A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the

A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Strengths of Black Youths Guerda Nicolas Janet E. Helms Maryam M. Jernigan Theresa Sass Adrienne Skrzypek Angela M. DeSilva Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts The strengths of Black youths lie in their abilities to resist the barriers that they encounter in the various environments in which they exist. Yet the media and social science literature have defined the youths in terms of the pathology of their environments rather than focusing on the assets that Black youths use in such environments. Thus, terms such as inner city, urban, and at-risk are used as proxies for the youths’ personality attributes and themes, such as violence, substance abuse, school underachievement, and family instability are used to define their life experiences. In doing so, the literature suggests that the negative behaviors that it ascribes to Black youths are normative in actuality. In this article, a new framework for understanding the assets of Black youths is provided. The framework highlights the role of racial socialization in the youths’ development of strengths that allow them to cope effectively with barriers. Keywords:

Black; youths; strengths; resistance

There is no doubt that many Black youths in the United States face a society in which the disparities between real and ideal life conditions for them and their communities are stark (Franklin, 2004; Harrison-Hale, AUTHORS’ NOTE: Please address all correspondence regarding this article to Guerda Nicolas, Department of Counseling, Developmental, & Educational Psychology, Lynch School of Education, Campion Hall 305B, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467; e-mail: [email protected]. JOURNAL OF BLACK PSYCHOLOGY, Vol. 34 No. 3, August 2008 261-280 DOI: 10.1177/0095798408316794 © 2008 The Association of Black Psychologists

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McLoyd, & Smedley, 2004). The impact and effects of these disparities are exacerbated by the influence of the media in a capitalist culture that portrays them in the manner(s) that is most profitable regardless of whether such portrayals are accurate or not. Watkins (1998) describes Black youths as getting paid for innovations in music, fashion, and film and as having their cultural products published more aggressively than have previous generations. When one considers the many positive cultural contributions of Black youths, which not only include various art forms but also a history of educational advocacy, it is particularly noteworthy that society has focused on commercializing presumed stereotypic aspects of their lives that allegedly include violence, substance abuse, and denigrations of Black women (Rose, 1994).

AN OVERVIEW OF RESILIENCY Several models of resilience exist in the literature (e.g., compensatory, risk-protective, protective-protective, and challenge; Hollister-Wagner, Foshee, & Jackson, 2001). But for the most part, these models define positive functioning as responses to negative (e.g., inadequate parenting, negative peer influences) or positive (e.g., supportive parenting, positive peer influences) environmental forces (Garmezy, 1991; Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becke, 2000; Masten, Best, & Garmezy, 1990; Masten & Garmezy, 1985). In such models, the individual youth is essentially a blank entity who responds to buffeting environmental forces, most of which are negative. For example, some models of resilience have been used to predict what environmental factors (e.g., parental support, peer influence, neighborhood characteristics) prevent youths from engaging in risky health and mental health behaviors, such as sexual activities, substance abuse, and school disengagement. Missing is a sense of the youths’ active participation in determining who they become. RATIONALE FOR A STRENGTHS-BASED MODEL FOR BLACK YOUTHS

Missing from the dialogue about Black youths is recognition of their capacities to function effectively from adolescence to adulthood regardless of the diversity of the environments in which they have socialized. On the one hand are Black youths who do not grow up in violent or economically deprived environments but still must function in a variety of social contexts that expect the worst of them. On the other hand are Black youths who have socialized in substandard physical environments but still manage to develop effective life skills (Franklin, 1989, 2004). It is likely that most Black youths fall into one of these two functional categories, although contemporary societal mythology does not recognize their existence.


Nicolas et al. / STRENGTHS OF BLACK YOUTHS 263

Moreover, by exploiting Black youths commercially, stereotyping them as dysfunctional, and depersonalizing them, it is possible to blame the youths for experiencing the normal developmental tasks of growing up and to ignore the role that racism plays in making successful completion of normal adolescent developmental tasks even more difficult (Rose, 1994). Rose notes that authority figures perceive all Black youths as threats to society and, consequently, the youths are routinely subjected to suspicion and hostility and other forms of racism specific to their phase of development. Thus, Black youths are affected by racism at a crucial time in their development— the transition from childhood to adulthood. In those rare instances in which positive contributions of Black youths have been acknowledged in the educational and psychological literature, the conceptual frameworks have emphasized an ideology of cultural deprivation in which “resilient” Black youths are studied and recognized for their outstanding ability to survive or recover from barriers (Spencer, 2005). Inherent in this perspective is the assumption that the typical existence of Black youths is negative and that they are passive recipients of such experiences. Perhaps, because of this pervasive philosophy there are no positive conceptual frameworks by which to understand or study (a) the process by which Black youths develop psychological strengths, (b) the ways in which they use these skills to function in hostile contexts, or (c) the manners in which the youths’ attributes relate to positive outcomes. DEFINITIONS AND TERMINOLOGY

In this article, we propose a conceptual framework called the Strengths and Coping Model for Black Youths (Figure 1). The model attempts to describe the interplay among barriers, racial socialization, and coping strategies as they pertain to Black youths. In presenting a strength-based approach, we use the concepts of strengths rather than protective factors and emphasize the role of racial socialization in shaping the strengths of Black youths. The term protective factors comes from the resilience literature and implies that Black youths ought to be protected, usually by outside forces, from oppressive environments in order to prevent psychological withdrawal or disengagement from contexts that are critical to the development of fully functioning adults (e.g., schools; Masten & Coatsworth, 1998). We use strengths to refer to active coping strategies that youths learn to use to alter environments or their reactions to adverse environmental contexts. Our strengths-based model, proposed in this article uses resistance rather than resilience to describe healthy functioning of Black youths, because the concept of resistance incorporates the principle of active involvement of youths in changing oppressive environments rather than being shaped or debilitated



STRENGTHS OF BLACK YOUTHS Racial Pride Critical Consciousness Racial Identity

BARRIERS

General Developmental

RACIAL SOCIALIZATION

COPING STRATEGIES

Cultural Resources

Withdrawal

Racial Issues

Religion

Resiliency

Education

Family

Resistance

Figure 1: A Strengths-Based Model for Black Youths NOTE: Strengths evolve from racial socialization (cultural resources) and are used to cope with general and racial barriers to healthy development.

by them even if there are no outside forces available to protect them (Spencer, 2005; Watts, Williams, & Jagers, 2003). For our purposes, healthy functioning or development is defined as attitudes or behaviors that enhance the person’s quality of life and promote the successful achievement of life goals. It should be noted in advance that our model is intended to represent a framework for beginning to teach, practice, and collect empirical data with respect to strengths and resistance given that relatively little such information currently exists in the professional, psychological, or educational literature.

BLACK YOUTHS’ STRENGTHS In order to formulate a strengths-based model, it is necessary to speculate about the strengths or attributes underlying the successes of Black youths that are so often ignored or downplayed. Linley and Harrington’s (2006) definition of strength is “a natural capacity for behaving, thinking,



or feeling in a way that allows optimal functioning and performance in the pursuit of valued outcomes” (p. 88). For Black youths, strengths lie in their abilities to analyze situations for race-related power imbalances and to negotiate the related challenges or barriers to optimal functioning from a position of pride in oneself, self-esteem, and affirmative self-agency (i.e., a belief that one can make a positive difference) throughout their development. Strengths can be examined from the level of the person, interpersonal relationships, or the system. At the person level, self-esteem, positive racial identity, cultural knowledge, and critical consciousness are examples of strengths that an individual Black youth might use to cope with barriers. The capacity to form and maintain positive and informed relationships with family, peers, and community are strengths that allow Black youths to network and navigate potentially hostile situations. Systemic strength is the capacity to use personal and interpersonal skills to analyze situations and change or cope with them without self-destructing (Franklin, 1989).

BARRIERS TO POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT Whereas all adolescents experience general developmental issues, Black youths experience racial and environmental barriers (e.g., lack of adequate educational resources) that potentially have a special impact on their overall development (Harrison-Hale et al., 2004). As a result of the tendency to depersonalize Black youths, often the complexity of their general developmental issues goes unrecognized. Moreover, because society and sometimes their local communities deny the impact of race and racism on children’s development, the barriers that Black youths face are not acknowledged and very few programs or socialization practices are in place to eliminate the systemic barriers as opposed to teaching the youths to rebound from them (Franklin, 2004). Our conceptual framework addresses each of these types of barriers—general, racial, educational—from a strengths-based perspective. GENERAL DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES

Typically, adolescents face general developmental issues concerning independence, self-image, sexuality, peer relationships, and educational and vocational goals. In addition, adolescence may be the first time youths have the freedom to venture out from their family and home environments and spend more time in community settings, such as malls, schools, and restaurants (Sellers, Copeland-Linder, Martin, & Lewis, 2006). For the first time, many



adolescents are exposed to ideas and attitudes different from those of their immediate families and communities. These experiences in public spaces may not only increase the risk of experiencing discrimination but may also provide opportunities for adolescents to reject or confirm some of their existing beliefs about themselves and society. The adolescents’ early beliefs, attitudes, and experiences with their families influence their reactions to the inevitable challenges of going out into the world (Rice & Dolgin, 2002). According to Stevenson, Reed, Bodison, and Bishop (1997), adolescents experience and act on the world by internalizing messages that affirm or thwart positive identity development. Collectively, these social experiences construct a frame of reference against which all other experiences are measured. This framework also guides adolescents’ development of attitudes, values, and behaviors (Stevenson et al., 1997). What makes Black adolescents’ development unique is that the general developmental issues must be grappled with and understood within environmental contexts where racism still flourishes (Franklin, 2004). Moreover, Black youths must negotiate and integrate multiple and sometimes conflicting identities, including race, class, and gender (Stevenson et al., 1997; Ward, 2007). Developing a healthy or self-fulfilling frame of reference within a social context that is often discriminatory and stressful is a challenge that Black youths face. For example, Black youths must develop positive physical self-esteem in a society that sexualizes them regardless of gender and defines physical attractiveness as something that they are not (Spencer, 2005). Current theories about adolescent development are based on the experiences of White youths and are only superficially pertinent to the developmental tasks of Black youths (Clark, 1989). As Stevenson et al. (1997) emphasize, Black youths “require messages and socialization [experiences acknowledging] that the tasks [specific] to their identity struggles can be completed apart from comparisons with the rest of the world” (p.10). RACIAL ISSUES

Studies of Black youths suggest that adolescence may be a period of increased vulnerability to racial issues, such as discrimination and related stressors (Franklin, 1989, 2004; Harps, 2005; Peretti & Wilson, 1995). Fischer and Shaw (1999) reported that many Black adolescents selfreported experiencing racial discrimination at school. Sellers et al. (2006) contended that the risk of exposure to racism is greater for African American adolescents than for adolescents of other racial or ethnic groups. Understanding, analyzing, and gleaning self-affirming data from conflicting societal messages about racial group membership, discrimination, and



historical racial hatred can be particularly stress-inducing for Black adolescents (Stevenson et al., 1997). To enhance healthy coping, Stevenson et al. suggest encouraging youths to speak about their identity struggles. The authors posit that youths who are aware of racism and the history of racial oppression in the United States are better able to cope in racist environments. Families can foster healthy resistance through role modeling intra- and inner-group interactions, having conversations about race and discrimination with their children, and promoting awareness of sociopolitical realities of oppression. EDUCATION

American schools represent microcosms of the larger society (ColeTaylor, 2003; Santelises, 2004; Yirenkyi, 2003). Indicators of institutional discrimination within school settings include inequities in school funding, overcrowding, low teacher expectations for students of color, less qualified teachers, absence of African American teachers, and limited access to higher-level courses (Cole-Taylor, 2003). Indicators of person-level discrimination are racial stereotyping and low or stereotypic expectations of teachers and peers (Helms, 2003b). Fashola (2003) and Osbourne (1997) contend that American school systems can create environments that alienate students. Within school environments, the meaning of race for Black youths is informed by their experiences within the school setting, their homes and communities, and society more generally (Ferguson, 2000). Ferguson contends that educators expect 11- and 12-year-old Black boys to be headed for jail, but she argues that the boys might not simply internalize these expectations but instead learn to evaluate the messages’ sources and the motivation of the educators. A personalized process of defining the meaning of race for each student acts as a foundation for helping each student make sense of and interpret the inevitable racial, social, and educational challenges that they encounter in school settings. The nature of the school environment plays a major role either in contributing to or in contesting society’s view of Black youths as underachieving. Depending on the school setting, a student may receive messages regarding his or her particular racial group that imply a deficit or strength. Tyson, Darity, and Castillino (2005) found that when covert messages were relayed to students based on their perceived racial group membership, they adversely affected low-achieving students’ perceptions of their ability to succeed. In those settings where Black students are not present in advanced courses, Black youths receive indirect messages that reinforce the stereotype of intellectual inferiority. Perry, Steele, and Hilliard (2003) have the following to say.



[The] task of achievement, we would argue, is distinctive for African Americans because doing school requires that you use your mind, and the ideology of the larger society has always been about questioning the mental capacity of African Americans, about questioning Black intellectual competence. (p. 5)

To counter the effects of the inherent negative racial experiences that Black youths face in the schools they attend, racial socialization experiences have been identified as quintessential factors in the process of creating resistance for Black youths (Constantine & Blackmon, 2002; Helms, 2003a; Yirenkyi, 2003). Educational researchers have documented that Black youths’ capacities to identify obstacles to success, particularly those beyond their control, assist them in the process of preparing for and achieving future goals (Cole-Taylor, 2003; Noguera, 2003). Despite attempts to study and understand the academic achievement of Black youths, few authors have embedded their research in a historical understanding of the variables that relate to Black students’ experiences in school. Perry et al. (2003) ask, “How have African Americans, over generations, succeeded in maintaining their commitment to education and producing a leadership and intellectual class” (p. 7)? The authors frame their understanding of high achievement for Black youths through an analysis of the historical ramifications that learning has had for Black individuals. From Perry et al.’s (2003) perspective, acquiring an education has always represented liberation to Black people themselves and so they have attempted to acquire it by self-help methods (e.g., freedom schools) and litigation (e.g., Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 1954) even when doing so meant risking their lives. The debates about academic achievement have not included the fact that the ideal of an “equal” educational opportunity for all students is a relatively new phenomenon and is not yet a reality for the majority of Black youths (Davis, Johnson, Cribbs, & Saunders, 2002; Saddler, 2005). Prior to the implementation of legislation that requires conformance to the same academic standards for all students, Black people were not permitted to pursue the basic tools of the educational experience. Black enslaved people, for example, were seen as a threat if they learned to read. Watts et al. (2003) note that “the educational system controlled by former slave masters was a system of indoctrination that reinforced European cultural hegemony. It promoted the internalization of oppression” (p. 186). Even when formal chattel slavery was abolished, inequality in the forms of disparate resources and negative teacher expectations prevailed. Blacks’ access to formal education has been systematically limited. For those persons



who were able to complete various levels of schooling, access to employment opportunities that were congruent with their levels of training and ability were virtually nonexistent. Arguably, this trend continues today (Blustein, 2006; King & Madsen, 2007; Rollins & Valdez, 2006). In spite of the discriminatory contexts in which Blacks have lived and still live, they have continued to pursue education and to achieve accomplishments that ought to directly counteract suppositions that they are incapable of academic success. Spencer (2005) contends that youths of African descent and their families and communities have a long history of valuing education as a desirable outcome of adolescence. Yet achievement of positive academic outcomes has had to occur in environmental contexts in which devaluations of their physical characteristics (e.g., skin-color pigmentation), scarcity of economic resources, and questioning of their intellectual competence have predominated. Nevertheless, Spencer found that cultural socialization, consistent parental monitoring, and positive perceptions of school climate helped some of the mostly Black youths of color in her sample to resist negative socialization messages, develop positive self-perceptions, and achieve academically.

PARENTAL RACIAL SOCIALIZATION Parents foster the development of strong youths through racial socialization. Parental racial socialization is defined as “[entailing] multiple direct and indirect messages that African American parents teach children about African American culture and history, the realities of racism, and how to cope with racism effectively” (Thornton, Chatters, Taylor, & Allen, 1990, p. 64). Thornton et al. divided parental racial socialization into two broad categories: cultural resources and cultural pride. CULTURAL RESOURCES

Cultural resources are sources of external support to the youths, such as religion and spirituality and availability of extended family networks, which might be used to overcome barriers. Religion. For many African Americans, spirituality is a key source of strength and tenacity that “integrates [their] individual and collective lives with all other realms of existence, including nature, humanity, the spirit



world, and God’s world” (Nicolas, Gonzalez-Eastep, & DeSilva, 2006, p. 444). Researchers have reported that African Americans often described feeling most spiritual during prayers, recital of psalms, and preaching (Baer, 1984; Ellison, Boardman, Williams, & Jackson, 2001; McAdoo, 1981; Musgrave, Allen, & Allen, 2002). The Black churches (of various sizes and denominations) have historically served as multifunctional community centers that help African Americans to cope with race-related stress and discrimination and provide comfort and security in a hostile White world (Billingsley, 1992). Another equally important function of the Black church is facilitating social change and providing social justice programs for youths, elderly, and the sick within their respective communities. Today, many Black churches across denominations have programs for youths that provide after-school tutoring and mentoring, teen groups, parenting groups, and after-school sports for their younger members (Boyd-Franklin, 2003). Churches play a vital role in infusing youths with messages of strength and hope. Additionally, many churches provide Black youths opportunities to develop interpersonal, organizational, and leadership skills that can help them in their educational and work pursuits. Family. The family socialization of Black youths involves parents and other family members’ instilling values that reflect Black ethnic culture(s) and the racial historical experiences of Black families in the United States. These values have been instrumental to Black families’ survival and are reflected in the positive development of Black youths (Hill, 1999; Taylor, Chatters, Tucker, & Lewis, 1990; Thornton et al., 1990). Some examples are role flexibility, domestic and child care responsibility in the household, and other shared household roles (Billingsley, 1992; Nobles, 1985). Additional values that children are taught are the importance of helping those who are not blood-related, participation in self-help initiatives, and strong work, achievement, and religious orientations (Billingsley, 1992; Boyd-Franklin, 2003; Harrison-Hale et al., 2004; Hill, 1999; Mitchell & Logan, 1996; Smith, 1996). CULTURAL OR RACIAL PRIDE

Cultural pride messages are positive racial socialization experiences intended to foster positive racial self-concepts (e.g., racial identity) and critical skills for understanding the racial dynamics of one’s social contexts (e.g., critical consciousness). Thus, our definition of racial pride is the capacity of Black youths to use racial identity and critical consciousness



skills and resources to recognize racism and discriminatory experiences and to value themselves and resist personal and institutional racism in their lives and in environmental contexts. Families may nurture and encourage the development of youths’ cultural and racial pride, which serves to counteract the negative messages youths receive from the dominant society and media (Coard, Wallace, Stevenson, & Brotman, 2004). Critical consciousness. The capacity to critically evaluate various situations for racial power imbalances, to weigh one’s options for coping with such situations, and to engage in personal and collective agency as necessary is what we mean by “critical consciousness.” According to Hughes et al. (2006), being involved in positive racial socialization processes helps Black youths to learn the skills to cope with racism in their own lives. Ward (2007) contends that Black youths’ capacity to think critically about racism, sexism, and social class bias is a strength. Raising awareness around the political nature of race is a crucial component of development for Black youths, but is not sufficient. Equally, if not more, important are teaching and allowing them to practice a set of skills that enable them to cope with racially related stress, define their own identities, and act as political agents of social change. Effective racial socialization creates a sociopolitical identity as described by Watts et al. (2003): “In a struggle against racial oppression, African Americans benefit from a strong sense of self that incorporates both the cultural and sociopolitical aspects of their African heritage” (p. 187). Racial identity. Although many authors use “racial identity” and “ethnic identity” interchangeably, as previously noted, we do not. Typically, investigators do not study the types of cultural traditions, values, and beliefs that differentiate Black ethnic groups, such as indigenous African Americans, Haitians, and so on (Juby & Concepcion, 2005). Herein, if an author’s findings are based on ostensible physical properties of a person (i.e., racial categories), then it is racial identity, even if the argued authors referred to the categories as “ethnic.” Methodologies are available for studying ethnic identity (e.g., values, customs), but these have rarely been used to study Black youths. Wills et al. (2007) examined relationships among ethnic pride (actually racial pride) and risk and protective factors for African American youths. They investigated the hypothesis that positive perceptions of one’s racial group are central to the development of positive racial identity, a positive self-image, and a sense of interconnectedness with other similar ethnic groups. Wills et al. found that caretakers who use parenting skills involving “high levels of monitoring with consistent use of inductive



discipline” (p. 51) tended to have conversations to facilitate the racial socialization process and promote positive racial and ethnic self-esteem. Positive social attitudes related to racial pride seemed to serve as strengthenhancing factors for youths, preventing them from engaging prematurely in risky behaviors, such as substance use or sexual experimentation (Wills et al., 2007). It is worth noting that for many Black youths use of interpersonal skills to seek out surrogate parental figures when their biological parents are unavailable for instilling positive social attitudes related to racial pride is a strength. For Black youths, attitudes and feelings about an ascribed racial group and oneself as a presumed member of the group are essential components of racial identity development (Helms, 2003a). Racial identity development refers to the internalized political and psychological effects of being categorized as a member of one racial group rather than another (Helms, 1990). The manifestation of a positive Black racial identity requires the capacity to hold on to the positive aspects of one’s own racial group (e.g., history, accomplishments), while adapting to what is utilitarian from White society. However, the development of a positive racial identity can be inhibited by conflicting messages about race that Black youths receive from society (Stevenson et al., 1997). Mainstream literature on child development does not clearly articulate the role of racial identity in the developmental process (Garcia-Coll & Magnuson, 2000; Gibbs & Huang, 2003). Ogbu (1997) asserts that the development of children of color is studied out of context, thereby, limiting the ability of psychology to provide an informed analysis of the development of these children. Identification of normative patterns of development in minority children requires development of culturally valid formulations of deviance, resilience, and resistance (McLoyd, 1999). The process of identity formation for ethnic and linguistic minority children also requires them to integrate relevant principles of ethnicity (Swanson, Spencer, Dell’Angleo, Harpalani, & Spencer, 2002). Being different from the majority norm with respect to racial ascription, ethnicity, or both makes the transition into adolescence significantly different and difficult for ethnic minorities (Swanson et al., 2002).

COPING STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH BARRIERS Black youths exist in a society that exposes them to numerous unacknowledged barriers that place them at risk. Barriers include ongoing exposure to racially discriminatory institutional laws, policies, and practices



(e.g., legalized segregated schools); devaluing of their ethnic culture (e.g., media exploitation); and personal racial discrimination (e.g., being called racial slurs). Helms (2003a) contends that during adolescence parents gradually lose direct influence as socializing agents. As Black youths become more involved in the world outside of the family, parental influence is potentially replaced by other authority figures (e.g., teachers), peers, and institutions (e.g., schools; Rice & Dolgin, 2002). It is during this phase of development that Black youths must begin increasingly to depend on their own resources to cope with racism and discrimination in various aspects of their lives. Three possible ways that Black youths might cope with these barriers are withdrawal, resiliency, or resistance. WITHDRAWAL

Withdrawal is defined as the physical or psychological removal of oneself from stressful racial situations. It might be used strategically as in the case where Black boys are socialized to suppress their anger at being treated unfairly by police officers as a means of living through such encounters. Withdrawal in such cases might better be called defusing potentially explosive situations and having the skills to do so might be called strengths. Defusing is an example of resilience if that is where the encounter ends but resistance if the youth takes proactive steps (e.g., filing a complaint) to redress his or her grievance. Psychological withdrawal, which is sometimes called disengagement in the educational literature, is the removal of all mental, emotional, and physical energy from the racially discriminatory environment, task, or interaction. It is a passive reaction to racial stressors. For adolescents, passive withdrawal is most evident in school settings but may occur in response to other environmental barriers as well. When a young person uses this strategy, it is neither resilience nor resistance, but may signal psychological problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, and loneliness). Research on depression has shown that Black adolescents, who use passive withdrawal as a coping strategy, may exhibit increased anger, aggression, and irritability rather than classic symptoms of sadness and decreased energy often associated with depression (Choi, 2002). The prevalence of these symptoms among Black boys between the ages of 10 and 14 years might account for their increased suicide rates (Harvey & Rauch, 1997; Hopps, Tourse, & Christian, 2002; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001) and Black girls’ increased levels of violence (DuRant, Cadenhead, Pendergrast, Slavens, & Linder, 1994). It is well-known in the mental health literature that internalized anger, aggression, or irritability



may lead to self-destructive behavior when other options are not available (Davis, 1960; Monk, 1987). Educational withdrawal or disengagement is situation specific and refers to how students cope with stressful school environments in which they feel powerless to change the offending situation. Based on her review of literature, Helms (2003a) contends that for students who remain in school, this type of withdrawal may take one of three forms: (a) participate only in same-race activities and avoid achieving too much so as not to be perceived as showing off, (b) focus only on academic achievement but disengage from the school otherwise, or (c) manifest symptoms of psychological withdrawal, “merely marking time in the school environment until they can be released from parental pressure to attend” (p. 156). With respect to the latter form of educational withdrawal, she reported that students were more likely to withdraw from school (i.e., drop out) if they had negative educational experiences, such as conflicts with other students, teachers, or staff. For Black adolescents, specifically, devaluation of their racial group or of them as members of a racial group might serve as catalysts for educational withdrawal if they have not developed other coping skills (Helms, 2003a). RESILIENCE

Black youths are often seen as resilient when they are able to overcome adversity or substantial risk factors. Resilience is generally defined as “manifested competence in the context of significant challenges to adaptation or development” (Masten & Coatsworth, 1998, p. 206). Although resilience is often interpreted as the ideal coping strategy for Black youths, in fact, it is their capacity to continue to function in the face of adversity, even if the adversity is long lasting. For example, Black youths who manage to graduate, attend college, and obtain a professional degree in spite of being in school environments in which they are racially stereotyped on a daily basis are often extolled as role models. Because resilience is a passive externally driven coping strategy, the long-term physical and mental health consequences generated by this form of coping are invisible until later in life. Long-range consequences of resilience or passive coping include health factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancer (Neighbors & Jackson, 1996). RESISTANCE

Ward (2007), who defines resistance for liberation as being able to critically think about and challenge oppression, found that for Black adolescents resistance consisted of three components. They were (a) an oppositional



consciousness, which is the ability to maintain a political perspective that reflects the truth about oppression; (b) effective resistance skills that help youths to interpret and counter biases and hostility; and (c) critical thinking skills about race, class, and gender. Watts et al. (2003) describe the process by which resistance develops as involving critical awareness about self and others, skills to analyze and act when necessary, and knowledge in community organizing leading to social change. Thus, by both definitions, resistance is an active internally driven coping strategy that allows adolescents to act on their environment(s) in ways that protect their self-esteem and racial identity while they are attempting to change the environment to be less pathogenic. It is worth noting that Black youths were using resistance when they served as the instigators or catalysts for much of the civil rights activism that occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, including racial integration of public schools (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 1954) and public accommodations. Moreover, Black youths have borne the brunt of school integration in contemporary society, as often the only means for Black youths to acquire a quality education is to allow themselves to be bussed to predominantly White hostile or null educational environments and to not withdraw when racial and general stressors accrue (Helms, 2003a). Thinking in a systematic fashion about the strengths that enable Black youths to engage in resistance rather than other coping strategies ought to facilitate parents’, educators’, and researchers’ efforts to enhance the youths’ transitions from adolescence to adulthood.

A STRENGTHS AND COPING MODEL FOR BLACK YOUTHS Most models of development define positive adjustment of Black adolescents as the extent to which they conform to general developmental tasks, but ignore the effects of racial barriers on their well-being. Yet if educators or researchers focus exclusively on real or anticipated negative behaviors of Black youths, then they risk pathologizing individual youths and ignore their strengths. To overcome educators’ and researchers’ resistance to conceptualizing Black adolescents from a strengths-based rather than a deficit model, it is necessary to define a model of strengths and coping with Black youths as its focus. Figure 1 summarizes Black youths’ use of strengths, as previously discussed, to respond to general developmental, racial, and educational barriers. Collectively each of the components that have been described so far form the basic framework for understanding the strengths and coping strategies of Black youths. The framework potentially can be used in



research and practice to understand the experiences and developmental issues of this population. For each of the components of the model illustrated in Figure 1, we offer some research and practice recommendations for how to potentially use it effectively. Although Black youths are the focal population in the model, it is important to recognize the ethnic heterogeneity of adolescents that society classifies as African Americans (e.g., Haitians, Jamaicans). Nevertheless, Black youths will often experience similar racial dynamics even if they (or their parents) do not perceive themselves as African Americans. Consequently, they will face similar general developmental, racial, and educational barriers. In research and practice, it is important to acknowledge and differentiate the different types of barriers, because coping with them effectively requires different knowledge and skill sets. General developmental issues might include concerns, such as puberty, interdependence, and self-esteem. Race-specific barriers might include racial concerns, such as discrimination in the classroom, racial stereotyping, and issues of subordination. Effective racial socialization enables the youths to recognize the difference between these types of barriers and to cope with them effectively. As a result of racial socialization, to manage the stressors associated with daily experiences of racism in their lives, Black youths may employ strategies that either enhance or impair the quality of their functioning. It might be judicious to conceptualize coping strategies as lying along a continuum ranging from passivity or hopelessness to activism. On this continuum, withdrawal is the least effective in changing environments to promote achievement of life goals, resilience is the intermediate, and resistance is the most effective. When the educational and psychological literature focus exclusively on educational and psychological withdrawal as if they define the majority of such youths, they ignore the variety of coping styles that Black youths use. Meaningful practice and research involving Black youths should acknowledge that most Black adolescents engage in effective coping that includes resilience to some extent and resistance to a greater extent. Although practitioners and researchers have begun to examine resilience as a coping strategy, it is not the most effective long-term method for Black youths to use to cope with daily racial life stressors. Instead, resistance or active attempts to change ones environmental context for the better should be examined more extensively in this population when coping strategies are of concern. In sum, understanding the development of Black youths from a strengths-based framework should lead to eradication of the negative perceptions that currently exist among educators, researchers, and practitioners when Black youths are the focus of their inquiry. A positive framework



for examining the developmental issues of Black youths will provide educators and other service providers with the tools to more effectively attend to the needs of Black youths in this country. The proposed model provides a framework for attending to various aspects of Black youths’ development— racial and nonracial—or at least for specifying which one is the focus of inquiry.

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