“Who Am I?” Utilizing a Systematic Review of the Literature to Explore Relevant Black Youth Identity Models for Social Work Practice
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The identity and wellbeing of Black adolescents is often explored in the context of racial development with emphasis on the deficits of the developing youth. Subjected to adultification, racism, and anti-blackness in the United States, Black youth face unique challenges that interventions and theories do not adequately account for. A systematic review was conducted to examine the available applicable models, interventions and theories to answer the following question: In what ways do interventions target the nurturance of Black identity and wellbeing? Several themes emerged including connectedness as a buffer for the developing youth, however, the nurturance of Black identity was not present. Assuming identity development is a monolithic and universal experience, literature fails to examine the complexities of intersecting identities for the developing Black youth.