Mental Health Promotion for Vulnerable African American Youth

Abstract

Fifty-six African American youth between 10–14 years of age participated in a community-based 14-week expressive arts program designed for youth at risk of involvement with the juvenile justice system. Positive and statistically significant findings for pre-post changes in self-control, protective factors, and resilience were found. Difficulty in engaging parents and the strong racial biases of the community appear to have influenced the lack of improvement in selfesteem scores.