More than 400 Black girls, ages 11-18, were surveyed for the study. Black Girl Rising Research™ is groundbreaking in size, subject, and scope.
It is the first research of its kind in the state of Ohio and the largest in the nation. The study was conducted in four Ohio cities: Akron, Columbus, Dayton, and Lima. Each city has a population of Black girls higher than the state average, are medium to large urban areas, and the counties in which the cities are located have higher percentages of children living in poverty and youth adjudicated for felonies.
Recruitment Methods
This study was specially designed for community engagement. Women leaders and women who represent organizations and agencies that target their services and programs to adolescent African American girls were invited to serve as conveners for this project in their cities. In each city, Steering Committees were formed. Each committee was responsible for recruiting girls for a focus group and surveys, organizing a girls’ resiliency conference, participating in a community dialogue about the data, presenting their local results to stakeholders, and creating action plans that include a focus on programming and funding for sustaining long-term resiliency in African American girls.
Who Are The Girls
Collective Work And Responsibility
Black Girl Research Reports
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What Do We Know About 411 African American Girls, Ages 11-18 years old in 4 Ohio Cities?
- Columbus
- Dayton
- Akron
- Lima
While Black girls have some opportunities to keep them strong, the trauma they experience results in risky behaviors and emotional functioning related in the data. In addition to building strength and increasing resiliency, the trauma our girls are experiencing needs much more attention from all of us.
live with one parent.
live with birth parents.
live with grandparents or other adult relatives.
do not participate in sports
have hobbies (36% are into TV, videogames, computers; 26% read)
are not involved in any organized activity
have at least 3 chores
like being Black.
like being a girl.
would prefer being a boy.
believe they are treated unfairly just because they are a girl.
believe they are treated unfairly because they are Black
More than 20% of the girls rated in clinical range for depression, somatic complaints,(dizziness; Social problems, thought problems,rule breaking behavior; aggression)
More than 29% of the girls had 2 or more problem behaviors in the clinical range
Over 50% of the girls have been threatened, slapped, hit or punched
over 52% of the girls have witnessed someone being mugged, threatened, hit or punched at school
In their neighborhoods about 30% of the girls have witnessed violences in their neighborhoods.
About 15% of girls have experienced severe violence in their neighborhoods.
Girls have experienced being sexually abused or assaulted in their neighborhoods
57% of the parent of the girls surveyed are divorced
Have experienced emotional abuse.
Have experienced emotional neglect
Of the girls have mothers who have been battered
Have a family member who is incarcerated
Have a family member who is mentally ill.
of the girls had ACE scores from 5 to 10
Had ACE scores of 2-4
