Breiana Williams’s research while affiliated with Louisiana State University in Shreveport and other places

The purpose of this study was to examine challenges Black adolescents may experience because of COVID-19 and coping strategies employed to navigate their reported difficulties. The current study used secondary data analysis to understand how Black U.S. adolescents’ positive images of God contributed to their emotional well-being in response to stressors associated with COVID-19. Data from a larger study were extracted from 11 Black adolescents’ (Ages 12–17; 54.5% female) individual interview transcripts; and the research team used an interpretative phenomenology process to analyze the data. Participants’ experiences of God as a (a) Teacher, (b) Powerful Being, and (c) Comforter served as robust contributors to their feelings of strength, hope, assurance, calmness, contentment, and motivation, despite the challenges they encountered. This study presents a culturally responsive approach to understanding and potentially responding to Black adolescents’ mental health needs during the COVID-era.

We conducted a meta-synthesis to understand how religious/spiritual struggles are linked to Black adolescents’ and emerging adults’ mental health, considering their various socio-demographic identities. To address this research aim, we reviewed and synthesized qualitative data from 19 studies that included the voices of approximately 382 Black adolescents and emerging adults. Data were analyzed using a seven-step meta-ethnography analysis approach. Findings revealed three themes highlighting contributors to Black youths’ negative mental health in relation to their religious/spiritual struggles: (a) Rejected and Unloved, (b) Abandoned and Dismissed, and (c) Doubt, Disengaged, and Reconciliation. Moreover, difficult religious/spiritual experiences were nested within contextual issues associated with typical developmental milestones (i.e., increased sexual activity and religious/spiritual identity development) and participants’ race, gender, sexual orientation, and mental health status (and related trauma). This meta-synthesis provides a foundation for understanding and responding to Black youths’ religious/spiritual struggles when providing culturally responsive and social justice-oriented mental health support.