City Youth Research Articles

HIV testing among youth in a high-risk city: prevalence, predictors, and gender differences

While HIV is prevalent among adolescents and young adults, testing levels remain low and little is known about gender differences in HIV testing. The objectives of this study were to describe the prevalence of past-year HIV testing and evaluate associations between HIV testing and individual- and partner-level factors by gender among heterosexually experienced youth (15–24 years) in Baltimore, Maryland (N = 352). Past-year HIV testing was prevalent (60.1%) and differed by gender (69.4% among women vs. 49.6% among men, p = 0.005). For women, African-American race (AOR 3.09) and recent older partner by ≤2 years (AOR 4.04) were significantly associated with testing. Among men, only African-American race was associated with testing (OR 4.23), with no patterns identified based on risk behavior or perceived partner risk. HIV testing among adolescent and young adults was prevalent in this highly affected urban area. Findings emphasize the value of a gender lens, and provide direction for optimizing engagement in HIV testing.

Harsh discipline and behavior problems: The moderating effects of cortisol and alpha-amylase

Numerous studies link harsh discipline to adjustment problems in youth, yet not all individuals exposed to harsh discipline develop behavior problems. Contemporary theory suggests that this relationship could be moderated by individual differences in environmentally sensitive biological systems. This study investigated whether the interaction between hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity and autonomic nervous system (ANS) arousal moderated the link between harsh discipline and behavior problems. Three saliva samples were collected on a single day from 425 inner city youth (50% male, age 11–12 years, 80% African American) and were later assayed for cortisol (HPA) and alpha-amylase (ANS). Problem behavior was assessed by self- and parent-report using the Child Behavior Checklist. Youth also reported the level of harsh discipline that they experienced. Harsh discipline was positively associated with externalizing and internalizing problems only when there were asymmetrical profiles of HPA activity and ANS arousal. This pattern was evident for boys but not girls. Findings are discussed in relation to prevailing theories suggesting that biological susceptibility translates adversity into risk for behavior problems.

Associations between bullying and engaging in aggressive and suicidal behaviors among sexual minority youth: the moderating role of connectedness.

Research on the extent to which cyberbullying affects sexual minority youth is limited. This study examined associations between experiencing cyber and school bullying and engaging in aggressive and suicidal behaviors among sexual minority youth. We also explored whether feeling connected to an adult at school moderated these associations. Data came from 951 self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth, who completed the New York City Youth Risk Behavior Survey during fall 2009. We used multiple logistic regression to examine the hypothesized associations and test for effect modification. Cyber and school bullying were associated with engaging in aggressive and suicidal behaviors among LGB youth. Youth experiencing both cyber and school bullying had the greatest odds of engaging in aggressive and suicidal behaviors. However, feeling connected to an adult at school moderated these associations such that bullied youth who felt connected were not more likely to report aggressive and suicidal behaviors. The findings highlight the challenges faced by bullied LGB youth. Practitioners should work with school administrators to establish supportive environments for sexual minority youth. Helping victimized LGB youth develop meaningful connections with adults at school can minimize the negative impacts of cyber and school bullying.

Help-seeking behaviors among a sample of urban adolescents with a history of dating violence and suicide ideations

Using data from the 2011 New York City Youth Risk Behavior Survey, this study examined professional help-seeking behaviors among an urban sample of adolescent youth with a history of dating violence and suicidal ideations. Adolescents of both genders who reported a history of dating violence (physical and sexual abuse) as well as a history of suicidal ideations (thoughts of and actual suicide attempts) were selected for this study (N = 1923). Multivariate regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between the variables. Results indicated that approximately 17% of the sample reported seeking professional help in the past 12 months, with females being more likely to seek help. Nine percent of the sample reported that they were hit or slapped by boyfriend or girlfriend in the past 12 months, and almost 7% of the sample reported sexual abuse. Implications for future research are also addressed.

Sexual orientation, adult connectedness, substance use, and mental health outcomes among adolescents: findings from the 2009 New York City Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

We examined associations between identifying as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) and lacking a connection with an adult at school on adolescent substance use and mental health outcomes including suicidality. We analyzed data from the 2009 New York City Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n=8910). Outcomes of interest included alcohol use, marijuana use, illicit drug use, depressive symptomatology, suicide ideation, and suicide attempt. The prevalence of each outcome was significantly higher among LGB adolescents than heterosexual adolescents and among those who lacked an adult connection at school than among those who did have such a connection. Even when LGB adolescents had an adult connection at school, their odds of most outcomes were significantly higher than for heterosexual adolescents. Those LGB adolescents who lacked a school adult connection had the poorest outcomes (about 45% reported suicide ideation; 31% suicide attempt). Adolescents who are LGB, particularly those who lack a connection with school adults, are at high risk for substance use and poorer mental health outcomes. Interventions should focus on boosting social support and improving outcomes for this vulnerable group.

The Effects of Changes in Physical Fitness on Academic Performance Among New York City Youth

PurposeTo evaluate whether a change in fitness is associated with academic outcomes in New York City (NYC) middle-school students using longitudinal data and to evaluate whether this relationship is modified by student household poverty. MethodsThis was a longitudinal study of 83,111 New York City middle-school students enrolled between 2006–2007 and 2011–2012. Fitness was measured as a composite percentile based on three fitness tests and categorized based on change from the previous year. The effect of the fitness change level on academic outcomes, measured as a composite percentile based on state standardized mathematics and English Language Arts test scores, was estimated using a multilevel growth model. Models were stratified by sex, and additional models were tested stratified by student household poverty. ResultsFor both girls and boys, a substantial increase in fitness from the previous year resulted in a greater improvement in academic ranking than was seen in the reference group (girls: .36 greater percentile point improvement, 95% confidence interval: .09–.63; boys: .38 greater percentile point improvement, 95% confidence interval: .09–.66). A substantial decrease in fitness was associated with a decrease in academics in both boys and girls. Effects of fitness on academics were stronger in high-poverty boys and girls than in low-poverty boys and girls. ConclusionsAcademic rankings improved for boys and girls who increased their fitness level by >20 percentile points compared to other students. Opportunities for increased physical fitness may be important to support academic performance.

A Critical Geographic Approach to Youth Civic Engagement

The article draws on work in Critical Geography Studies and Photovoice methodology, to illustrate the ways in which youth in an inner city conceptualize neighborhoods and public spaces. We utilize youth’s photographs, narratives, and maps to tell a story of youth’s lived experiences and argue that these experiences are vital sources of knowledge about how an unequal distribution of resources affects them. It is important, we argue, to not only hear student voices but also prepare them to become critical, independent thinkers, who can use multiple literacies as affordances for creating changes that help nourish them. This means fundamentally rethinking how as educators we listen to and walk with youth as they reframe the ways in which we might use public parks, neighborhood schools, community centers, and sidewalks as pedagogical and political spaces.

When the Subaltern Finally Speaks

As a postcolonial Indian woman now living in the West, I managed to overcome my own circumstances by finding my voice and resisting the oppression of an abusive arranged marriage. Subsequently, as a teacher of at risk marginalized and immigrant youth in the inner cities of 21st century America, who continue to be “colonized” by a public education system which often dictates monolithic ways of knowing and being, it became my duty to help my students find their voices and speak their multiple truths, while simultaneously engaging them in mastering the academic and literacy skills needed to successfully navigate the world.This study describes a transformative personal narrative writing project implemented with 100 middle and high school students, resulting in two published anthologies of student writing in which students discover and express their newly found voices.

High prevalence of overweight and obesity among inner city Chinese children in Shanghai, 2011

Background: In China, the prevalence of overweight and obesity appears to be increasing at unacceptable levels among young people living in major cities undergoing rapid economic growth.Objective: To report the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Shanghai inner city youth using the recently published International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) Asian definition.Methods: Secondary analysis of children aged 8–15 years who participated in the Shanghai Schools’ Physical Fitness Examinations, a representative school-based survey. Height and weight were measured and body mass index (kg/m2) was calculated. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was determined using the IOTF children’s BMI cut-points for Asian populations, equivalent to an adult BMI of 23 kg/m2 (overweight) and 27 kg/m2 (obese).Results: The prevalence of combined overweight and obesity was 49.1% for boys and 30.8% for girls aged 8–15-years. Almost one-in-five boys were obese, compared with 8.4% of girls. In boys the prevalence of overweight appeared to increase from age 10 years.Conclusion: The high prevalence of combined overweight and obesity among urban Chinese youth, especially among boys, requires immediate health promotion intervention.

Mental Health Screening Outcomes Among Justice-Involved Youths Under Community Supervision

The DISC Predictive Scales was administered to 812 New York City youths aged 10–19 placed under community supervision. Approximately half were indicated for possible mental health problems, most frequently mania and posttraumatic stress disorder. Girls were more likely than boys to flag on most disorders. Hierarchical Classes analysis produced five clusters: disruptive behavior, relational distress, marijuana, emotional dysregulation, and specific phobia. Posttraumatic stress disorder and mania were comorbid with all clusters except marijuana. Emotional dysregulation predicted higher, but relational distress predicted lower, risk for rearrest. Marijuana predicted failure to appear in court and receiving a final disposition of placement.

The Role of Substance Use in Adherence to HIV Medication and Medical Appointments

dolescents and young adults ages 15 to 24 yearsconstitute half of all new cases of HIV worldwide(Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS,2009). In the United States in 2009, more than8,000 new cases of HIV were diagnosed in youthages 13 to 24 years (Centers for Disease Controland Prevention, 2011). Further, at the end of 2009,16,743 cumulative cases of HIV were reportedamong New York City youth ages 13 to 24 years(New York City Department of Health and MentalHygiene, 2011).Adherence to HIV medications and adherence toHIV primary care appointments are necessary forgood health in this population. Quarterly medicalappointments are recommended to monitor CD

The ‘Post-80s Generation,’ ‘Young Night Drifters,’ and the construction of a generic youth subject in Hong Kong

This article examines shifting representations of youth in post-handover Hong Kong in order to develop a framework for understanding the process by which some youngsters become hidden or marginal in the public consciousness while others remain highly visible. We compare two youth labels that have captured the public's imagination over a 14-year period: the Post-80s Generation and Young Night Drifters (YNDS, also known as nonengaged youth). The more recently created Post-80s label to describe Hong Kong's youth, we argue, reflects an emerging vision of influential politicians, cultural and business elites who idealize or, as we put it, ‘genericize’ the city's youth as not only highly educated, entrepreneurial, and self-reliant, but also politically compliant and patriotic. This vision, we argue, eclipses another reality, identified by social workers and faced by many youngsters in the territory who have failed to achieve the necessary educational qualifications to participate in the knowledge-based economy and still rely on welfare, personified by the Young Night Drifter label. This analysis leads us to question the power dynamics behind frequent claims about certain youngsters being representative of a particular generation.

Manga Comic Influences Snack Selection in Black and Hispanic New York City Youth

To determine whether a single exposure to a Manga comic (Japanese comic art) with multiple messages promoting fruit intake influenced snack selection in minority urban youth. Fifty-seven youth (mean age 10.8y; 54% female; 74% black/African American) attending after-school programs in Brooklyn, NY participated in a pilot study in which they were randomly assigned to receive the comic or a non-health-related newsletter. After reading their media, participants were offered a snack and could choose from among healthy/unhealthy options. Secondary outcomes included knowledge, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations related to fruit intake and media transportation. Data were analyzed using regression and paired t test. Comic group participants were significantly more likely to choose a healthy snack, compared to the Attention-control group (odds ratio=3.6, 95% confidence interval: 1.1-12.1, P=.04). The Comic group reported increases in self-efficacy (P=.04) and greater transportation (immersion into media) (P=.006). Results suggest Manga comics may be a useful format to promote healthy snack selection in urban minority youth.

"We Live in the Shadow": Inner-City Kids Tell Their Stories through Photographs by Elaine Bell Kaplan

 2014 Children, Youth and Environments Children, Youth and Environments 24(1), 2014 “We Live in the Shadow”: Inner-City Kids Tell Their Stories through Photographs Elaine Bell Kaplan (2013). Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 208 pages. $25.95 USD (paperback). ISBN #978-1-4399-0790-0. In the book We Live in the Shadow, Elaine Bell Kaplan demonstrates the value that can come from directly engaging in dialogue with youth about their lives. Through photographs and interviews, middle- and high-school students living in South Central Los Angeles provide an important and often overlooked insight relevant to a wide range of professionals: these youth see and articulate the neglect and disparaging attitudes that pervade the “ghetto” environment that also happens to be their home. Elaine Bell Kaplan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Southern California. She is also author of Not Our Kind of Girl: Unraveling the Myths of Black Teenage Motherhood and has published numerous articles about race, class and education. Through this research she seeks to understand how youth experience and respond to living conditions, family life, and school and neighborhood dynamics in South Central Los Angeles. Kaplan begins the book by framing her questions and introducing the Photovoice method as a participatory research tool to understand youth experiences and their motivation for participating in after-school programs. She then describes the historic, social and economic context of South Central L.A. and finally shares youths’ stories of their school and neighborhoods. Her research subjects are primarily youth involved with the Neighborhood Academic Initiative Program at the University of Southern California (USC), as well as youth from the Willard after-school program, tutors and students from USC, parents, school teachers, and administrators. Kaplan helps unveil the tragedy inner-city youth face when no one believes in them or provides appropriate care or support. Through her research, youth share the lack of respect they feel because of filthy school toilets and teachers who would rather eat burritos than teach, as well as the violence and danger most youth face in school and in their neighborhoods. Youth also give voice to their desire for better education and for teachers, administrators and city officials who care about them and their future. This book will appeal to educators and trainers of teachers who may work with racially and ethnically diverse youth in inner-city or other urban environments. It may help budding teachers understand that many inner city youth do not want to be stigmatized as “gang-bangers” and that they have a desire to learn and improve their lives. Kaplan offers new insights into social theories of inner-city youth, urging that youth Book Review: “We Live in the Shadow”: Inner-City Kids Tell Their Stories… 190 have more sophisticated understandings of their circumstances than previous research articulates. Kaplan helps shed light on ways that youth themselves look to larger social and structural causes for their life circumstances. In this vein, the book is helpful also to urban sociologists, planners, and community-based organizations who want to understand and make a difference in blighted urban neighborhoods. While South Central L.A. is perhaps one of the most extreme urban environments in the United States in terms of gang influence and violence, the lessons shared and approach taken by Kaplan apply to many other cities, both within the U.S. and internationally. Kaplan’s approach clearly emerges from ethnography and sociological research, yet there are other applications and uses of participatory photography that differ slightly from Kaplan’s approach. In other contexts, Photovoice methods have been used not only to promote photography training and dialogue but also to share this work through public forums. For example, Hilfinger Messias and colleagues (2008) used Photovoice not only to help youth articulate issues within their South Carolina community but also to promote youth as positive social change agents. Similarly, in the case of the Youth Services Initiative Photovoice project, the process of exhibiting work and receiving feedback helped change youths’ perceptions of themselves and also broadened the adult community’s perception of youth and their lives (Derr et al. 2013). I couldn’t help but wish that the...

The Effects of Changes in Physical Fitness on Academic Performance Among New York City Youth

The Effects of Changes in Physical Fitness on Academic Performance Among New York City Youth

The "Chicago Way": Inner-City Street Gangs and the Battle for Civil Rights in the Windy City, 1966- 1970

The Civil Rights Movement unfolded uniquely in Chicago; in the North Lawndale and Woodlawn neighborhoods two street gangs, the Conservative Vice Lords (CVL) and the Almighty Black P Stone Nation (BPSN ) assumed the role of community organizations. They used their neighborhood connections and street savvy to alleviate racial pressures oppressing Chicago’s urban African American youths: high dropout rates, poor job opportunities, and the stress of dealing with increasingly unstable and declining communities. While the gangs’ established hierarchies led to rapid formation of community organizations, their efforts fell apart over a brief four-year period due to an inability to divest themselves fully of their criminal core. With the years of experience the gangs had working as singular units and the social capital they possessed on the streets, in 1966 both gangs quickly reorganized from street level groups to incorporated institutions. Promising to leave their criminal roots behind them, they received grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), and others. With their local powerbases secured, they made alliances and enemies. The mid to late 60s saw a clash between the gangs and the state and federal governments. This conflict, not just of differing personalities, but also of different motivations, pitted the hopes of an African American led community against the "mafia-esque" tactics the gangs used to assert control over their membership and territories. In doing so, these inner city youths proved how marginalized populations could effect change within their communities. This paper examines the metamorphosis of the CVL and BPSN from street gangs to political powerhouses as well as their successes and failures during the time period 1966 through 1970. This examination starts with their formation, continuing through their initiation into the Civil-Rights Movement, ending with the decade’s close and the end of the gang’s positive agency.

The Mysterious Victory of the Newsboys: The Grand Duke Theatre's 1874 Challenge to the Theatre Licensing Law

In 1874, a group of newsboys took on some of the wealthiest, most respected, and most powerful New Yorkers and emerged victorious. The Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents, a philanthropic organization that worked to guard public morals and championed Christian values, faced two challenges that year over the city's theatre licensing fee. Its prominent members and their financial power made the organization a formidable force in local city matters. As a result of the 1872 Act to Regulate Places of Public Amusement in the City of New York, theatre managers were required to pay $500 to the city for an operating license. The city gave the fees to the society, which it used to operate the city's House of Refuge. The society believed that theatres corrupted the city's youth and that, therefore, the theatres should help fund youth reform efforts. In its legal proceedings against theatres without licenses, the society typically targeted cheap entertainment establishments in poor neighborhoods. These playhouses “werenotparticularly powerful and presumably would not put up too strenuous a legal battle.”

A National Survey of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior of Chinese City Children and Youth Using Accelerometers

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to objectively assess levels of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) of Chinese city children and youth aged 9 to 17 years old using accelerometers and to examine their differences by gender, age, grade, and weight status. Method: The PA and SB of 2,163 students in 4th grade through 11th grade (M age = 160.87 ± 27.00 months [13.41 ± 2.25 years], 50.21% boys) from 11 cities in China were measured by accelerometers. The amount of time spent in SB, light PA, moderate PA, vigorous PA, and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) was computed based on cutoff points developed specifically for the Chinese children and youth. The participants were classified into normal-weight, overweight, and obese groups based on their body mass index (BMI). Paired-sample t tests were conducted to examine the differences in PA and SB between weekdays and weekend days. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to test the differences in PA and SB variables by gender, age, grade, and weight status, respectively. Results: Chinese city children and youth spent an average of 28.26 ± 17.66 min/day in MVPA and 521.50 ± 110.02 min/day in SB. Only 9.4% of boys and 1.9% of girls met the recommendation of 60 min/day of MVPA. Chinese city children and youth were more active during weekdays than during weekend days, and boys were more active than girls; older children and youth spent more daily time in MVPA, but also spent more time being sedentary. No differences in PA and SB were found across different BMI categories. Conclusion: The findings warn of the insufficiency of PA and the excess of SB in Chinese city children and youth.

Chinese City Children and Youth's Walking Behavior

Purpose: Although walking has been demonstrated as one of the best forms for promoting physical activity (PA), little is known about Chinese city children and youth's walking behavior. The purpose of this study was therefore to assess ambulatory PA behavior of Chinese city children and youth. Method: The daily steps of 2,751 children and youth (1,415 boys, 1,336 girls; aged 9 to 17 years old, M age = 154.78 ± 44.63 months) from 11 cities in China were recorded using ActiGraph GT3X accelerometers for 7 consecutive days. Results: The most active walking day was on Friday (M ± SD = 11,183 ± 5,130 steps), followed by Monday (M ± SD = 10,780 ± 4,921), Thursday (M ± SD = 10,705 ± 4,607), Tuesday (M ± SD = 10,687 ± 5,038), Wednesday (M ± SD = 10,428 ± 4,697), Saturday (M ± SD = 9,734 ± 5,582), and Sunday (M ± SD = 9,303 ± 5,569). Participants walked more steps during weekdays (M ± SD = 10,615 ± 4,411) than they did during weekend days (M ± SD = 9,444 ± 5,224; t = 15.71, p < .01, d = 0.34); boys walked more steps (M ± SD = 10,847 ± 4,322) than did girls (M ± SD = 9,938 ± 4,282; t = 4.92, p < .01, d = 0.22). The most active age was 11 years old in boys (M ± SD = 12,984 ± 4,897) and 10 years old in girls (M ± SD = 11,745 ± 4,721), and older children walked fewer steps. The data suggest that depending on age (9 to 17 years old), a range of 5.71% to 35.73%, 29.70% to 56.65%, and 15.96% to 47.62% boys and 22.86% to 40.14%, 29.41% to 46.26%, and 12.94% to 40.14% girls met 3 different health-related criteria for daily steps, respectively. Conclusion: Boys walked more than girls walked, but a majority of the Chinese city children and youth did not meet the recommended health-related steps/day.

Intensity Classification Accuracy of Accelerometer-Measured Physical Activities in Chinese Children and Youth

Purpose: Many ActiGraph accelerometer cutoff points and equations have been developed to classify children and youth's physical activity (PA) into different intensity levels. Using a sample from the Chinese City Children and Youth Physical Activity Study, this study was to develop new ActiGraph cutoff points for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and vigorous physical activity (VPA) for Chinese children and youth and to compare the classification accuracy to that of a set of existing cutoff points. Method: A total of 367 Chinese children and youth (179 boys, 188 girls, ages 9–17 years old) had their resting metabolic rate measured and completed six 5-min treadmill walking/running tests (tested at different speeds: 3 km·h− 1, 4 km·h− 1, 5 km·h− 1, 6 km·h− 1, 7 km·h− 1, and 8 km·h− 1), one unit of the 3rd broadcast gymnastics (Version 3, Xi-Wang-Feng-Fan and Wu-Dong-Qing-Chun), and 2 sets of table tennis exercises (continuous attack and multiple balls). Participants wore 1 ActiGraph GT3X accelerometer on their right hip during each test, and their oxygen consumption and heart rate (HR) were measured using Cosmed K4b2 and Polar HR transmitter. The participants were randomly divided into a calibration group (n = 331, 90%) and a cross-validation group (n = 36, 10%). Using the receiver-operating characteristic curve, the data from the calibration group were used to determine the cutoff points for MVPA and VPA. Using the data from the cross-validation group, classification accuracy of different cutoff points was evaluated through kappa statistics, sensitivity, and specificity. Results: A set of new cutoff points of counts per minute (CPM) was generated using the calibration data, and these cutoff points were proven to be more accurate compared with those developed in previous studies. Conclusion: When using ActiGraph accelerometers to measure the Chinese children and youth's PA, we recommended using the cutoff points of CPM ≥ 2,800 to define MVPA and CPM ≥ 4,000 for VPA.