Testing a Healing Intervention with Court-Involved Black Girls and Their Caregivers: A Mixed Methods Investigation

Associate Professor Quinn’s mixed-methods intervention study includes a key innovation—hair cortisol (HC) as a stress biomarker. Twenty-five Black girl-caregiver dyads will provide data on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other outcomes: stress, delinquency, racial identity, etc., over 3-time points. This pilot test assesses the preliminary effects of a single-arm healing-adapted intervention.

Black girls’ overrepresentation in the youth legal system is linked to childhood trauma and PTSD, heightening delinquent behavior. Advocates for interventions involving youth and caregivers to mitigate PTSD symptoms, enhance mental health, and manage stress. The HC biomarker offers immediate insights into stress levels, aiding PTSD impact assessment and intervention strategies.

Stress heightens the risk of adverse health outcomes like cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, and depression. For Black girls in the youth legal system, stress and childhood trauma worsen their health disparities. High PTSD rates, linked to stress and delinquency, lack tailored interventions with HC stress biomarkers needed in social work research.

Quinn’s career goal is advancing Black girl-caregiver dyads‘ health at the intersections of race, healing, and the youth legal system. Through semi-structured interviews with 10 dyads, their analyzed responses will be used to adapt and test the intervention (n=25 dyads) improving Black girls’ wellness and crime desistance. Effectiveness will be assessed in a randomized control trial while documenting its impact for future adoption and sustainability. Promising findings will propel the adapted intervention into a fully powered NIH R34/R01 mechanism to assess effectiveness, deepen understanding of protective mechanisms and risks associated with PTSD, HC stress biomarker, and delinquency.