Digital Scholarship Faculty Fellow
About
“Black Girlhood Unfolded: Reclaiming Puberty Narratives in a Digital Archive"
This early-stage digital initiative addresses the need to understand off-time pubertal development—maturing earlier or later than same-sex peers—a transition linked to elevated risks for depression, anxiety, and delinquency. Black girls, often among the earliest to develop, face unique challenges such as adultification bias, heightened scrutiny, and peer exclusion, yet their experiences are critically underrepresented in research. Combining storytelling, peer support, and data collection, the project captures these lived experiences, co-creates evidence-based resources with participants, and hosts them on a dedicated resource hub featuring coping guides, educational videos, and peer-support guidelines. De-identified qualitative data will be available to puberty researchers upon request, advancing the field’s understanding of pubertal effects across contexts. By amplifying marginalized voices and creating culturally relevant tools, the platform promotes healthy development, mitigates risks, and will ultimately expand to include other marginalized youth experiencing early or late puberty.
Rona Carter is an Associate Professor of Psychology.
