Research That Matters (January 17 - 20, 2008)

Purpose: This study examines the subjective experience of urban African American teen girls who have lost friends to murder and how these girls make meaning of this loss. It looks at how the aforementioned influence adolescent identity development in these teens, a process the resolution of which plays an important role in adult functioning (Erikson, 1968/94). Adolescent friendships help shape identity development in important ways. To lose a teen friend to homicide is a stressful relational loss for African American teen girls navigating this developmental phase, a process already stressed by race and gender devaluation (Stevens, 1997). The loss requires coping with trauma and bereavement, adapting to life without the friend, and making meaning of it all. Urban African American teen girls disproportionately cope with this type of loss given the high rate of and great disparity in the number of homicides of urban African American teens compared to teens of other racial and ethnic groups (Child Trend Data Bank, 2005). There are studies that examine the consequences of youth exposure to community violence. Few examine the loss of friends to homicide from the lived experience of African American youth.

Method of the Study: Twenty-one self-identified African American teen girls ages 16 -19 who had lost friends to murder were interviewed in-depth. This nonclinical, purposive sample was recruited from urban public high schools, colleges and communities. A semi-structured questionnaire guided the audio-taped interviews. The transcriptions were analyzed using grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998), the analytical approach (Pidgeon and Henwood, 1996 as cited in Heppner & Heppner, 2004). NVivo 1.3 was the computer software used to analyze the transcripts.

Results: The participants' reactions to this loss ranged from uncomplicated bereavement to bereavement complicated by traumatic stress symptoms. Meaning-making was pivotal in the grief and healing processes of these teen girls. Sustaining emotional ties to their deceased friends through metaphysical ideas served restorative purposes for many. Most teens felt comfort in the idea that there friends were “still around somewhere.” Many participants attributed their subsequent increased motivation to what their deceased friends wanted for them. Spiritual and religious beliefs, while a support for some, were not for all. The majority of the participants expressed increased caution about their environments. The influence of this type of loss on identity development was captured in themes of race, gender, spiritual and religious beliefs, and future life goals. Many teens were able to hold the dual perspective of life not being promised, yet hope for their future. Constitutional factors, meaning-making and natural supports, such as family and friends, contributed to resilience.

Social Work and Research Implications: Knowledge from the analyzed narratives of these teens provides useful information for social work practitioners providing and planning services in urban settings. It is useful on macro policy levels addressing community violence issues in general and this topic specifically. This study provides a model for exploratory research of similar topics with other underrepresented adolescent groups.