Worldview and Strengths-Based Perspectives: Defining Normative Development for African American Female Adolescents-Implications for Black South African Female Adolescents

The purpose of this article is to examine and understand the social and biological development of inner-city adolescent females in the United States, especially those impacted by poverty and who experience oppression. Africans and their descendents are viewed within a context of negativity throughout the nation and world ( Billingsley, 1968 , 1992 ; Hurd, Moore, & Roger, 1995 ; Ladner, 1972 ). Oftentimes, their struggles are viewed within a context of personal failures and not within the context of system injustices ( Billingsley, 1968 , 1992 ; Hill, 1972 ; Logan, 1990 ). Thus, their social development is viewed as abnormal. However, this author purports that there are factors that define the normative development of inner-city adolescent females. These findings have implications for Black female adolescents in South Africa as well. Those implications are delineated in this article.