Black Adolescent Girls Research Articles

Beyond Objectification: Understanding the Correlates and Consequences of Sexualization for Black and White Adolescent Girls.

Although objectification theory posits negative consequences of self-objectification for adolescent girls, few studies have tested how objectification and sexualization contribute to mental health for youth of color. Accordingly, the current study explores the relations among body surveillance, enjoyment of sexualization, and mental health for a sample of 473 Black and White adolescent girls (Mage=15.21, SD=1.43). As expected, body surveillance and enjoyment of sexualization were associated with various forms of diminished well-being. Race moderated two of these links, with Black girls who reported higher levels of body surveillance also reporting higher levels of depression and hostility compared with their White peers. Future work should examine the implications of enjoyment of sexualization for youth of color.

Ethnic Identity, Empowerment, Social Support and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Black Adolescent Girls: Examining Drug Use as a Mediator.

Substance abuse and sexual health research tends to overlook the resiliency skills that Black adolescent girls possess. Using a strengths-based lens, this study examines the role of protective factors: (e.g. ethnic identity, social support, and psychological empowerment) on sexual risk behaviors testing drug use as a mediator among a sample of Black adolescent girls. The study uses a sample (N = 340) female adolescents (13-17 years old) who identified as being Black only and reside in a northeastern urban community in New Jersey. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesized model of the mediating role of drug use on sexual risk behaviors among this sample. Findings revealed that drug use significantly mediated the relationship between social support, ethnic identity, and psychological empowerment on sexual risk behaviors, with high ethnic identity scores having the strongest relationship on low sexual risk behaviors and low levels of drug use. Given the rise of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States among Black adolescent girls, findings from this study can contribute to development of culturally appropriate and innovative strategies to reduce risky behaviors by promoting social and cultural strengths among Black girls living in urban communities.

Exploring Black Girls' Recommendations for Healthy Lifestyle Interventions to Address Obesity.

Objective This mixed-methods study investigated Black girls' (N = 15) definitions of health and reports on socio-ecological factors that influenced health attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Participants were surveyed about their emotional health, body image, experiences of discrimination, and eating patterns. Methods Directed content analysis was used to identify themes, categories, and capture the depth of information conveyed. The study also used the Nominal Group Technique to elicit recommendations about intervention content, structure, and facilitation of a healthy lifestyle program targeting Black girls. Participants represented various ethnic backgrounds, ranged in age from 14 to 17 years (M = 16), and were in the ninth and 10th grades. Participants also represented a specific sample of Black adolescent girls who are medically categorized as obese. Results Findings indicated that Black girls use an intersectional (race-gender) lens to frame their definitions of health and inform health-related behaviors. Recommendations for obesity interventions targeting Black girls include leveraging time during school to deliver services, intentional selection of program facilitators to include race-gender similarities, and professionals trained to work with adolescents. Additionally, considerations for provider-patient interactions include the use of nonstigmatizing language and direct communication. Conclusion Findings serve to address the paucity of culturally responsive interventions targeting Black girls' health. Implications include enhancement of program retention and sustained engagement to facilitate effective treatment outcomes and address the disparity in the prevalence of obesity. In doing so, there is a potential to reduce health disparities associated with increased weight as Black girls' transition into adulthood.

“Air I Breathe”: Songwriting as Literacy Practices of Remembrance

This qualitative study, based on data from an ongoing after-school literacy and songwriting initiative, examines the multiliteracy practices of Noriah Rose and Koral, Black adolescent girls, and their socially situated meaning-making and sharing about loss. Specifically, we asked, “In what ways do youth grapple with complicated meanings of loss as they share creative and artistic songwriting practices?” We build upon interdisciplinary framings in literacy and social science research to advance new theoretical understandings of literary practices of remembrance, highlighting the public sharing of independently authored digital compositions across various audiences through song. We conceptualize youths, enacting literacy practices of remembrance, as demonstrating three socially situated stances of sharing: evoking a passed-on narrative complicating temporality and permanence, historicizing artistic cultural expression, and demonstrating mutual sharing and stewardship of loss. We argue that various communities supported youths’ meaning-making about loss, and we offer implications for teaching, research, and practice.

SUN-025 Obesity Severity and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in an Ethnically Diverse Cohort of Adolescent Girls

INTRODUCTION: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders affecting young women and may present as early as adolescence. Early recognition is important, as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with increased cardiometabolic risk and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The risk of PCOS increases with obesity, but fewer studies have explored the burden of PCOS in children with obesity within healthcare settings. In this study, we examined the proportion of adolescent girls with obesity who also had diagnosed PCOS and the relationship between PCOS and obesity severity.METHODS: From an existing cohort of nearly 8000 children age 3-17 with obesity (Body Mass Index, BMI ≥95th percentile) who were seen at pediatric well-child visits and identified for weight management based on BMI, we classified the subgroup of girls age 12-17 years who had moderate (BMI 100-119% of the 95th percentile) and severe (BMI ≥120% of the 95th percentile) obesity by PCOS status. Diagnosed PCOS was identified based on a visit diagnosis code for PCOS (ICD-9 256.4) within one year of the well child visit.RESULTS: We identified 1478 adolescent girls (age 12-17) with obesity, among whom 76 (5%) had a PCOS diagnosis. The burden of PCOS varied by race, including 4% among white, 7% among black, 5% among Hispanic, and 8% among Asians, respectively. The proportion with diagnosed PCOS was greater in severely obese patients (9%) compared to moderately obese (3%). By race/ethnicity, the proportion with PCOS among moderately obese/severely obese girls were as follows: white 2%/8%, black 4%/10%, and Hispanic 2%/9%, respectively. The Asian population had a higher proportion of PCOS (10%) among girls with moderate obesity, as fewer Asian girls had severe obesity overall.CONCLUSION: Among adolescent girls with obesity, the burden of PCOS varied by race/ethnicity and level of obesity. Increasing severity of obesity was associated with a greater proportion of girls having diagnosed PCOS, a trend that was reflected in white, black and Hispanic adolescent girls but not Asians, the latter due to their lower range BMI. These data highlight the prevalence of PCOS among adolescent girls with obesity and support the need for early identification and management prior to adulthood.

Utilizing a Life Course Approach to Examine HIV Risk for Black Adolescent Girls and Young Adult Women in the United States: A Systematic Review of Recent Literature.

Black female youth have been disproportionately burdened by the HIV epidemic. Emerging literature suggests that individual and social-structural factors may uniquely increase HIV risk within this population during key developmental periods, namely adolescence (ages 10-17 years) and emerging adulthood (ages 18-25 years). Few studies, however, have compared drivers of risk within and between these key developmental periods. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of recent literature to characterize and identify important gaps in our understanding of the individual, psychosocial, and social-structural determinants of HIV risk among Black adolescent girls and emerging adult women. Using a replicable strategy, we searched electronic databases for articles and abstracts published between October 1, 2017 and September 30, 2019 in which the primary focus was on HIV prevention among Black adolescent girls and emerging adults in the United States. In total, 21 studies met the inclusion criteria. Most of the studies on Black adolescent girls assessed family functioning, parental monitoring, and parent-adolescent communication as determinants of HIV-related behaviors. However, equivalent studies were lacking for Black emerging adult women. Moreover, few studies assessed neighborhood characteristics, social networks, or other community-level factors as determinants of HIV-related behaviors, which are known drivers of HIV disparities. Our findings highlighted several gaps in the literature, including failure to recognize the ethnic and cultural differences among Black women that may contribute to behavioral differences within this population and insufficient acknowledgment of the role of HIV protective factors (eg, resilience and community assets). Implications and future directions are discussed.

“My Teacher Doesn’t Like Me”: Perceptions of Teacher Discrimination and School Discipline among African-American and Caribbean Black Adolescent Girls

This study examined the impact of perceived teacher discrimination on the school discipline of African-American and Caribbean Black adolescent girls. The findings are drawn from a nationally representative sample of (n = 410) African-American and (n = 193) Caribbean Black adolescent girls age 13 to 17 (Mage = 15). Results indicate that perceiving discrimination from teachers was associated with higher school discipline (e.g., suspension, expulsion, and spending time in a jail, detention center) for African-American girls. For Caribbean Black girls, higher household income and school bonding was associated with lower school discipline. Older Caribbean Black girls were also more likely to receive higher school discipline. However, perceiving discrimination from teachers was not associated with school discipline for Caribbean Black girls. The developmental significance and implications for future research are discussed.

Black Women’s Sex Lives Matter: Tips for Talking with Your Healthcare Provider

This lesson plan is designed to help participants learn how to partner with their healthcare providers to improve their sexual health. This lesson plan describes how to achieve this goal with cis-gender Black adolescent girls and adult women (ages 16 and older).

Public and private religious involvement and initiation of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use in Black and White adolescent girls.

This longitudinal study aimed to identify variation by race in the associations between religious involvement and initiation of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use, including distinctions by substance or type of religious involvement, in Black and White adolescent girls. Data were drawn from interviews conducted at ages 11 through 17 with 2172 Pittsburgh Girls Study participants (56.8% Black; 43.2% White). Two indicators of public religious involvement, religious service attendance and participation in other religious activities, and two indicators of private religious involvement, prayer, and importance of religion were queried. A series of Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were conducted to identify independent effects of religious involvement indicators on initiation of each substance. Prior to adjusting for socioenvironmental and psychosocial factors (e.g., parental monitoring), importance of religion predicted initiation of alcohol use across race and cigarette and marijuana use in White but not Black girls. Participation in other religious activities also predicted marijuana use initiation only in White girls. In adjusted models, importance of religion remained significant for cigarette use initiation in White girls (hazard ratio [HR]=0.68, 95% confidence intervals [CI]:0.53-0.88) and participation in other religious activities remained significant for marijuana use initiation in White girls (HR=0.63, CI:0.47-0.83). The protective effects of religious involvement against cigarette and marijuana use initiation are more robust for White than Black adolescent girls and overall relatively weak for alcohol use initiation. Furthermore, importance placed on religion may be a better indicator than religious service attendance of risk for adolescent substance use initiation.

A Digital Intervention for HIV Prevention in Black Adolescent Girls

A Digital Intervention for HIV Prevention in Black Adolescent Girls

“Why Doesn’t Anyone Help Us?”: Therapeutic Implications of Black Girls’ Perceptions of Health

The prevalence of overweight and obesity among Black adolescent girls has continued to increase significantly since the 1980s, which indicates that Black girls are disproportionately affected by the obesity health crisis. In addition to risks for negative physical health outcomes, Black girls face the poor psychosocial and emotional consequences of increased weight. Yet, they are less likely to have access to or seek effective treatment. Mixed-methods methodologies were used to examine focus-group responses (N = 15) of Black girls’ perceptions of their health and the factors that they believe influence wellness. Participants cited conflicting information from medical providers and lack of health knowledge as barriers to a healthy lifestyle. They also indicated that their families and communities either promoted or deterred their health outcomes. The unique social experiences of Black girls that facilitate the types of health-compromising behaviors that result in increased weight are highlighted. Recommendations for mental health providers, families, and schools are offered.

Analyzed Selfie: Stereotype Enactment, Projection, and Identification Among Digitally Native Black Girls

This article explores identity development among adolescent Black girls in the context of digitized social media environments. In the age of Web 2.0 technology, Black girls are able to project their image and verbiage to articulate self. In this conceptual article, the phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST) framework is used to understand the identity development of intersecting racial and gender identities among Black adolescent girls. This process of identity development is deemed in relation to and through enactment of sociocultural narratives (stereotypes) of a pending Black womanhood. We consider the psychological implications for mental health and wellness for identity development among digitally native Black adolescent girls, as it occurs publicly and against the backdrop of the constant, dynamic, and interactive social and consumptive media. Implications for clinical work to guide psychological intervention with adolescent digitally native Black girls will be presented.

Normalizing Black Girls' Humanity in Mathematics Classrooms

In this article, Nicole Joseph, Meseret Hailu, and Jamaal Matthews argue that Black girls' oppression in the United States is largely related to the dehumanization of their personhood, which extends to various institutions, including secondary schools and, especially, mathematics classrooms. They contend that one way to engage in educational equity and social-justice-focused education is to teach Black girls in the classroom in a way that is humanizing. With this idea in mind, they explore relationships between Black girls' humanity and mathematics teaching and learning. Using interviews with ten Black adolescent girls representing varying levels of engagement in mathematics and enrolled in middle and high school math courses, the authors argue that inclusive pedagogies can be used to humanize this marginalized student group.

Hair Harassment in Urban Schools and How It Shapes the Physical Activity of Black Adolescent Girls

Hair harassment can be defined as the direct or indirect unwanted, unwelcomed, and offensive behavior made either explicitly or implicitly typically towards women or girls of African descent, based on the texture, look, or subjective assumptions of their hair. The purpose of this investigation is to explore the hair experiences of adolescent girls of African descent in physical education class, and how these experiences shape their decision to participate in physical education class. Thirty-seven adolescent girls of African descent attending school in an urban, low-income community participated in focus groups and follow-up interviews relating to hair experiences. Strong themes of hair harassment emerged occurring socially via peers, physical touching of hair, and verbal comments regarding their hair during physical education class, and society-imposed harassment stemming from pressures to constantly have straight or neatly styled, non-sweaty hair. During the stage of adolescence, girls are exploring their identity and making decisions about who they will be, how they should look, and behave. Findings from this study suggests harassment and bullying policies in schools should extend to include hair harassment for its propensity to influence the self-image of girls and their decisions to participate in physical education class.

A Dyadic Analysis on Source Discrepancy and a Mediation Analysis via Self-Efficacy in the Parental Support and Physical Activity Relationship among Black Girls.

Physical activity (PA) declines in adolescence among black girls. This study assesses how moderate/vigorous physical activity (MVPA) relates to caregiver- vs. adolescent-reported parental support and whether the relationship is mediated by self-efficacy. MVPA was assessed through accelerometry. Parental support and encouragement on adolescents' PA were reported by caregivers and adolescents with a 10-item Social Support and Exercise Survey. Adolescent-reported self-efficacy related to PA was assessed with an 8-item scale. Structural equation modeling assessed source variation (caregiver vs. adolescent report) in the relationship between parental support and MVPA and mediation through adolescent self-efficacy. The sample includes black adolescent girls (n = 272), with mean age of 11.6 years (standard deviation = 0.7), and average MVPA/day of 40.6 minutes. Caregiver/adolescent agreement on parental support was low (weighted Kappa <0.20). There was significant source variation in the parental support-MVPA relationship (Wald χ2 = 4.18, df = 1, p = 0.041); adolescent-reported support was related to MVPA (b = 0.40, standard error = 0.14, p = 0.003) and mediated through self-efficacy (95% bootstrapped confidence interval: 0.05-0.29). Caregiver-reported support or BMI z-score was not related to MVPA. The association between MVPA and adolescent-reported parental support among black adolescent girls is explained by positive self-efficacy. Findings suggest that effective adolescent/caregiver communication around parental support on PA relates to high adolescent self-efficacy and supports objectively measured PA. Additional research is merited to examine longitudinal patterns. Furthermore, although 51.5% of girls in the sample were overweight or obese, the lack of association between MVPA and body composition minimizes its implication for mitigating obesity among overweight/obese black adolescent girls.

"It All Starts With the Parents": A Qualitative Study on Protective Factors for Drug-Use Prevention Among Black and Hispanic Girls.

Using intersectionality theory as a theoretical framework, this qualitative study uncovered the protective factors present among black and Hispanic adolescent girls living in an urban, under-resourced neighborhood in the Northeastern United States. The sample used in this study includes eight focus groups that consisted of adolescent females only (N = 57). Female participants were sampled through six youth-serving summer programs throughout the target city. The female participants were between 11 and 17 years of age, with 73% self-identifying as black (n = 45) and 26% (n = 12) as Hispanic. Thematic analysis using an intersectional approach was used to analyze the narratives of participants in the study. Three main themes arose: environmental context, parent-child communication about drug use, and parental modeling. Participants were critically aware of their environmental context which normalized drug use. However, participants identified protective factors such as parents communicating about drug use and parental modeling to girls in the sample as the most salient factors against substance use in their community. Findings provide insight for researchers, social workers, and interventionists to create and implement family-centered, strengths-based substance-abuse prevention programs that are racial, ethnic, and gender specific for black and Hispanic adolescent girls.

SYSTEMATICALLY SHORTCHANGED, YET CARRYING ON: Black Adolescent Girls in the Detroit Metropolitan School Reform Environment.

School reform policies, such as the closure of "low-performing" schools and the competitive introduction of school choice and charters, were presented to communities of color as the fix to educational inequities and the lifeline needed for urban Black students to have a chance at a quality education and social mobility. The ways in which reforms have under-delivered on this promise, and in some cases exacerbated negative academic outcomes, particularly for Black boys, are documented. Yet, research on the experience of Black adolescent girls is sparse. We explore ways that policies aimed at delivering a school choice environment have affected daily life for Black adolescent girls. We examine this issue in the context of the Detroit metropolitan area with Black adolescent girls, reflecting on their high school education experiences that spanned a time-period of rapid transitions in the schooling environment (2014-2016) prompted by a series of school reforms in Michigan. Through in-depth interviews we found that girls sought to invest in their high school education as a path to college; yet the very reforms advanced as ways to clear this path, hindered their ability to spend time on the human and social capital activities believed to be important to their academic success and social mobility. Our findings suggest advantages for those students with proximal access to high quality neighborhood schools cannot be replicated in a choice environment. There may also be health consequences of the coping strategies girls are compelled to employ to carry on under adverse educational circumstances.

An Inclusive Approach to Exploring Perceptions of Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Physical Activity among Black and African-American Girls: Smart Fit Girls Melanin Magic

Adolescent girls experience high rates of body dissatisfaction and poor self-esteem (SE), as well as low levels of participation in physical activity (PA). Outside of traditional sports, few recreation opportunities exist to promote physical, emotional and mental well-being in adolescent girls, particularly among Black and African-American (AA) girls. In order for parks and recreation organizations to provide programming in a culturally relevant way, it is critical to more deeply understand the lived experiences of Black and AA girls, specifically related to SE, body image (BI) and PA. Doing so will enable leisure professionals to better co-create opportunities to engage Black and AA adolescent girls in programming aimed to promote PA and positive BI and SE. In order to examine girls’ lived experiences with an inclusive lens, Black and AA adolescent girls are considered the experts and should be included in all stages of the process. The purpose of this project was to engage in an inclusive formative evaluation in order to explore perceptions and experiences of PA, SE and BI among a group of Black and AA adolescent girls. Ten adolescent girls formed a leadership council (Smart Fit Girls Melanin Magic) and took the lead on culturally adapting the existing Smart Fit Girls (SFG) curriculum using Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR). A first step, and the focus of this paper, was to explore unique experiences with SE, BI, and participation in PA. Principles of YPAR were utilized to empower the leadership council to participate in thematically coding the group discussion. Girls reported that PA provides positive mental health benefits to girls, and that they experience significant barriers, both internal and external, to being active. While girls self-reported experiencing depressive symptoms related to poor SE, and that being in predominantly white spaces leads to poor SE, they also noted the benefit of engaging in positive affirmations. Girls also reported that social comparison negatively affects their BI, and that hair is a salient factor in BI. Finally, results showed general negative BI among participants, which is compounded by girls’ interactions with others. Results from this inclusive qualitative data analysis will inform the design of new programming within parks and recreation to uniquely support Black and AA girls’ experiences with PA, SE and BI. Authors encourage reflection as a field on evaluation practices and suggest inclusive approaches to better facilitate programming and achieve the social justice and equity goals of parks and recreation. Subscribe to JPRA

Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Program: Examining Black Girls’ Experiences at a Predominately White School

A plethora of research on voluntary school choice programs and the impact on student’s outcomes have been documented. However, lacking are the experiences of students of color attending predominately White schools that are part of these voluntary school choice programs. Using the integrative model for the developmental competencies of minority children as a theoretical lens, the authors explored the racial and gendered socio-emotional experiences of Black adolescent girls (N = 15, Mage = 13.59) who were participants in a voluntary school choice program. Inductive analytic techniques were used to identify themes based on the lived experiences of Black girls within this context. Three themes emerged that centered the intersectionality of race, class, and gender in their experiences including: (1) racial and cultural stereotypes; (2) differential discipline; and (3) academic expectations. Directions for future research and implications for Black girls, who participate in voluntary school choice programs are discussed.

Correction to: The relationship between childhood trauma and alcohol use initiation in Black and White adolescent girls: considering socioeconomic status and neighborhood factors.

In the original article, in Table3, the sentence "Primary caregiver education ≤ 12 years" should be "Primary caregiver education < 12 years". The original article was corrected.