Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Adult Connection in Assault Injury Prevention among Male Youth in Low-Resource Urban Environments

  • Published:
Journal of Urban Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Strengths-based strategies to reduce youth violence in low-resource urban communities are urgently needed. Supportive adolescent-adult relationships may confer protection, but studies have been limited by self-reported composite outcomes. We conducted a population-based case-control study among 10- to 24-year-old males in low-resource neighborhoods to examine associations between supportive adult connection and severe assault injury. Cases were victims of gunshot assault injury (n = 143) and non-gun assault injury (n = 206) from two level I trauma centers. Age- and race-matched controls (n = 283) were recruited using random digit dial from the same catchment. Adolescent-adult connections were defined by: (1) brief survey questions and (2) detailed family genograms. Analysis used conditional logistic regression. There were no significant associations between positive adult connection, as defined by brief survey questions, and either gunshot or non-gun assault injury among adolescents with high prior violence involvement (GSW OR = 2.46, 95% CI 0.81–7.49; non-gun OR = 1.59, 95% CI 0.54–4.67) or low prior violence involvement (GSW OR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.34–2.44; non-gun OR = 1.96, 95% CI 0.73–5.28). In contrast, among adolescents with high levels of prior violence involvement, reporting at least one supportive adult family member in the family genogram was associated with higher odds of gunshot assault injury (OR = 4.01, 95% CI 1.36–11.80) and non-gun assault injury (OR = 4.22, 95% CI 1.48–12.04). We were thus unable to demonstrate that positive adult connections protected adolescent males from severe assault injury in this highly under-resourced environment. However, at the time of injury, assault-injured adolescents, particularly those with high prior violence involvement, reported high levels of family support. The post-injury period may provide opportunities to intervene to enhance and leverage family connections to explore how to better safeguard adolescents.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). Available at www.cdc.gov/injury. Accessed 15 Jan 2018.

  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. YRBSS Data, Questionnaires, & Documentation. http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/data.htm. Accessed 1 Nov 2017.

  3. Hardaway CR, McLoyd VC, Wood D. Exposure to violence and socioemotional adjustment in low-income youth: an examination of protective factors. Am J Community Psychol. 2012;49(1–2):112–26.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. McDonald CC, Deatrick JA, Kassam-Adams N, Richmond TS. Community violence exposure and positive youth development in urban youth. J Community Health. 2011;36(6):925–32.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Losel F, Farrington DP. Direct protective and buffering protective factors in the development of youth violence. Am J Prev Med. 2012;43(2 Suppl 1):S8–S23.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Resnick MD, Bearman PS, Blum RW, Bauman KE, Harris KM, Jones J, et al. Protecting adolescents from harm. Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. JAMA. 1997;278(10):823–32.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Resnick MD, Ireland M, Borowsky I. Youth violence perpetration: what protects? What predicts? Findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. J Adolesc Health. 2004;35(5):424.e421–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Viner RM, Ozer EM, Denny S, Marmot M, Resnick M, Fatusi A, et al. Adolescence and the social determinants of health. Lancet. 2012;379(9826):1641–52.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Fergus S, Zimmerman MA. Adolescent resilience: a framework for understanding healthy development in the face of risk. Annu Rev Public Health. 2005;26:399–419.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Lerner RM, Lerner JV, von Eye A, Bowers EP, Lewin-Bizan S. Individual and contextual bases of thriving in adolescence: a view of the issues. J Adolesc. 2011;34(6):1107–14.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Henrich CC, Brookmeyer KA, Shahar G. Weapon violence in adolescence: parent and school connectedness as protective factors. J Adolesc Health. 2005;37(4):306–12.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. DuBois DL, Silverthorn N. Natural mentoring relationships and adolescent health: evidence from a national study. Am J Public Health. 2005;95(3):518–24.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Gorman-Smith D, Tolan P. The role of exposure to community violence and developmental problems among inner-city youth. Dev Psychopathol. 1998;10(01):101–16.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Miller LS, Wasserman GA, Neugebauer R, Gorman-Smith D, Kamboukos D. Witnessed community violence and antisocial behavior in high-risk, urban boys. J Clin Child Psychol. 1999;28(1):2–11.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Houltberg BJ, Henry CS, Morris AS. Family interactions, exposure to violence, and emotion regulation: perceptions of children and early adolescents at risk. Fam Relat. 2012;61(2):283–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Gorman-Smith D, Henry DB, Tolan PH. Exposure to community violence and violence perpetration: the protective effects of family functioning. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2004;33(3):439–49.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Culyba AJ, Ginsburg KR, Fein JA, Branas CC, Richmond TS, Miller E, et al. Examining the role of supportive family connection in violence exposure among male youth in urban environments. J Interpers Violence. 2016; 088626051664609.

  18. Laursen B, Collins WA. Parent–child relationships during adolescence. In: Handbook of adolescent psychology. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 2009.

  19. Carlivati J, Collins WA. Adolescent attachment representations and development in a risk sample. In: MO SM, editor. Attachment in adolescence Reflections and new angles. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, vol. 117. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco; 2007. p. 91–106.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Waksberg J. Sampling methods for random digit dialing. J Am Stat Assoc. 1978;73(361):40–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Hartge P, Brinton LA, Rosenthal JF, Cahill JI, Hoover RN, Waksberg J. Random digit dialing in selecting a population-based control group. Am J Epidemiol. 1984;120(6):825–33.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Perneger TV, Myers TL, Klag MJ, Whelton PK. Effectiveness of the Waksberg telephone sampling method for the selection of population controls. Am J Epidemiol. 1993;138(8):574–84.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Baruch Y, Holtom BC. Survey response rate levels and trends in organizational research. Hum Relat. 2008;61(8):1139–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Groves R. Nonresponse rates and nonresponse bias in household surveys. Public Opin Q. 2006;70(5):646–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Nance ML, Branas CC, Stafford PW, Richmond T, Schwab CW. Nonintracranial fatal firearm injuries in children: implications for treatment. J Trauma. 2003;55(4):631–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Basta LA, Richmond TS, Wiebe DJ. Neighborhoods, daily activities, and measuring health risks experienced in urban environments. Soc Sci Med. 2010;71(11):1943–50.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  27. Wiebe DJ, Richmond TS, Guo W, Allison PD, Hollander JE, Nance ML, et al. Mapping activity patterns to quantify risk of violent assault in urban environments. Epidemiology. 2016;27(1):32–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Greenland S. Partial and marginal matching in case control studies. In: Moolgavkar SH, Prentice RL, editors. Modern Statistical Methods in Chronic Disease Epidemiology New York: Wiley; 1986. p. 35–49.

    Google Scholar 

  29. King G, Zeng L. Estimating risk and rate levels, ratios and differences in case-control studies. Stat Med. 2002;21(10):1409–27.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Hosmer DWLS, Sturdivant R. Applied Logistic Regression. 3rd ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 2013.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  31. Crum RM, Lillie-Blanton M, Anthony JC. Neighborhood environment and opportunity to use cocaine and other drugs in late childhood and early adolescence. Drug Alcohol Depend. 1996;43(3):155–61.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Census US. https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/tiger-line.html.

  33. Philadelphia Health Management Corporation. Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Survey http://www.chdbdata.org/.

  34. Fox MP, Lash TL, Greenland S. A method to automate probabilistic sensitivity analyses of misclassified binary variables. Int J Epidemiol. 2005;34(6):1370–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Lyles RH, Lin J. Sensitivity analysis for misclassification in logistic regression via likelihood methods and predictive value weighting. Stat Med. 2010;29(22):2297–309.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  36. Theokas C, Lerner RM. Observed ecological assets in families, schools, and neighborhoods: conceptualization, measurement, and relations with positive and negative developmental outcomes. Appl Dev Sci. 2006;10(2):61–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Youngblade LM, Theokas C, Schulenberg J, Curry L, Huang IC, Novak M. Risk and promotive factors in families, schools, and communities: a contextual model of positive youth development in adolescence. Pediatrics. 2007;119(Suppl 1):S47–53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Lerner RM, Lerner JV, Benson JB. Positive youth development: research and applications for promoting thriving in adolescence. Adv Child Dev Behav. 2011;41:1–17.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Proctor LJ. Children growing up in a violent community: the role of the family. Aggress Violent Beh. 2006;11(6):558–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Li ST, Nussbaum KM, Richards MH. Risk and protective factors for urban African-American youth. Am J Community Psychol. 2007;39(1–2):21–35.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Culyba AJ, Ginsburg KR, Fein JA, Branas CC, Richmond TS, Wiebe DJ. Protective effects of adolescent-adult connection on male youth in urban environments. J Adolesc Health. 2016;58(2):237–40.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  42. Culyba AJ, Jacoby SF, Richmond TS, Fein JA, Hohl BC, Branas CC. Modifiable neighborhood features associated with adolescent homicide. JAMA Pediatr. 2016;170(5):473–80.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  43. Gorman-Smith D FL, Cosey-Gay F, Coeling M. Strengthening families and communities to prevent youth violence: a public health approach. Children's Legal Rights J. 2013–2014;34(265).

  44. Branas CC, Cheney RA, MacDonald JM, Tam VW, Jackson TD, Ten Have TR. A difference-in-differences analysis of health, safety, and greening vacant urban space. Am J Epidemiol. 2011;174(11):1296–306.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  45. MacDonald J, Golinelli D, Stokes RJ, Bluthenthal R. The effect of business improvement districts on the incidence of violent crimes. Inj Prev. 2010;16(5):327–32.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Garvin EC, Cannuscio CC, Branas CC. Greening vacant lots to reduce violent crime: a randomised controlled trial. Inj Prev. 2013;19(3):198–203.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Kondo M, Hohl B, Han S, Branas C. Effects of greening and community reuse of vacant lots on crime. Urban Stud. 2015.

  48. Branas CC, Kondo MC, Murphy SM, South EC, Polsky D, MacDonald JM. Urban blight remediation as a cost-beneficial solution to firearm violence. Am J Public Health. 2016:e1–7.

  49. DuBois DL, Silverthorn N. Characteristics of natural mentoring relationships and adolescent adjustment: evidence from a national study. J Prim Prev. 2005;26(2):69–92.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Haddad E, Chen C, Greenberger E. The role of important non-parental adults (VIPs) in the lives of older adolescents: a comparison of three ethnic groups. J Youth Adolescence. 2011;40(3):310–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Parker EM, Johnson SRL, Jones VC, Haynie DL, Cheng TL. Discrepant perspectives on conflict situations among urban parent–adolescent dyads. J Interpers Violence. 2016;31(6):1007–25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Beam MR, Gil-Rivas V, Greenberger E, Chen C. Adolescent problem behavior and depressed mood: risk and protection within and across social contexts. J Youth Adolescence. 2002;31(5):343–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Cheng TL, Haynie D, Brenner R, Wright JL, Chung S-E, Simons-Morton B. Effectiveness of a mentor-implemented, violence prevention intervention for assault-injured youths presenting to the emergency department: results of a randomized trial. Pediatrics. 2008;122(5):938–46.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Zun LS, Downey L, Rosen J. The effectiveness of an ED-based violence prevention program. Am J Emerg Med. 2006;24(1):8–13.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Aboutanos MB, Jordan A, Cohen R, Foster RL, Goodman K, Halfond RW, et al. Brief violence interventions with community case management services are effective for high-risk trauma patients. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2011;71(1):228–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Shibru D, Zahnd E, Becker M, Bekaert N, Calhoun D, Victorino GP. Benefits of a hospital-based peer intervention program for violently injured youth. J Am Coll Surg. 2007;205(5):684–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Becker MG, Hall JS, Ursic CM, Jain S, Calhoun D. Caught in the crossfire: the effects of a peer-based intervention program for violently injured youth. J Adolescent Health. 2004;34(3):177–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

The study was supported by NIH grants F32 HD084028 and R01 AA014944.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Alison J. Culyba

    Present address: Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

  2. Charles C. Branas

    Present address: Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Craig-Dalsimer Division of Adolescent Medicine, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Alison J. Culyba & Kenneth R. Ginsburg

  2. Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Elizabeth Miller

  3. Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Charles C. Branas, Wensheng Guo & Douglas J. Wiebe

  4. Division of Emergency Medicine, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Joel A. Fein

  5. Biobehavioral and Health Systems Department, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Therese S. Richmond

  6. Division of Adolescent Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA

    Bonnie L. Halpern-Felsher

Authors
  1. Alison J. Culyba
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elizabeth Miller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kenneth R. Ginsburg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Charles C. Branas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Wensheng Guo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Joel A. Fein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Therese S. Richmond
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Bonnie L. Halpern-Felsher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Douglas J. Wiebe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alison J. Culyba.

Ethics declarations

Financial Disclosure

The authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 18 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Culyba, A.J., Miller, E., Ginsburg, K.R. et al. Adult Connection in Assault Injury Prevention among Male Youth in Low-Resource Urban Environments. J Urban Health 95, 361–371 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-018-0260-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-018-0260-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation