In a cross-sectional study, researcher Adenique Lisse<\/a> \u201928 Ph.D. examined how 193 Black, white, and Latina girls entering grades 9 through 11 felt about their overall appearance and their satisfaction with five specific areas of their appearance \u2013 including their hair \u2013 as well as their experience with discrimination and their tendency to experience depressive symptoms.<\/p>\n The study found that hair was the only area of physical appearance satisfaction in which differences emerged along racial lines, according to Lisse, a graduate student focusing on clinical psychology in UConn\u2019s Department of Psychological Sciences.<\/p>\n \u201cBlack adolescent girls, significantly beyond their white peers and their Latina peers, were more likely to experience hair-related discrimination and hair-related dissatisfied,\u201d says Lisse. \u201cThat hair dissatisfaction was more likely to lead to increased feelings of depression compared to their peers.\u201d<\/p>\n A member of the Milan Intergenerational Risk Lab<\/a> at UConn, Lisse had done some prior work on weight concerns and body image as an undergraduate, and she was interested in seeing how appearance evaluation might have particular impact for Black adolescents.<\/p>\n But she didn\u2019t find a lot of prior research.<\/p>\n \u201cIn looking at some sociocultural factors that were in play, I found that body image concerns were not something that were very salient within the Black adolescent population,\u201d Lisse says. \u201cA lot of that research focuses on the thin ideal, which is something that is more heavily researched within white samples and among white adolescents.\u201d<\/p>\n The research was also inspired by her own experiences as well.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to see what is salient amongst Black adolescents and what part of appearance evaluation we might see some important results in,\u201d explains Lisse. \u201cThat made me think about my own experience growing up and how much conversation there is within the Black community about hair. Recently, we’ve been seeing a movement for more hair acceptance, and talking about that a lot more within different spaces<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n During her own adolescence, a rise in natural hair content on YouTube caught her attention and helped to influence how she and her friends felt about their hair texture \u2013 an entire online movement working to change the messaging around the idea that a loose hair texture was somehow more desirable.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of Black adolescent girls may not have hair like that \u2013 they might have hair that is more coily in texture, and that leaves room for discrimination and microaggressions,\u201d Lisse says. \u201cAnd so, that was a movement that, I think, was very helpful. That representation is very important for people to see. And I think that helped so many girls, adolescent girls, love their hair \u2013 to be able to see that there’s so much that they can do with it as well.\u201d<\/p>\n For her study, Lisse says that its cross-sectional nature, and limited sample \u2013 all participants were from one Connecticut city \u2013 limit how the findings might be generalized across broader populations. The sample also didn\u2019t allow for examination of differences within the small number of Black adolescents who took part.<\/p>\n But Lisse says the study\u2019s finding of such a stark and clear importance of hair satisfaction among Black adolescent girls so distinctly from their peers may be useful in both clinical and policy settings, where more awareness around cultural relevancy can help drive conversations about how to best provide interventions that meet the needs of diverse communities.<\/p>\n For example, interventions and empowerment programs specifically focused on exposing adolescent girls to positive messaging about hair and texture and providing natural hair education through videos may help to encourage hair satisfaction and reduce depression for Black adolescent girls.<\/p>\n![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Adenique-Lisse-1-300x300.jpg\")