{"id":{"repo_id":"houston","oai_identifier":"oai:uh-ir.tdl.org:10657/19615"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/houston/oai:uh-ir.tdl.org:10657/19615","repository":{"repo_id":"houston","name":"University of Houston","base_url":"https://uh-ir.tdl.org/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Promoting Better Outcomes for Black Girls with Multiple Youth-Serving System Involvement through Benevolent Childhood Experiences","abstract":"Black girls in America have borne the burden of systemic disenfranchisement, enduring a legacy of injustice and discrimination. Scholarly discourse has persistently highlighted the systemic inadequacies of the youth-serving systems—the Child Welfare System (CWS), Juvenile Legal System (JLS), education system (ES), and mental health system (MHS)—despite their role in safeguarding vulnerable youth. Youth involved with the CWS are more likely to have JLS contact and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), yet research on benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) for Black girls with multisystem involvement remains limited. Further complicating this oversight is a lack of precision in quantitative measure of BCEs and system involvement, and inadequate collaboration between systems, perpetuating the marginalization of Black girls. This dissertation addresses these gaps by examining the relationship between BCEs, mental health, and educational outcomes for Black girls with no system involvement, single system involvement, and multisystem involvement. Utilizing intersectionality and Critical Race Feminism (CRF), this study critically analyzes data from the 2023 Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS). Descriptive statistics reveal trends in system involvement and outcomes. Inferential analyses found no statistically significant difference in BCE scores or GPA across groups. However, Black girls with a dual status reported significantly higher likelihoods of depression and anxiety compared to those with no system involvement. Correlation analyses showed that higher BCE scores were significantly associated with higher GPAs within each group, with the strongest association observed among Black girls with a dual status. These findings underscore the strength of Black girls navigating system involvement and emphasizes the urgency of centering their strengths, voices, and lived experiences.","abstract_html":"Black girls in America have borne the burden of systemic disenfranchisement, enduring a legacy of injustice and discrimination. Scholarly discourse has persistently highlighted the systemic inadequacies of the youth-serving systems—the Child Welfare System (CWS), Juvenile Legal System (JLS), education system (ES), and mental health system (MHS)—despite their role in safeguarding vulnerable youth. Youth involved with the CWS are more likely to have JLS contact and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), yet research on benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) for Black girls with multisystem involvement remains limited. Further complicating this oversight is a lack of precision in quantitative measure of BCEs and system involvement, and inadequate collaboration between systems, perpetuating the marginalization of Black girls. This dissertation addresses these gaps by examining the relationship between BCEs, mental health, and educational outcomes for Black girls with no system involvement, single system involvement, and multisystem involvement. Utilizing intersectionality and Critical Race Feminism (CRF), this study critically analyzes data from the 2023 Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS). Descriptive statistics reveal trends in system involvement and outcomes. Inferential analyses found no statistically significant difference in BCE scores or GPA across groups. However, Black girls with a dual status reported significantly higher likelihoods of depression and anxiety compared to those with no system involvement. Correlation analyses showed that higher BCE scores were significantly associated with higher GPAs within each group, with the strongest association observed among Black girls with a dual status. These findings underscore the strength of Black girls navigating system involvement and emphasizes the urgency of centering their strengths, voices, and lived experiences.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hood, Alexandra N 1994-"],"institution":"University of Houston","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Social Work","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Boyce, Erin","Walton, Quenette"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Lea, Charles","Dettlaff, Alan","Blakey, Joan"],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05","date_published":"2025-05","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:32:34Z","subjects":["Social service","Social psychology"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10657/19615","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Boyce, Erin","Walton, Quenette"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Lea, Charles","Dettlaff, Alan","Blakey, Joan"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hood, Alexandra N 1994-"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-07-10T19:19:03Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-05"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Social Work"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Houston"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Social service","Social psychology"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10657/19615"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Black girls in America have borne the burden of systemic disenfranchisement, enduring a legacy of injustice and discrimination. Scholarly discourse has persistently highlighted the systemic inadequacies of the youth-serving systems—the Child Welfare System (CWS), Juvenile Legal System (JLS), education system (ES), and mental health system (MHS)—despite their role in safeguarding vulnerable youth. Youth involved with the CWS are more likely to have JLS contact and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), yet research on benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) for Black girls with multisystem involvement remains limited. Further complicating this oversight is a lack of precision in quantitative measure of BCEs and system involvement, and inadequate collaboration between systems, perpetuating the marginalization of Black girls. This dissertation addresses these gaps by examining the relationship between BCEs, mental health, and educational outcomes for Black girls with no system involvement, single system involvement, and multisystem involvement. Utilizing intersectionality and Critical Race Feminism (CRF), this study critically analyzes data from the 2023 Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS). Descriptive statistics reveal trends in system involvement and outcomes. Inferential analyses found no statistically significant difference in BCE scores or GPA across groups. However, Black girls with a dual status reported significantly higher likelihoods of depression and anxiety compared to those with no system involvement. Correlation analyses showed that higher BCE scores were significantly associated with higher GPAs within each group, with the strongest association observed among Black girls with a dual status. These findings underscore the strength of Black girls navigating system involvement and emphasizes the urgency of centering their strengths, voices, and lived experiences."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Promoting Better Outcomes for Black Girls with Multiple Youth-Serving System Involvement through Benevolent Childhood Experiences"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Boyce, Erin","Walton, Quenette"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Lea, Charles","Dettlaff, Alan","Blakey, Joan"],"dc:creator":["Hood, Alexandra N 1994-"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-07-10T19:19:03Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-05"],"dc:description.abstract":["Black girls in America have borne the burden of systemic disenfranchisement, enduring a legacy of injustice and discrimination. Scholarly discourse has persistently highlighted the systemic inadequacies of the youth-serving systems—the Child Welfare System (CWS), Juvenile Legal System (JLS), education system (ES), and mental health system (MHS)—despite their role in safeguarding vulnerable youth. Youth involved with the CWS are more likely to have JLS contact and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), yet research on benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) for Black girls with multisystem involvement remains limited. Further complicating this oversight is a lack of precision in quantitative measure of BCEs and system involvement, and inadequate collaboration between systems, perpetuating the marginalization of Black girls. This dissertation addresses these gaps by examining the relationship between BCEs, mental health, and educational outcomes for Black girls with no system involvement, single system involvement, and multisystem involvement. Utilizing intersectionality and Critical Race Feminism (CRF), this study critically analyzes data from the 2023 Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS). Descriptive statistics reveal trends in system involvement and outcomes. Inferential analyses found no statistically significant difference in BCE scores or GPA across groups. However, Black girls with a dual status reported significantly higher likelihoods of depression and anxiety compared to those with no system involvement. Correlation analyses showed that higher BCE scores were significantly associated with higher GPAs within each group, with the strongest association observed among Black girls with a dual status. These findings underscore the strength of Black girls navigating system involvement and emphasizes the urgency of centering their strengths, voices, and lived experiences."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10657/19615"],"dc:language.iso":["English"],"dc:subject":["Social service","Social psychology"],"dc:title":["Promoting Better Outcomes for Black Girls with Multiple Youth-Serving System Involvement through Benevolent Childhood Experiences"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Social Work"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Houston"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:32:34Z"}