Poster #120 - "I feel everything…": Early Adolescent Black Girls Illustrate Bodily Reactions To The World Around Them

• In Event: Poster Session 17

Abstract

Early Childhood Interoception involves the awareness of cues and connecting sensations in the body to appropriate responses (Schulz & Vogele, 2015). Body literacy, the identification of physical sensations, is associated with the awareness element of interoception. Previously, researchers have integrated body literacy into body-oriented therapy practices (Price & Hooven 2018). The current study explored how adolescent girls perceived and described their bodies and environment. We used a drawing activity to examine body literacy among a group of 6th, and 7th grade Black or African American girls (N = 7) within an 8-week participatory culture-specific intervention (Nastasi et al., 2004) focused on transformative social and emotional learning (SEL; Jagers et al., 2019) to illustrate their bodily reactions to points of emotional or physical danger in the community. First, researchers instructed participants to illustrate physical warning signs on a body outline by drawing areas that indicate danger or lack of emotional safety. Researchers also instructed them to describe the significance of the signs and if they listened to them. Second, researchers instructed participants to illustrate a map of their environment and assign symbols to indicate a lack of physical or emotional safety. Finally, participants were invited to discuss their drawings with the group. Through thematic analysis (Attride-Sterling, 2001; Braun & Clarke, 2006), we identified two organizing themes and eight basic themes (see Tables 1 and 2). The first organizing theme revealed participants' 'Personal, emotional, and psychological experiences of safety.' Within this, the first basic theme, “My heart beats really fast,” described illustrations of hearts on the figure’s chest. The second, “You know that stomach feeling?” described illustrations of symbols on the figure’s stomach area. The third, “I get chill bumps or the little goose bumps,” described illustrations of dots on the figure’s hand area. The fourth, “My hands get sweaty,” described illustrations of droplets on the figure’s groin or hand area. The second organizing theme revealed participants' "General, public, and material experiences of safety.' Within this, the first basic theme, “This is my house,” described illustrations of houses and symbols representing a lack of safety. The second, “I feel everything at school,” described illustrations of school buildings and symbols representing a lack of safety. The third, “They be cussing and stuff”, described illustrations of people and symbols representing a lack of safety. The fourth theme, “It is not a good neighborhood,” described illustrations of their community and symbols representing a lack of safety. We found a group of early adolescent girls capable of describing internal reactions to conflict in their environment. This revealed their body literacy in relation to potential threats to their physical and emotional safety. This indicates body literacy, the awareness element of interoception, constitutes an important component of culture-specific interventions focused on transformative SEL. Additionally, future interventions can also include the response element of interoception in activities and discussions.

Authors

• Michelle Tobar, Georgia State University
  Presenting Author

• Rebekah Pollock, Georgia State University

• Ann Cale Kruger, Georgia State University