Youth empowerment implementation project evaluation results: A program designed to improve the health and well-being of low-income African-American adolescents

Exposure to violence (ETV) poses a serious threat to adolescents’ safety and well-being; however, some adolescents who grow up in such toxic environments are able to thrive due to a combination of internal and external characteristics. The current study examines the role of cohesion across contexts (i.e., family, school, and community) as moderating the relation between ETV and positive internal outcomes characteristic of resilient youth (i.e., ethnic identity, positive affect, and self-esteem) in a sample of low-income, urban, African American adolescents ( N = 269, 60% female) from seventh grade to eighth grade. Results indicated that greater cohesion in each context was directly related to more positive outcomes. Family and neighborhood cohesion additionally served as protective enhancing factors for males exposed to high levels of violence. These findings expand the current research on positive youth development and help locate potential environmental targets for prevention and intervention research.

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Feeling Safe in a Dangerous Place: Exploring the Neighborhood Safety Perceptions of Low-Income African American Youth

Journal of Adolescent Research ◽

10.1177/0743558416684948 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 90-116 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Anita Zuberi

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Low Income ◽

African American Youth ◽

African American Adolescents ◽

Well Being ◽

Social Connections ◽

Neighborhood Safety ◽

Safety Perceptions ◽

Perceptions Of Safety ◽

Perceived Danger

Research shows that neighborhood safety is strongly associated with the health and well-being of adolescents. However, few studies examine what shapes these perceptions of safety, especially for adolescents who grow up in more dangerous neighborhoods. The present study explores what factors shape the neighborhood safety perceptions of a sample of low-income, African American adolescents aged 15 to 19 years ( n = 46) from Baltimore who lived in public housing as children. The study reveals the complexity in how adolescents perceive safety, especially among those living in dangerous neighborhoods. The results highlight the importance of the type of danger (e.g., drug activity vs. gun-related violence) and social connections in shaping neighborhood safety perceptions. Sample youth are more likely to report feeling safe when there is little perceived danger. In more dangerous neighborhoods, youth feel safe where there is low violence, they have protective social ties, and they can avoid perceived danger. However, social connections can also tie youth to violence and victimization, which threatens their perception of safety. This more nuanced understanding of youth perceptions of safety has implications for the ways in which neighborhoods affect adolescents and the role of housing policy in improving the well-being of low-income youth.

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Hope and Despair: Diverse Voices of Hope from Urban African American Adolescent Gang Members

International Journal for Human Caring ◽

10.20467/1091-5710.16.4.50 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 50-57 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Edith J. Morris, ◽

Judith Fry-McComish,

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Support Groups ◽

African American Adolescents ◽

Well Being ◽

Gang Members ◽

African American Adolescent ◽

Specific Support ◽

Health And Well Being ◽

Suicide Plan ◽

Urban African American Adolescent

The Center for Disease Control (2010) found that 9.8% of African American adolescents reported having a suicide plan compared to 10.9% of all youth surveyed. Hope emerged as a caring construct in a study of african american adolescent gang members and may be a factor in the prevention of depression and suicide. Before age 12, adolescents were hopeful about their future, but shortly after their thirteenth birthday, they expressed feelings of hopelessness and despair. Interventions for promoting health and well-being in African American gang members include nonjudgmental listening, forming age-specific support groups, and offering strategies for achieving life goals.

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Contextual and Social Characteristics Relevant to Health and Well-Being in African American and White Adult Populations

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1918 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 577-577

Author(s):

Angela Sardina ◽

Adrienne Aiken-Morgan ◽

Alyssa Gamaldo

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

African American ◽

Social Services ◽

Low Income ◽

Social Engagement ◽

Well Being ◽

Grocery Stores ◽

Community Resources ◽

Housing Developments ◽

Health And Well Being

Abstract With the burgeoning older adult population, there will be an increased demand for neighborhood and housing developments conducive to the interests and needs of older adults from diverse backgrounds of varying health and functional status. Several initiatives have sought to develop age-friendly neighborhoods, which focused on improving access and affordability of community resources. However, limited effort has focused on physical and social attributes of immediate housing environments, particularly amongst lower-income older adults. The need for affordable and usable housing developments for older adults that provide greater opportunities for social engagement, social services, and convenience to neighborhood resources (e.g., grocery stores, healthcare) will continue to rise. The objectives of the proposed symposium are the following: (1) to explore the physical and social attributes of older and low-income residents’ housing and their surrounding community; and (2) discuss how older and low-income residents’ housing and community resources relates to their health and well-being. This symposium will include presentations from three pilot investigations that highlight relevant subjective and objective contextual metrics related to health and well-being in underserved older populations. Tan and colleagues explored the role of well-being (i.e., purpose in life) in the relationships among sociodemographics, health, housing and community resources. Sardina and colleagues explored perceived leisure barriers and their relationship to sociodemographic, health, and psychosocial characteristics. Aiken-Morgan and colleagues examined associations between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and health status among low-income African American older adults. Wright and colleagues explored associations between neighborhood disadvantage, brain health, and neurocognitive function in cognitively normal older adults.

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The Effect of Supportive Adult Relationships and Future Orientation on Problem Behavior in Low-Income African- American Adolescents

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e628612012-238 ◽

2007 ◽

Author(s):

Kimberley Broomfield ◽

Gabriel Kuperminc

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Problem Behavior ◽

Low Income ◽

Future Orientation ◽

African American Adolescents ◽

Adult Relationships

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The Health and Well-Being of African-American Older Adults With a History of Incarceration

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1633 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 506-506

Author(s):

Rodlescia Sneed

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

African American ◽

African Americans ◽

Well Being ◽

Formerly Incarcerated ◽

Older Prisoners ◽

Health Related ◽

History Of ◽

Health And Well Being ◽

African American Older Adults

Abstract African-Americans are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Longer prison stays and release programs for older prisoners may result in an increased number of community-dwelling older adults with a history of incarceration. In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in research on health-related outcomes for currently incarcerated older adults; however, there has been little inquiry into outcomes for formerly incarcerated African-American older adults following community re-entry. In this study, we used secondary data from the Health and Retirement Study to describe employment, economic, and health-related outcomes in this population. Twelve percent of the 2238 African-Americans in our sample had been previously incarcerated. Those who had been previously incarcerated had higher rates of lung disease, arthritis, back problems, mobility problems, and mental health issues than their counterparts. They also had higher rates of hospitalization and lower use of dental health services. Further, while they did not experience lower employment rates than those with no criminal history, those who had been incarcerated had more physically demanding jobs and reported greater economic strain. Given the disproportionate incarceration rates among African-Americans, the aging of the prison population, and the increase in community re-entry for older prisoners, research that explores factors that impact the health and well-being of formerly incarcerated individuals has broad impact. Future work should focus on addressing the needs of this vulnerable population of African-American older adults.

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Measuring the Impact of a Full Service Grocery Store in a Food Desert

The International Journal of Community and Social Development ◽

10.1177/25166026211015488 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 161-176

Author(s):

Kellie Schneider ◽

Diana Cuy Castellanos ◽

Felix Fernando ◽

Jeanne A. Holcomb

Keyword(s):

Systems Engineering ◽

Low Income ◽

Social Impact ◽

Food Deserts ◽

Well Being ◽

Environmental Indicators ◽

Grocery Store ◽

The Impact ◽

Health And Well Being

Food deserts, areas in which it is difficult to obtain affordable, nutritious food, are especially problematic in low-income neighbourhoods. One model for addressing food hardship and unemployment issues within low-income food deserts is a cooperative grocery store. Through the cooperative model, the grocery store can serve as a cornerstone to address socio-economic marginalisation of low-income neighbourhoods and improve the health and well-being of its residents. It is important for communities and policymakers to be able to assess the effectiveness of these types of endeavours beyond traditional economic factors such as profitability. This article uses a systems engineering approach to develop a framework for measuring the holistic impact of a cooperative grocery store on community health and well-being. This framework encompasses values that characterise the relationship between food retail, economic viability and social equality. We develop a dashboard to display the key metrics for measuring the economic, social and environmental indicators that reflect a grocery store’s social impact. We demonstrate the usefulness of the framework through a case study of a full-service cooperative grocery store that is planned within the city of Dayton, OH.

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