# Racism and Resilience Among Black Autistic Children and Caregivers

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2024 · $761,900

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Persistent, and quite pervasive, racial disparities have been found between Black, autistic children and their
White, autistic peers. These disparities range from notable inequities in the timeliness of diagnosis to receipt of
substandard services to their under-representation in research studies. While key disparities have been
documented, there is a need for increased attention on potential underlying drivers of these disparities that are
rooted in the Black experience. We know from existing research on Black health and wellness that racism is
linked to some poorer physical and mental health outcomes. Our team will examine the impact of racism and
resulting racial trauma on the mental health outcomes of Black parents of autistic children (ages 3 -9) as well
as the downstream consequences that parental racial trauma has on child behavior and development. Using a
mixed method, cross-sectional study design, we will recruit an economically heterogeneous sample of 300
Black parents / caregivers of autistic children in the states of NC and PA. We will also use a community-
partnered participatory framework to tell the whole story of Black risk and resilience by focusing on both racial
trauma as well as Black cultural capital and assets. Therefore, the specific aims of this project are: Aim 1:
Understand the impact of racism (i.e., everyday racism and racialized trauma) on the well-being (i.e., quality of
life, stress, caregiver strain) of Black parents of autistic children. Aim 2: Examine whether parents’ experiences
with racialized trauma adversely affects child behaviors and development. Aim 3: Determine cultural capital
factors that moderate the impact on racism on parental well-being. Exploratory Aim 4: Using moderated
moderation analysis, explore whether cultural capital factors and parental well-being both moderate the impact
of racism on child behaviors and development. We further seek to understand how Black parents of autistic
children support their children’s racial pride and acceptance.
This team is ideally suited to tackle the complex topics and intersectional identities associated with race and
disability. We bring relevant and culturally informed content and methodological expertise. Further, our work is
being conducted in partnership with the Color of Autism organization, a national organization designed to
support and empower Black families. Through this work, we will gain key insight and knowledge of how the
Black experience impacts rearing an autistic child of color to provide more specificity and direction for future
tailored intervention approaches. This research is likely to exert a significant and immediate impact on the field
because it examines both the risk and resilience of a historically marginalized and excluded group.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10882471
- **Project number:** 1R01MH133654-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Brian Antonio Boyd
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $761,900
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-04-01 → 2029-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10882471

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10882471, Racism and Resilience Among Black Autistic Children and Caregivers (1R01MH133654-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10882471. Licensed CC0.

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