Elliott, Martz, Bazzini, and Selani | Hair Texture Dissatisfaction indicated that the scale did not accurately reflect their hair texture. This discrepancy is further explored in the limitations section. Bivariate Pearson’s correlations were run for all variables and are presented in Table 1. The analysis indicated that perceived racism was significantly related to perceived colorism (r = .27, p < .001). Racism was associated with both measures of hair dissatisfaction (HTD: r = .12, p = .03; HTDSS: r = .13, p = .04), but not hair relaxant use (r = .03). Similarly, colorism was also associated with both measures of hair dissatisfaction (HTD: r = .14, p = .02; HTDSS: r = .19, p = .01), but not hair relaxant use (r = .09). Frequency of hazardous hair relaxant use was correlated with having a straighter ideal hair texture (r = -.19, p < .001) and having more hair texture dissatisfaction (HTDSS; r = .18, p = .002). Desiring a straighter ideal hair texture was associated with more hair dissatisfaction using both measures (HTD: r = -.20, p < .001; HTDSS: r = -.49, p < .001). Because colorism (ICS) was associated with all of the variables of interest, we conducted further analyses on its subscales (see Table 2). Although no significant relationships were identified between the Self Concept and Affiliation subscales and hair texture dissatisfaction, a relationship was found between the Attraction subscale and more hair texture dissatisfaction (r = .25, p < .001), as well as a desire for a straighter ideal hair texture (r = .23, p < .001). Correlations were observed between the Upward Mobility subscale and hair texture dissatisfaction (r = .20, p < .001), as well as between the Impression Formation subscale and hair texture dissatisfaction (r = .16, p < .05). Discussion Despite the pervasive influence of racialized beauty standards, there is a notable scarcity of research examin ing the unique body image concerns relevant to Black women. Research that has investigated the experiences of Black women has not directly examined the role of hair texture dissatisfaction regarding beauty practices and the relationship between racism and colorism (Griffin, 2021; Harper & Choma, 2019). The present research, grounded in social identity theory, evaluated the role of perceived racism and colorism in Black women’s perceptions of their hair texture, what they considered to be ideal hair, and how this relates to chemical hair relaxant use. Results showed that perceived racism and colorism were modestly related to hair texture dissatisfaction and hair texture discrepancy in our sample. These findings are consistent with previous research showing that exposure to racist and colorist com ments alters Black women’s interpretations of “good hair” (Dove, 2021) and align with SIT as individual’s self-concept is closely tied to their group memberships (Hughes et al., 2015; Tajfel & Turner, 2004). Because the colorism scale (ICS) was modestly related to both metrics of hair dissatisfaction and contained individual subscales, we explored those indi vidual constructs and found associations between the Attraction, Upward Mobility, and Impression Formation subscales with hair texture dissatisfaction. Specifically, the Attraction subscale, which examines the perceived attractiveness of various hair textures within one’s group, was associated with greater hair texture dissatisfaction and a preference of straighter ideal hair textures. An example item was, “I prefer straight hair over curly hair when choosing romantic interests” and this aligns with previous research suggesting that Black women may prefer similar traits in partners (Mathews & Johnson, 2015). The Upward Mobility subscale, or perceptions that hair texture affects social and economic mobility (e.g., “Hair texture plays a big part in determining how far you can make it”), correlated with hair texture dissatisfaction, consistent with industrial organization literature highlighting ramifications of natural hair in the workplace (Koval & Rosette, 2021; Summers et al., 2022). The Impression Formation subscale, assessing how hair texture influences others’ impressions suggests that negative perceptions of hair may contribute to greater dissatisfaction. Social identity theory, which posits that personal behavior is influenced by group perceptions (Hughes et al., 2015; Tajfel & Turner, 2004), may help us TABLE 2 Descriptive Statistics and Correlations for the Colorism Subscales Variable M SD 1 1. Racism (DAS-DQ) 20.70 8.71 - 2. Colorism (ICS) 46.10 11.00 .27*** - 3. Self-Concept (ICS) 14.30 3.98 .09 .33*** - 4. Impression Formation (ICS) 7.97 3.42 .02 .38*** .27*** - 5. Affiliation (ICS) 7.60 3.10 .01 .32*** .13* .49*** - 6. Attraction (ICS) 8.06 3.36 .05 .31*** .08 .50*** .45*** 7. Upward Mobility (ICS) 9.09 4.00 .09 .25*** .22*** .41*** .30*** .41*** - 8. Hair Texture Discrepancy (HTD) 9.42 1.99 .12* .14* -.02 .08 .06 .09 .02 - 9. Frequency of Relaxing (FRHS) 3.36 1.07 .03 .09 -.06 .10 .15** .11 .06 .04 2 3 10. Hair Texture Dissatisfaction Scale 4.15 1.06 .13** .19*** .02 (HTDSS) 11. Ideal Hair Texture 3.60 1.67 .02 -.11 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 - - .16* .04 .25*** .20*** .20*** .18** - .01 -.08 -.11 -.23*** .02 -.20*** -.19*** -.49*** - Note. N = 316; df = 315 * p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001 COPYRIGHT 2025 BY PSI CHI, THE INTERNATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY IN PSYCHOLOGY (VOL. 30, NO. 3/ISSN 2325-7342) 256