Promoting the Resiliency of African American Teens Experiencing Ambiguous Loss

A disproportionate number of African American youth experience childhood adversity and situations of loss, including parental incarceration and divorce, while navigating racial discrimination. Ambiguous loss theory offers a conceptual framework to understand these experiences as losses of relationships, stability, and social validation due to parental behaviors. Theoretically and culturally informed interventions are needed to help adolescents cope with ambiguous loss. This article describes a psychoeducational group intervention for female African American adolescents experiencing ambiguous loss that aims to promote resilience and coping rather than promote closure following loss.