Abstract
Problem Identification: Depression is a dynamic disorder that can have a cascading effect on multiple areas of life. Compared to girls of other races/ethnicities, Black teen girls are less likely to receive mental health treatment despite having the highest rate of suicide. Black girls find themselves in racialized environments that prompt them to conceal trauma leading to being misdiagnosed or under diagnosed for depression. Black girls who are unable to develop a positive self-perception and positive racial identity are at risk of experiencing depression.
Analysis: Racial discrimination is associated with trauma, substance use, and decreased academic achievement. These experiences can deteriorate the racial identity of Black teen girls harming their psychological well-being, leading to anxiety and depression.
Intervention (Solution) Proposal: R.I.S.E. Black Girls (Rising Up to Inspire a Society of Empowered Black Girls) is a community-based intervention made up of four lessons designed to be implemented in South Sacramento with a focus on empowering Black girls to take control over harmful thoughts that threaten the well-being of their mind, body, and spirit, while also creating conditions in Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) schools through policy implementation that support their mental health.
Implementation and Evaluation: Successfully implementing R.I.S.E. Black Girls requires cultivating a coalition of partners with multiple people and organizations in the South Sacramento area to amplify the mental health needs of Black adolescent girls. Non-experimental pre-test and post-test design measures are used to evaluate the main objectives to determine program efficacy among program participants.