NCJ Number
186393
Journal
Youth & Society Volume: 32 Issue: 2 Dated: December 2000 Pages: 253-267
Editor(s)
Kathryn G. Herr
Date Published
2000
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Because statistics indicate violence exposure is a major health concern for black youth and studies have focused on traditional reactions to violence exposure but have not explored violence exposure among black youth in the context in which it occurs, this study used multiple regression analysis to determine whether stress and coping responses of black youth resulted from violence exposure alone or from an accumulation of stressors.
Abstract
Study participants included 178 black youth between 14 and 19 years of age who resided in the Detroit metropolitan area, 96 females (53.9 percent) and 82 males (46.1 percent). Independent study variables were perceived experience with discrimination, neighborhood disadvantage, census information, crime rate, exposure to community violence, and stressful life events. Dependent variables, stress and coping mechanisms, were assessed using the Adolescent Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences and the Child Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index. Results showed black youth self-reported witnessing a great deal of violence. Males reported higher rates of experienced violence than females, with the exception of sexual assault and violence witnessed. Violence experienced was a significant predictor of post-traumatic stress symptoms but not of preferred coping strategies. Life events, discrimination, violence exposure, neighborhood disadvantage, number of people in the home, and gender, each variable contributing to sociopolitical context, significantly predicted variance in active coping. Witnessing violence did not predict any variable. Assessment and treatment implications of the findings are discussed. 29 references and 3 tables