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 (M_age = 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.

The present study examines how race and gender-specific factors (i.e., racial centrality and gender role beliefs) serve as protective assets against the harmful impact of racial and gender discrimination on depressive symptomatology and suicidal ideation for Black girls. Our sample included 232 Black girls ages 15-17 years old (M_age = 16.85) from a socioeconomically diverse community context. Our findings revealed that racial and gender discrimination from teachers was associated with higher levels of depressive symptomatology. Perceived gender discrimination by teachers and endorsing traditional gender role beliefs were associated with higher reports of suicidal ideation. Perceiving higher instances of racial discrimination from teachers and reporting lower levels of racial centrality were associated with higher depressive symptomatology. The findings suggest the need to create safe spaces and to consider the interactions that occur in school settings that impact the mental health of Black girls. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Black girls are regularly exposed to physical, emotional, and psychological violence in schools. Spaces intentionally created for and by Black girls can offer them psychological safety, where they can feel comfortable being their authentic selves. In the current qualitative study, we explored Black adolescent girls’ sense of psychological safety using individual, semi-structured interviews with 16 girls ( Mage = 17.36 years) who participated in Black Girl Magic Crew (BGM), an after-school program in the Southeastern United States. This program was created for and with Black girls and focused on their identity development, mental health, and academic preparation. Drawing on the psychological framework of radical healing and Black feminism in qualitative inquiry, we depicted the practices and curricular elements that enabled the girls to feel psychologically safe in BGM. Findings demonstrated that within BGM, participants (a) were validated, (b) seen in their glory, and (c) freely expressed themselves. The authors discussed the implications of study findings for Black girls’ psychological safety and co-creating Black girl spaces that prioritize liberation and healing.

Black youth overwhelmingly experience racial discrimination (RD). Racial socialization (RS), or racial communication between families, mitigates RD stress by expanding youth coping strategies. Although most Black parents currently discuss racial content with their children, less is known about this RS quality. The burgeoning construct of RS competency, or the skills, confidence, and stress of RS transmission, explores these emotion-focused approaches. Drawing on the racial encounter coping appraisal and socialization theory (RECAST), the current study seeks to depict RS competency through qualitative methods. Through deductive analysis, we examined in-depth interviews from nine parents of 10- to 14-year-olds enrolled in a RS intervention with familial conversations on RD in an urban mid-Atlantic city. Overall, findings support what has been found in quantitative studies of RS competency, particularly that subfactors are related yet unique, parent’s prior experiences impact current practices, and parental concerns for children drive practices and competency. This study also unearthed findings of processes occurring in light of a contentious context for Black adolescents. To our knowledge, this is the first study to qualitatively investigate these emotional and cognitive processes inherent in RS competency, which has future implications for family interventions to disrupt the psychological impact racism exacts on Black adolescents and families.

Although Black women's perfectionist tendencies may mirror other students’, they experience unique academic pressures and expectations due to the intersections of racism and sexism in education. We used stereotype management theory to contextualize the educational experiences of 36 high-achieving Black undergraduate women (18–24 years) attending predominantly white institutions. The women discussed how gendered racial stereotypes of Black women's incompetence, excellence, and anger informed their perfectionist tendencies in both adaptive and maladaptive ways. In the adaptive perfectionist excerpts, we found that while women were cognitively aware of the stereotypes placed on Black women, they used this undue pressure as motivational fuel to persist in their short-term academic and long-term occupational goals. Conversely, maladaptive tendencies included procrastination, burnout from a refusal to take breaks, overcommitment to campus responsibilities, preoccupation with doing everything well, and an intense desire to meet others’ expectations even at the expense of their personal health. Overall, the results suggest that Black women's perfectionist tendencies are a byproduct of trying to achieve educational and occupational success within a racist and sexist society and highlight the myriad ways Black women learn to cope with socially prescribed messages and stereotypes.