Poster #63 - Hair Satisfaction Among Black Adolescent Girls

• In Event: Poster Session 05

Abstract

Introduction. Appearance dissatisfaction is a risk factor for depression among adolescent girls (Hyde, Mezulis & Abramson, 2008). While this association is evident across racial/ethnic groups, there may be cultural variations in how girls evaluate their appearance. Within popular media, the importance of body image among adolescent girls is widely discussed; however, few studies have tested whether hair is a particularly important domain of appearance evaluation for Black adolescent girls. A better understanding of appearance concerns in more diverse populations can inform tailored intervention efforts. The goal of this study was to determine if: 1) Black adolescent girls differ in hair satisfaction compared to Latina and White adolescents; 2) whether hair dissatisfaction is more strongly associated with depressive symptoms among Black adolescents (i.e.,, moderating effects of race/ethnicity); and 3) whether hair satisfaction is related to ethnic identity, biracial status, or discrimination experiences among Black adolescent girls.

Methods. Participants were 192 adolescents in a mother-daughter study on adolescent health disparities in a mid-sized, low-income city in the Northeast US (Mean age = 15.1, SD = 1.05; 53% Latina; 27% African-American/Black, 20% non-Hispanic Black; 88% qualified for free/reduced school lunch; 30% living with both biological parents). Forty percent of adolescents had a history of mental health services. Adolescents completed measures via ACASI privately, followed by physical health measures and a mother-daughter interaction task. Current measures include the Adolescent Psychopathology Scale, Body Esteem, Body Parts Questionnaire, Multi Ethnic Identity Measure, and Discrimination Experiences. ANOVAs were used to test for racial/ethnic group differences. Hayes (2013) Process Model 1 was used to test whether race/ethnicity moderated the relation between appearance satisfaction measures and depressive symptoms.

Results. There were no significant racial/ethnic group differences in depressive symptoms, overall appearance evaluation, or satisfaction with any body part except for hair (F (2,187) = 8.71, p < .001). Black adolescent girls reported less satisfaction (M = 2.96, SD = 1.34) than Latinx (M=3.70, SD=1.13, d = .58) and White (M=3.88, SD=.87, d = .80) girls. Race/ethnicity significantly moderated the relation between hair satisfaction and depressive symptoms, but not overall appearance satisfaction and depressive symptoms (see Table 1). While overall appearance dissatisfaction predicted depression for all groups, hair dissatisfaction was a significant predictor only for Black adolescents (see Figure 1). Among Black adolescents, hair satisfaction was not significantly correlated with ethnic identity (r = -.17, p = .22) or discrimination experiences (r = -.10, p = .49)., but was with biracial status (r = .27, p = .05).

Discussion. Findings suggest that hair is a particularly important element of appearance evaluation for Black adolescent girls. Black adolescents reported lower satisfaction with their hair than any other body part, and were less satisfied than White and Latinx peers. Moreover, hair dissatisfaction predicted more depression symptoms only among Black adolescents. This effect was independent of overall appearance satisfaction, which had a similar association to depression across racial/ethnic groups. Implications for culturally tailored programs for enhancing appearance positivity for Black adolescent girls will be discussed.

Authors

• Adenique Lisse, University of Connecticut
  Presenting Author

• Destiny Printz Pereira, University of Connecticut

• Stephanie Milan, University of Connecticut