A Peer Support Framework to Address Mental Health Disparities Among Adolescent Black Girls
Open Access DepositedBeyond Stigma and Silence
The findings underscore an urgent need for culturally responsive peer support mental health interventions designed with and for adolescent Black girls. The proposed framework offers a feasible and scalable roadmap for the development, evaluation, and implementation of future interventions. Centering lived experience and community partnerships, this model advances equity-oriented public health practice to reduce stigma, improve help-seeking behaviors, and promote resilience among adolescent Black girls.
Adolescent Black girls experience disproportionate mental health disparities driven by intersecting racial, gendered, and structural inequities, yet culturally responsive and peer support mental health interventions tailored to this population remain understudied. This study sought to assess the existing evidence for peer support mental health interventions for adolescent Black girls and to develop an evidence-informed, community-driven framework to address identified gaps.Methods
No empirically evaluated peer support mental health interventions targeting adolescent Black girls met the inclusion criteria. The absence of eligible studies highlights a significant evidence gap and reflects broader structural inequities in mental health research and intervention development. In response, a CBPR-informed peer support framework was developed that operationalizes theoretical constructs into actionable intervention components, including peer support dialogue, culturally affirming practices, trauma-informed approaches, skill-building, and self-advocacy across community-based settings. Conclusions
A two-phase design was employed. Phase One consisted of a systematic literature review to identify peer support mental health interventions targeting adolescent Black girls. Searches were conducted across ten electronic databases and screened using predefined eligibility criteria. Phase Two involved the development of a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR)–informed peer support intervention framework grounded in existing theoretical and conceptual frameworks. Results
Purpose
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