Redressing Social Disparities to Optimize Black Adolescents’ Well-Being

Abstract

Black adolescents in the United States currently face a chronic mental health epidemic, characterized by rising rates of depression, anxiety, and a marked increase in suicidal ideation and behaviors. Central to these disparities is the experience of racism, an overarching risk factor that operates across individual, interpersonal, and structural levels to undermine well-being. This article reviews scientific evidence demonstrating how discriminatory encounters across levels, but particularly structural within schooling, housing, and the justice system, reinforce psychological outcomes for youth aged 16 to 22. To redress these racial harms, the proposed policies support, protect, and promote Black adolescent development. At the internal and interpersonal levels, funding cultural programs would promote healing and critical history education can combat internalized racism. Structurally, policies would expand access to free mental health services, promote restorative justice practices, reenvision academic support, and establish housing reparatory grants. By integrating clinical interventions with systemic reform, policymakers can move beyond traditional symptom management toward the active cultivation of safety, equity, and freedom for Black adolescents.