African American Adolescents

African American Adolescents' Emotional Development: Understanding Risk Behaviors and Positive Youth Development in Cultural Context

Presented by the Center for Research on Race and Ethnicity in Society

Adolescents engage in risk behaviors (i.e., substance use, aggression and fighting, sexual risk behaviors) at an alarming rate, and particularly when they are with their peers. These behaviors are preventable as developmental process such as emotion regulation are highly amenable to treatment and intervention. Dr. Rileys research in psychology and developmental science uses an integrative cognitive-affective-social framework for understanding both adolescent risk behaviors and positive development. In this talk, Dr. Riley will discuss how cultural context shapes the emotional development of African American adolescents and their subsequent decisions to engage in behaviors that are either risk-related or prosocial in the context of their peers. In addition, Dr. Riley will consider how African American adolescents and their families contend with emotions and risk behaviors within a cultural context that includes racial-ethnic discrimination experiences. Dr. Riley's research is informed by her experiences as a multisystemic family therapist, and seeks to inform the development of risk behavior interventions that are culturally relevant for African American youth.

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