The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of an intervention on strengthening resiliency among African American preadolescent girls using a relational and Africentric focus. The hypotheses were that significant increases in Africentric values, ethnic identity, gender role beliefs, and self-concept would follow participation in the intervention. The target population was African American girls aged 10 to 12 years considered at risk based on socioeconomic context. Fifty-five girls were in the intervention group, and 92 girls were in the comparison group. Intervention participants met once a week for 2 hours for 4 months and engaged in exercises and activities designed to increase feelings of self-worth, Africentric values, and ethnic and gender identity. Findings from analyses of covariances indicated that intervention participants scored significantly higher on measures of Africentric values, ethnic identity, and physical appearance self-concept than comparison participants at posttest. The implications of the findings for prevention programs are discussed. AUTHORS' NOTE: This research was supported by a grant from the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) (1HD1 SPO7199). This study reports the results from the first phase (Year 1) of a 2½-year longitudinal intervention. Data used in this study were collected from