Colors of the Heart
Investigating how teen girls of color develop their emotional understanding
A groundbreaking study that delves into the emotions of teenage girls of color (TGOCs™) like never before. This study offers valuable insights and contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the emotions that shape the lives of TGOCs™.
We’ve put the spotlight on the voices and experiences of 14 to 20 year-old African, Asian, Black, Haitian, Latina, and Mixed-Race American girls to better understand how they navigate and develop their emotional intelligence.
Explore our research and findings below to learn more.
A Brand New Model for Understanding Emotional Development
Gender Perceptions
TGOCs™ are girls, and societal gender perceptions, stereotypes, and parental attitudes play a crucial role in molding their emotional experiences. Societal and parental attitudes can significantly impact how they perceive and express their emotions.
Parental Emotion-Related Socialization Behaviors (ERSBs)
TGOCs™’ parents have their own thoughts and philosophies about emotions. These parental ERSBs greatly influence how these teen girls interpret and express their emotions.
Cultural Context
TGOCs™ are born into specific cultural contexts. They inherit not only their family's values but also the rich tapestry of cultural and ethnic traditions, which molds their emotional development.
Emotion Regulation Strategies
TGOCs™ employ various strategies to manage and cope when faced with a whirlwind of emotions. These emotion regulation strategies are vital tools in navigating the emotional landscape.
Emotional Differentiation
Regardless of their ability to discern between the diverse emotions they experience, emotions are an omnipresent facet of TGOCs™' lives.
The Five Key Influences on Emotional Understanding
Teen Girls of Color (TGOCs™) navigate five key areas that shape their emotional understanding. By acknowledging and exploring these five key influences, we can gain a deeper understanding of how TGOCs™ navigate the intricate terrain of emotions. These five areas are:
- Gender Perceptions
- Parental Emotion-Related Socialization Behaviors (ERSBs)
- Cultural Context
- Emotion Regulation Strategies
- Emotional Differentiation
Emotions are Unique.
Personal Interpretations Abound
Our findings suggest that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to how TGOCs™ want to feel. For these young women, emotions are deeply individual experiences. Each participant’s emotional journey is influenced by their subjective interpretation, even when grappling with challenging emotions. A teen girl may express feeling awkward about her identity or cycle between anger and sadness, ultimately landing on anger. For TGOCs™, emotions are like unique episodes in their daily lives, and how they interpret these emotions is grounded in their individual analysis. There’s no universal template for how they feel, even when facing similar life events. The emotions of TGOCs™ are profoundly personal, and each girl traverses her own emotional landscape.
Emotions are Unavoidable.
They Infiltrate All Aspects of Life
Not only are TGOCs™’ emotions highly personalized, but they also have an undeniable presence at home, school, at work, with friends, or alone – in every facet of their lives. One participant shared that her feelings surfaced most intensely when she was alone, while another disclosed her practice of suppressing emotions during the school day only to confront them in her mind at night. For these young women, emotions are inextricably intertwined with their thoughts, capable of influencing their behavior. TGOCs™ don’t exist separately from their feelings; instead, their emotions are omnipresent and impossible to evade, prevent, or ignore.
Emotions are Unpredictable.
The Shifting Sands of Feeling
For TGOCs™s, emotions were unpredictable, often emerging in response to situations. Circumstances like test scores, school, imposter syndrome, workplace dynamics, mood swings, transitioning to a new school, or familial issues showed their emotional responses were inconsistent. As one teenager articulated, feelings of dread, excitement, and dread again all mingled as she filled out her college applications. Another participant described her emotions as shifting from day to day, situation to situation, and test to test. For TGOCs™, emotions appear and disappear unpredictably, dancing to the rhythm of the circumstances they navigate.
Key Findings from the Colors of the Heart Study
Teens experience a wide variety of emotions during the day
“My feelings change day-to-day, thing-to-thing, test-to-test.”
– White & African-American Study Participant, 19 year old
For TGOCs™, circumstances play a pivotal role in shaping their feelings.
These circumstances can be broadly categorized into four distinct areas:
Change and Transition
Adjusting to shifts such as changing high schools, transitioning to college life, or taking on new leadership roles could evoke a spectrum of emotions.
School Work
Academic demands, assignments, and classroom experiences played a significant role in shaping TGOCs™’ emotions.
People, Including Friends
TGOCs™ expressed positive emotions related to their interactions with peers and friends. These encounters often filled them with energy, happiness, entertainment, and enjoyment.
Expectations of Self and Others
The expectations placed upon them, both by themselves and by others, played a significant role in how TGOCs™ felt. These expectations could trigger feelings of being overwhelmed, curious, or even lonely.
Parents use three strategies to help teens process their emotions
“I feel like the topic of emotions was kind of taboo.”
– Cuban-American Study Participant, 19 years old
We found that there is diversity in parental emotion-related socialization behaviors (ERSBs) within TGOC™ households.
The insights gained from this investigation unveiled a rich tapestry of parental practices, with each TGOC™’s parent imparting a distinct approach to emotional education. The parental ERSBs that emerged from the participants’ narratives can be categorized into three main themes: permission to feel, strategies to handle emotions, and avoidance of emotions.
Permission to Feel
In the case of mixed-race TGOCs™, their parents adopted a nurturing stance that encouraged them to embrace their emotions fully.
Strategies to Handle Feelings
Haitian parents, on the other hand, focused on teaching their teens strategies for handling their emotions, which included not displaying emotions in public settings. Interestingly, African-American parents also played an active role in providing their teens with a plan of action for managing their feelings.
Avoidance of Emotions
Parents hailing from Cuban, Mexican, and Asian backgrounds often imparted lessons to their daughters centered on avoiding emotions altogether.
Thinking, feeling, and doing are connected
Your thoughts influence your emotions and actions
The thinking-feeling-doing connection: A Keitt Institute Teaching
We unearthed a thought-provoking pattern by asking participants to differentiate between the emotions they experience the most.
A cognitive and emotional process invariably followed by action or behavioral responses revealed itself in their responses.
Our findings showcase TGOCs™’ cognitive and affective processes, along with the importance of bodily sensations and even facial expressions in this deeply personal and self-reflective journey of emotional self-discovery.
The Thinking-Feeling-Doing Process
One participant shared her method of distinguishing emotions based on a holistic approach encompassing thoughts, feelings, and actions. She revealed how her moods and desires were intertwined, dictating whether she sought company or solitude on any given day. It exemplified how her cognitive processes played a pivotal role in shaping her emotional experiences.
Perception Shapes Emotion
Another TGOC™ expounded on the profound connection between her perception of life’s circumstances and her resulting emotions. She conveyed how her feelings of happiness and joy were closely tied to her assessment of life’s trajectory. In her perspective, achievements, thriving friendships, and overall well-being acted as catalysts for these positive emotions.
Reflective Awareness
Other teens adopted a reflective approach, often contemplating their emotions in retrospect. They exhibited a keen awareness of how thoughts influenced their feelings.
In Her Words
Voices of Teen Girls of Color on Emotions
African-American Participant
African-American Participant
Cuban-American Participant
Cuban-American Participant
Mexican & Filipino-American Participant
Mexican & Filipino-American Participant
White & African-American Participant
White & African-American Participant
Haitian-American Participant
Haitian-American Participant
African-American Participant
African-American Participant
Nurturing Emotional Development
Key ideas for future practice that stem from the needs, desires, and aspirations of the study participants
Empower Parents and Educators
Design community or school-based family programs and instructional resources to equip parents and educators with a deeper understanding of emotions. By enhancing their emotional literacy, parents and educators can play a more effective role in socializing their children’s emotions.
Here’s how you can take action: Bring our #StrongGirls® leadership development training to your school or organization.
Click the button below to learn more about the Keitt Institute’s #StrongGirls® program and how you can bring it to your teens.
Create Emotionally Safe Classrooms
Incorporate the practice of scaffolding students’ emotions as part of classroom instruction. Educators have a unique opportunity to help students build an emotional vocabulary and connect with high school students in a meaningful way, guiding them through the complexities of their emotions throughout the school day.
Here’s how you can take action: Commit to having an emotionally safe classroom.
Click the button below to sign the pledge.
Diversify Therapeutic Support
Increase the availability of therapists from diverse cultural backgrounds who can engage in meaningful conversations with students. This ensures that TGOCs™ have access to professionals who understand their unique context when addressing their emotional well-being.
Here’s how you can take action: Better inform your practice by taking an in-depth look at our report and Dr. Jennifer Keitt’s dissertation.
Download the report or dissertation by clicking the buttons below.
Support Teen-Led Advocacy
Establish teen-led advocacy organizations that empower TGOCs™ to develop self-agency. This way, they can learn to advocate for the resources and support they need to navigate their emotional journey effectively. Developing agency is vital, as individuals who demonstrate self-efficacy have better control over their actions and emotional states.
Here’s how you can take action: Become a #StrongGirls® or SheRises™ Ambassador.
Click the button below to learn more about the Keitt Institute’s #StrongGirls® or SheRises™ programs and how you can bring it to your friends, teammates, and more!
For Media Inquiries Please Contact
dkh@dominichawkins.com