Resilience: Within-Group Variations in the Impact of Racial Discrimination on Black Youth's Mental Health

Abstract

Growing national concern about the increase in Black youth's suicide rates has led to calls for closer examinations of disparities in young people's mental health outcomes and their underlying causes, including differences in access to healthcare and willingness to use mental health services, and systemic inequities. The present research brief answers this call through a critical analysis of racial discrimination and other adverse mechanisms that perpetuate negative mental health outcomes for Black youth. Our approach draws from principles of developmental psychology and intersectional theory. We begin by arguing for a biopsychosocial consideration of the effects of discrimination on Black youth's development. Then, we review the multilevel impact of racism on mental health outcomes. Although examining global patterns for Black youth as a group has value, our paper will instead focus on within-group differences and the intersecting social factors that shape them. Finally, we end with research-based proposals for policies that prioritize Black youth's well-being.

Critical examination of resilience and resistance in African American families: Adaptive capacities to navigate toxic oppressive upstream waters

“…The social-ecological perspective states that schools can utilize direct and indirect strategies to enhance positive adaptation for children and families (Masten & Motti-Stefanidi, 2020; Ungar, 2011). Directly, schools can utilize school-wide interventions and prevention programs aimed at disseminating an anti-bias curriculum, restorative justice practices, or a school-wide culturally tailored resilience curriculum that highlights the impact of systems on educational outcomes, cultural strengths, and empowerment (Darling-Hammond et al, 2020; Elisha & Collins, 2022; Graham et al, 2017; Richards et al, 2016). Indirectly, school resilience strategies may include fostering relationships between school staff, students, and their families, providing safe learning environments and safe spaces in schools for discussing race and identity, and engaging in culturally responsive teaching and classroom management practices (Amemiya & Wang, 2018; Austin et al, 2022; Brady et al, 2014; Gale, 2020; Goodwin & Long, 2022; Kelly, 2018; Theron, 2016).…”

Looking within: Elevating Black scholarly contributions to empirical approaches in developmental science.

“…Developmental science is currently in a replicability crisis where questions about the trustworthiness of data dominate (Barbot et al, 2020). Black psychology was partially founded to address the trustworthiness of data on Black children and adults, thus for many Black psychologists, the resonating question about the field’s future is “How can we not trust or listen to the data?” With extensive documentation of Black Americans being worse off than their non-Black counterparts, regardless of SES, on most indicators of social, economic, and physiological well-being (see Simons et al, 2018), Black psychologists have long argued for the need to address extant data in ways that advance social change (Elisha & Collins, 2022; McLoyd, 2019).…”