Community Violence and Health Risk Factors Among Adolescents on Chicago's Southside: Does Gender Matter?

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.11.213

Journal of Adolescent Health

Volume 46, Issue 6, June 2010, Pages 600-602

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.11.213 Get rights and content

Abstract

We assessed community violence, school engagement, negative peer influences, mental health problems, and human immunodeficiency virus risk among 563 black adolescents. Boys reported higher rates of community violence exposures and gang involvement, while girls reported higher mental health distress. In the presence of multiple risk factors, negative peer norms were the strongest correlate of human immunodeficiency virus risk behaviors.

Section snippets

Recruitment

A total of 673 black high school students were recruited from an urban Chicago school. Participation rate was 83% for both genders. Eligible students identified as Black and between the ages of 13 and 19. Informed consent and assent were provided by guardians and participants, respectively. Adolescents received $10.00 for participation. University institutional review board approval was obtained for this study.

Measures

Participants identified their age and socioeconomic status (i.e., do you qualify for

Sample

The analytic sample consisted of 563 black youths (219 boys and 344 girls). Mean age was 16.1 (SD = 1.2), and the majority of boys and girls (61% and 59%, respectively) reported receiving “free school lunch.” Table 1 documents that levels of community violence exposure were high among the overall sample, with boys reporting higher rates than girls. Gang involvement was relatively high, with boys reporting higher levels of such involvement. Most participants were sexually active, with boys

Discussion

Consistent with earlier results, boys reported higher community violence exposure than girls [5]. Similar to some earlier research, externalizing symptoms were more pronounced for girls than those with boys [9]. Among all adolescents, having peers supporting risky norms was a consistent correlate of HIV risk behaviors, even in the presence of multiple risk factors. Consequently, intervention efforts designed to change or alter the perception of peer norms may be a significant approach to

Acknowledgment

Supported by the National Institutes of Health, grant 1RO3 HD049283-01 awarded (to D.R.V.).

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We present a conceptual framework based on a review of the literature to highlight the interconnecting and reinforcing elements of a violence syndemic and how this syndemic influences sexual risk behaviors among African American heterosexual adolescents.
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In this study, assault was the cause of 91% of penetrating trauma, and individuals from low socioeconomic areas had more than twice the number of penetrating trauma experienced by middle or high socioeconomic areas. Higher levels of unemployment, poverty, and transiency in combination with lower levels of economic opportunity, community participation, neighborhood development, and gang activity are community-level risk factors for violence [56–58]. Patients with penetrating injuries have an increased risk of mortality and of returning with the same injury pattern [59].
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In fact, Black adolescents experience and are exposed to community violence at significantly higher levels than their peers of other racial groups (McCart, Smith, Saunders, & Kilpatrick, 2007). As a result, scholars exploring outcomes associated with community violence exposure and victimization have paid particular attention to Black adolescents (Bailey, Hannigan, Delaney-Black, Covington, & Sokol, 2006; Rich & Grey, 2005; Voisin & Neilands, 2010). The link between victimization in the community and mental health, particularly depressive symptoms and post-traumatic stress disorder, among low-income, Black adolescents has received significant amount of research attention (Chen, 2010; Fitzpatrick, Piko, Wright, & LaGory, 2005; Gaylord-Harden, Cunningham, & Zelencik, 2011; Goldmann et al., 2011).
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This state-of-the-art review discusses the complexities in the relationship between race, ethnicity, and interpersonal adolescent violence, as well as the theoretical and policy implications.
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Adolescent health briefCommunity Violence and Health Risk Factors Among Adolescents on Chicago's Southside: Does Gender Matter?

Abstract

Section snippets

Recruitment

Measures

Sample

Discussion

Acknowledgment

The effects of family and community on children

Annu Rev Psychol

Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance

Full and partial posttraumatic stress disorder: Findings from a community survey

Am J Psychiatr

Relationships matter: Linking teacher support to student engagement and performance

J Sch Health

The relationship between violence exposure and HIV sexual risk behaviors: Does gender matter?

Am J Orthop

Adolescent health brief
Community Violence and Health Risk Factors Among Adolescents on Chicago's Southside: Does Gender Matter?