Exposure to Community Violence Among Low-Income African American Youth in Chicago: A Latent Class Analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1116-1132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dexter R. Voisin ◽  
Dong Ha Kim ◽  
Lynn Michalopoulos ◽  
Sadiq Patel
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Community Violence ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Home Ownership ◽  
Future Orientation ◽  
African American Youth ◽  
School Bonding ◽  
Exposure To Community Violence ◽  
Bisexual And Transgender

African American youth are exposed to some of the highest rates of exposure to community violence. However, few studies have explored factors related to exposures and various subtypes of exposures to community violence (i.e., no exposure, witnessing only and being a witness/victim). Among a matched sample of 129 African American youth and their caregivers, no exposure to community violence was correlated with being heterosexual versus being a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) person, having parents who owned their homes versus rented, and having higher authoritarian parenting attitudes. In addition, being a witness/victim of community violence was correlated with any youth substance use, lower levels of school bonding, having less future orientation, less parental home ownership, and an adverse family history. Practice and programmatic considerations are discussed based on these findings.

A closer look at school bonding among African American adolescents in low-income communities: A latent class analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 1424-1437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dexter R Voisin ◽  
Dong Ha Kim ◽  
Jun Sung Hong
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Parental Monitoring ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
School Success ◽  
Future Orientation ◽  
African American Youth ◽  
African American Adolescents ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
School Bonding

Positive school bonding is a significant precursor to students’ school success. However, African American youth report lower school success compared with their White counterparts. This study examined correlates of school bonding among 633 African American youth who were recruited from community settings in Chicago. Major findings indicated that negative peer norms, exposure to community violence, and poor mental health were negatively correlated with school bonding, while parental monitoring, positive self-regard, and future orientation were correlated with higher school motivation. Students classified as having high or moderate school bonding were more likely to live with both parents, experience higher levels of parental monitoring, and exhibit positive self-regard. Implications are discussed in view of these findings.

scholarly journals African-American Youth and Exposure to Community Violence: Supporting Change from the Inside

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Jones Thomas ◽  
Devin Carey ◽  
Kia-Rai Prewitt ◽  
Edna Romero ◽  
Maryse Richards ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
African American ◽  
Community Violence ◽  
African American Youth ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Child Health Outcomes ◽  
Exposure To Community Violence ◽  
Children’S Exposure

Children’s exposure to community violence and its effects on child health outcomes have become a major public health concern in this country, and African-American youth are at greatest risk. Participatory action research, as a vehicle for promoting social justice, is one tool that can be used to address community violence. This article describes the use of focus groups as a way to give African-American youth a voice in providing solutions to violence exposure through the revision of curricula (coping skills and civic engagement). Participants reported a variety of stressors, including exposure to violence, and a lack of coping strategies and adult support for processing violence. Suggestions for curriculum revisions are included. The process of conducting groups, lessons learned from the process, and implications for researchers interested in promoting social justice are discussed.

scholarly journals Future Orientation as a Protective Factor for African American Adolescents Exposed to Community Violence

2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 734-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanna So ◽  
Noni K. Gaylord-Harden ◽  
Dexter R. Voisin ◽  
Darrick Scott
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Community Violence ◽  
Violence Exposure ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Externalizing Behaviors ◽  
Future Orientation ◽  
African American Youth ◽  
African American Adolescents ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

For African American youth disproportionately exposed to community violence and the associated risk of externalizing behaviors, developmental assets that reduce the risk for externalizing behaviors and enhance adaptive coping should be explored. In a sample of 572 African American adolescents ( Mage = 15.85; SD = 1.42), the current study explored whether future orientation or gender buffered the impact of community violence exposure on externalizing behaviors. The current study also examined the interaction between future orientation, gender, and violence-specific coping strategies to determine their association with externalizing behaviors. Future orientation moderated the relationship between violence exposure and delinquent, but not aggressive, behaviors. Future orientation interacted differently with coping for males and females to predict externalizing behaviors. Research and clinical implications are discussed.

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