Daniela Brissett, MD, completed her fellowship in Adolescent Medicine at CHOP and now is an attending physician at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
As children navigate childhood into adolescence and adolescence into adulthood, it is meant to be a time of innocence, discovery, and development in an environment of careful guidance and structured support. However, Black youth are often perceived as less innocent and more “adult-like” than their White peers, a phenomenon known as “adultification,” which deprives them of this crucial experience. In addition to racism, sexism contributes to the impact of this type of discrimination on Black girls and young women.
We recruited 26 adolescent girls, aged 14 to 20, who self-identify as Black and female, and 25 adult caregivers to participate in a multimodal, qualitative study focused on understanding the lived experiences and health needs of Black female adolescents. Participants were identified from a large, urban hospital-based adolescent specialty practice and recruited in collaboration with a community-based organization for Black girls in Philadelphia. The study involved semi-structured interviews, photo-elicitation exercises, and arts-based projects, allowing participants to authentically reflect on and discuss their experiences, particularly the impacts of adultification. (See participant’s poem below.)
Building Trust Through Community Research
One of the most crucial steps we took was forming genuine relationships with community members and organizations. By partnering with local groups, we ensured the voices of Black girls were at the center of our research. This bidirectional learning process—where researchers and community members learn from each other—was instrumental in shaping our study.
The Black girls played a significant role in designing the study, allowing us to incorporate their insights and experiences and making the research more reflective of their realities.
Our study revealed several critical insights into the lives of Black girls:
- Desire for childhood: Many Black girls expressed a longing to be seen and treated as children. They felt their childhood was often cut short due to adult-like responsibilities imposed on them.
- Impact of hyper-sexualization: Participants shared experiences of being hyper-sexualized because of their race and body shape. This led to feelings of isolation and, in some cases, self-harm behaviors.
- Need for culturally sensitive support: Both youth and their guardians emphasized the need for mental health support that is culturally sensitive and tailored to Black girls’ needs. Guardians also noted the pressures Black girls face to grow up quickly to fit in with their peers.
Implications for Primary Care Providers
For primary care providers, understanding the adultification of Black girls is essential. Here are some key takeaways from this work:
- Recognize adultification: Be aware of the ways Black girls are unfairly treated as older than they are and how this impacts their health
- Culturally sensitive care: Implement care practices that acknowledge and address the unique challenges faced by Black girls
- Advocate for policy change: Use your platform to advocate for systemic changes that reduce the criminalization of Black girls in schools and increase access to culturally sensitive mental health resources.
Moving Forward
Our research highlights the power of community-engaged methodologies and listening to adolescents to better understand their lived experiences. By understanding Black adolescent girls’ lived experiences, providers provide more patient-centered and culturally congruent care for the adolescents in our care. By working closely with community members, we can create more effective and relevant primary care interventions. This approach not only improves the quality of the research but also ensures the findings are grounded in the lived experiences of those most affected.
References and Suggested Readings
Blake JJ, et al. Unmasking the inequitable discipline experiences of urban Black girls: Implications for urban educational stakeholders. The Urban Review. 2011;43(1):90-106. Morris MW, et al. Pushout: the Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools. New York, New York. The New Press, 2018.
Simmons SA. ‘It About Power:’ D.C. students seek to remove bias in school dress codes. WAMU Website. https://wamu.org/story/19/09/04/ its-about-power-d-c-students-seek-to-remove-bias-in-school-dress- codes/. Accessed September 4, 2024.
Brissett D, et al. A multimodal approach to exploring the adultification of black girls and its impact on physical and mental health outcomes. J Adol Health. 2024: Volume 74, Issue 3, S1 - S2.
Daniela Brissett, MD, completed her fellowship in Adolescent Medicine at CHOP and now is an attending physician at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
As children navigate childhood into adolescence and adolescence into adulthood, it is meant to be a time of innocence, discovery, and development in an environment of careful guidance and structured support. However, Black youth are often perceived as less innocent and more “adult-like” than their White peers, a phenomenon known as “adultification,” which deprives them of this crucial experience. In addition to racism, sexism contributes to the impact of this type of discrimination on Black girls and young women.
We recruited 26 adolescent girls, aged 14 to 20, who self-identify as Black and female, and 25 adult caregivers to participate in a multimodal, qualitative study focused on understanding the lived experiences and health needs of Black female adolescents. Participants were identified from a large, urban hospital-based adolescent specialty practice and recruited in collaboration with a community-based organization for Black girls in Philadelphia. The study involved semi-structured interviews, photo-elicitation exercises, and arts-based projects, allowing participants to authentically reflect on and discuss their experiences, particularly the impacts of adultification. (See participant’s poem below.)
Building Trust Through Community Research
One of the most crucial steps we took was forming genuine relationships with community members and organizations. By partnering with local groups, we ensured the voices of Black girls were at the center of our research. This bidirectional learning process—where researchers and community members learn from each other—was instrumental in shaping our study.
The Black girls played a significant role in designing the study, allowing us to incorporate their insights and experiences and making the research more reflective of their realities.
Our study revealed several critical insights into the lives of Black girls:
- Desire for childhood: Many Black girls expressed a longing to be seen and treated as children. They felt their childhood was often cut short due to adult-like responsibilities imposed on them.
- Impact of hyper-sexualization: Participants shared experiences of being hyper-sexualized because of their race and body shape. This led to feelings of isolation and, in some cases, self-harm behaviors.
- Need for culturally sensitive support: Both youth and their guardians emphasized the need for mental health support that is culturally sensitive and tailored to Black girls’ needs. Guardians also noted the pressures Black girls face to grow up quickly to fit in with their peers.
Implications for Primary Care Providers
For primary care providers, understanding the adultification of Black girls is essential. Here are some key takeaways from this work:
- Recognize adultification: Be aware of the ways Black girls are unfairly treated as older than they are and how this impacts their health
- Culturally sensitive care: Implement care practices that acknowledge and address the unique challenges faced by Black girls
- Advocate for policy change: Use your platform to advocate for systemic changes that reduce the criminalization of Black girls in schools and increase access to culturally sensitive mental health resources.
Moving Forward
Our research highlights the power of community-engaged methodologies and listening to adolescents to better understand their lived experiences. By understanding Black adolescent girls’ lived experiences, providers provide more patient-centered and culturally congruent care for the adolescents in our care. By working closely with community members, we can create more effective and relevant primary care interventions. This approach not only improves the quality of the research but also ensures the findings are grounded in the lived experiences of those most affected.
References and Suggested Readings
Blake JJ, et al. Unmasking the inequitable discipline experiences of urban Black girls: Implications for urban educational stakeholders. The Urban Review. 2011;43(1):90-106. Morris MW, et al. Pushout: the Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools. New York, New York. The New Press, 2018.
Simmons SA. ‘It About Power:’ D.C. students seek to remove bias in school dress codes. WAMU Website. https://wamu.org/story/19/09/04/ its-about-power-d-c-students-seek-to-remove-bias-in-school-dress- codes/. Accessed September 4, 2024.
Brissett D, et al. A multimodal approach to exploring the adultification of black girls and its impact on physical and mental health outcomes. J Adol Health. 2024: Volume 74, Issue 3, S1 - S2.