Feminist consciousness raising, self-concept, and depression

This article summarizes a study in which before and after interviews and questionnaires were administered to 73 women who had registered for feminist consciousness-raising groups in the state of Connecticut, and three groups were observed over a period of 10 to 16 weeks, in order to explore the unintended psychological benefits of participation. The results show that consciousness raising may help women to increase their sense of control and externalize their attributions of blame, and may consequently increase self-esteem and reduce depression among participants. The article concludes with a discussion relating these results to studies on race and class differences in mental health, and comparing consciousness raising to psychotherapy.