: The Superwomen Schema describes a unique social framework that encompasses the role that many Black women adopt in response to chronic stress, cultural pressures, and a unique intersection of oppression. The goal of our study is to determine if the Superwoman Schema both promotes resilience and encourages substance abuse as a coping mechanism for compromised mental health.

Methods: Our data came from a larger study of semi-structured interviews among 30 Black women. These women were interviewed 4 times over the span of 6 months. The data from the transcribed and coded interviews were analyzed using thematic content analysis in NVivo.

Results: Our research indicates a positive correlation between tenets of the Superwoman Schema and substance abuse as a means of self-medication. The data confirms the conferment of resilience and motivation by the schema.

Conclusion: Our research confirms and assesses dual repercussions of the Superwoman Schema on Black women both as a defense that grants resilience in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds and as a construct that encourages substance abuse as a coping mechanism for compromised mental health. We hope that by acknowledging and contextualizing this subset of coping and substance abuse, that systemic barriers that contribute to this pattern can be addressed and dismantled and so that adequate and informed measures of support can be provided.