“Other People See Inside of You,Just Because of the Way You Look”: Understanding the Racialized Mental Health Experiences of Black Adolescents

Abstract

Adolescence can be a time of mental health difficulty and social-emotional learning (SEL) programs are a promising approach to support adolescent mental health. However, there remains a need for understanding of how SEL can better support students of color. To that end, a qualitative study was conducted to explore the ways in which SEL programing can be more attentive to and considerate of the daily lives of Black adolescents. Data were derived from focus groups with Black high school students in an urban city in the southern United States. Three main themes emerged as important factors to understand for contextualizing SEL within the lives of Black adolescents and making it more accessible: experiences of racism, mental health stigma, and the perceived Whiteness of mental health programing. These findings help to illuminate ways in which mental health programs like SEL can be better designed to meet the needs of Black adolescents.