Peer-reviewed article
Protective Relationships, Adultification, and Sexual Risk Among Black Adolescent Girls: Examining Maternal, Paternal, Peer, and Community Influences.
Crooks N, Snow Hill N, Bushnell A, Barrie R, Castelin S et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how adultification—the bias of viewing Black girls as more adult-like and less innocent—affects their sexual risk behaviours. The research involved 575 Black girls aged 9-18 and found that peer friendships partially explained the link between adultification and sexual risk, while parental and community protections had limited direct effects. The findings suggest that peer relationships may amplify rather than buffer the harmful effects of adultification on girls' sexual health. Programs aimed at protecting Black girls' sexual health should focus on creating peer environments that support healthy development.
Key points
- Adultification of Black girls hyper-sexualizes them and increases vulnerability to early sexual activity and sexual abuse
- In a parallel mediation model examining all protective factors, peer friendship was the only significant pathway between adultification and sexual risk
- Greater adultification was associated with stronger peer friendships, which in turn was associated with greater sexual risk
- Maternal and paternal relationships and community protection did not significantly mediate the relationship in the full model
- The study included 575 Black girls aged 9-18 years
Limitations
The study is cross-sectional, so causality cannot be established—it is unclear whether adultification leads to risk through friendships or whether other unmeasured factors explain both. The sample is limited to Black girls in the United States, so findings may not generalize to other populations or contexts.
Abstract
The adultification of Black adolescent girls, viewing them as less innocent and more adult-like, has implications for their sexual and psychological well-being. Adultification creates bias, which hyper-sexualizes Black girls, increasing vulnerability to early sexual activity, sexual abuse, and lack of support, while hindering their ability to seek protection. However, protection from parents, peers, and communities may play a critical role in mitigating this risk for Black girls. The current study examined the role of maternal, paternal, peer friendships, and communal protective factors in mediating the association between adultification and sexual risk among Black girls. Girls' responses (N = 575), 9-18 years old, were analyzed. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to estimate the mediating effects of protective factors (mother, father, friendship, and communal) on adultification and sexual risk. In separate mediation models, paternal relationships and friendship partially mediated the association between adultification and sexual risk. However, in a parallel mediation model that simultaneously examined maternal and paternal relationships, friendship, and community protection, friendship emerged as the only significant indirect pathway. Greater adultification was associated with stronger peer friendship, which in turn was associated with greater sexual risk. Programs, policies, and interventions addressing the sexual health of Black girls should consider how peer relationships shape responses to adultification and promote peer environments that support healthy sexual development.