Negative coping as mediator in the relation between violence and outcomes: Inner-city African American youth.

Abstract

The present study examined whether negative coping mediated the relation between exposure to violence and psychological outcomes (posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression, and anxiety) in a sample of 120 inner-city African American adolescents (ages 10 to 14). Increased community violence was shown to be related to the use of negative coping strategies (avoidance, aggression, and internalizing behaviors), which mediated the relation between violence and all three outcomes.