Conceptualizing Adolescent Black Youth Political Efficacy in an Era of Crises

Abstract

Tackling adolescent youth political efficacy is indispensable to the success American democracy. Racism coupled with health and economic disparities predispose Black youth to adverse political engagement, political efficacy, and social emotional outcomes.  The COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated pandemic-induced stressors such as the current experiences of Black youth with racial injustice and the potential of economic insecurity, homelessness, and a health disaster affecting a family member, further challenge their political engagement and political efficacy. In this theoretical piece, we therefore bring forth two separate, yet compatible theoretical frameworks, Black Resilience Neoliberalism (BRN) and the sociopolitical development model (SPD), to grasp the racialized identity and the political efficacy of adolescent Black youth in an era of crises.