Urban Youth Of Color Research Articles

Urban youth of color’s sociopolitical development in the context of police misconduct

Urban youth of color’s sociopolitical development in the context of police misconduct

Predictors of medical mistrust among urban youth of color during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted communities of color and highlighted longstanding racial health inequities. Communities of color also report higher rates of medical mistrust driven by histories of medical mistreatment and continued experiences of discrimination and systemic racism. Medical mistrust may exacerbate COVID-19 disparities. This study utilizes the Behavior Model for Vulnerable Populations to investigate predictors of medical mistrust during the COVID-19 pandemic among urban youth of color. Minority youth (N = 105) were recruited from community organizations in Kansas City, Missouri to complete an online survey between May and June 2020. Multiple linear regressions were performed to estimate the effect of personal characteristics, family and community resources, and COVID-19 need-based factors on medical mistrust. Results indicated that loneliness, financial insecurity (e.g., job loss, loss of income) due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and eligibility for free or reduced lunch predicted medical mistrust. Insurance status, neighborhood median household income, social support, and perceived COVID-19 risk were not significantly associated with medical mistrust. Future research and policies are necessary to address systemic factors that perpetuate medical mistrust among youth of color.

The Mediating Role of Ethnic Identity and Social Justice Orientation Between Community Civic Participation, Psychological Sense of Community, and Dimensions of Psychological Empowerment Among Adolescents of Color.

There is an emerging interest in studying social action and civic engagement as a part of the developmental process. Studies among youth of color indicate that empowerment has been associated with well-being, a critical perspective, and in combating social oppression. These studies also show that civic involvement and awareness of social justice issues are associated with positive developmental outcomes including empowerment. The range of predictors and outcomes related to empowerment have been insufficiently explored. This study used structural equation modeling path analysis techniques to examine the association community civic participation and psychological sense of community have with intrapersonal and cognitive psychological empowerment, through both ethnic identity and social justice orientation among urban youth of color (N =383; 53.1% Female; 75% Hispanic; 50.6% were 13 and 15 years of age). Findings illustrate that greater community civic participation and psychological sense of community are associated with both intrapersonal and cognitive psychological empowerment, through both ethnic identity and a social justice orientation; however, with some noted variations. Ethnic identity and social justice orientation mediated community civic participation and psychological sense of community and both intrapersonal and cognitive psychological empowerment. Implications put forward for community youth-workers and community programming.

Sexual negotiation skills and risky behavior on sexual partnerships, HIV knowledge, and risk perception among urban youth of color: A latent class analysis

Adolescents of color in urban communities are at high risk for contracting HIV, unlikely to have access to HIV testing services, or any other form of screening services. Using latent class analysis among a sample of African American/Black (48.1%) and Hispanic/Latina(o) (42%) youth (N = 668; Mage = 16.30; 51% female), this study examined the association cluster group membership, based on sexual negotiation skills and risk behavior, had on HIV knowledge, perception of risk, and the number of sexual partners. Five distinct cluster groups emerged, with significant heterogeneity observed between cluster groups on select dependent variables. A larger proportion of the study participants were in cluster groups that identified higher levels of sexual negotiation skills; however, variation was present based on risk behaviors. Results provide useful recommendations for research on HIV/AIDS and risk behaviors, as well prevention-intervention programing among urban youth of color.

A latent class analysis of cognitive empowerment and ethnic identity: An examination of heterogeneity between profile groups on dimensions of emotional psychological empowerment and social justice orientation among urban youth of color.

Psychological empowerment (PE) encompasses key aspects of youth development and civic engagement. Empowerment scholarship has largely focused on the intrapersonal or emotional component of PE, which considers perceptions of control and self-efficacy, specifically in the sociopolitical sphere. Fewer studies have assessed the interactional or cognitive component of PE. Even less have examined the empirical association aspects of PE, including cognitive empowerment, with conceptually related variables, such as ethnic identity. Those studies that are present have shown that the association between aspects of PE and ethnic identity are complex. The current study of urban high school students of color (N = 383; 53.1% female; 75% Hispanic/Latinx) investigates the heterogeneity present between cognitive empowerment and ethnic identity. Latent class cluster analyses were conducted and five distinct profile groups emerged. Differences were observed on the basis of profile groups of cognitive empowerment and ethnic identity on self-reported dimensions of emotional PE (e.g., leadership and policy control) and social justice orientation. The majority of study participants were clustered in groups that identified moderate to high levels of both cognitive empowerment and ethnic identity. Results provide useful insights for theory and programming.

Substance use among urban youth of color: Exploring the role of community-based predictors, ethnic identity, and intrapersonal psychological empowerment.

Advances in the etiology of substance use in ethnic minority youth over the last 30 years have not adequately addressed factors and conditions that protect youth from substance use. This research has also failed to consider the impact of ethnic identity and empowerment-based processes among urban youth of color. The aim of the present study was to uncover, first, the mediating effect of ethnic identity between community-based predictors (e.g., community participation and neighborhood sense of community) and 30-day substance use, and second, the mediating effect of intrapersonal psychological empowerment (PE) between ethnic identity and 30-day substance use. Data were from a sample (N = 1,480) of African-American/Black (30.4%) and Hispanic/Latinx (59.1%) urban adolescents, who were largely female (61%) and between 16 and 18 years of age (70.5%). Main analytic procedures were carried out through AMOS structural equation modeling software. Results from this study displayed the importance of ethnic identity and PE as mechanisms associated with reducing 30-day substance use. Both PE and ethnic identity mediated the effect community-based predictors had in reducing 30-day substance use. In addition, PE was observed to also mediate the effect between ethnic identity and 30-day substance use, providing insight into the relationship between ethnic identity and PE. The salience of ethnic identity and PE as mechanisms associated with reducing 30-day substance use are discussed. In addition, findings provide useful insight into the development of youth- and community-based prevention policies and programming to help reduce substance use and empower adolescents of color. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Youths’ navigations of botanical gardens: bids for recognition, ways to desettle practice

How can we ‘desettle’ the colonial discourse and worldview of botanical gardens and its practices in teaching about plants? How can we move towards engaging deeply with who we are and think we are in relation to place, land, and the world, grounded in an intricate sense of harmony? How can we move our work in botanic gardens beyond regarding land, plants, and nature as commodities for causal consumption, or as places to rapidly observe but typically not touch? I explore these three questions in this paper through a weaving together of some of the literature on education and informal learning in botanical gardens and narratives from my research with urban youth of color in the Botanical Garden of Montreal. In doing so, I make evident youths’ navigations of botanical gardens and their bids for recognition as other than detached from nature. Together, these narratives help to rethink taken for granted practices of education about plants in gardens grounded in Western views of science and lack of a more serious engagement with holistic perspectives of humans in and with nature.

An examination of ethnic identity as a mediator of the effects of community participation and neighborhood sense of community on psychological empowerment among urban youth of color.

Empowerment research has made important contributions toward understanding youth development, well-being, and activism; however, it has failed to consider the impact that ethnic identity has on psychological empowerment (PE) and among related empowerment predictors (e.g., community participation and neighborhood sense of community [SOC]). The present study focuses on examining the mediating role of ethnic identity between community participation, neighborhood SOC, and PE. Using structural equation modeling path analysis techniques among a sample of Hispanic and Black youth (N=1,480) from an underresourced community, this study examines the mediating role of ethnic identity between community participation, neighborhood SOC, and PE. Community participation and neighborhood SOC had a positive direct effect on both ethnic identity and PE. Both community participation and neighborhood SOC also indirectly affected PE through ethnic identity. This study supports the mediating role of ethnic identity and the direct effect of ethnic identity on PE. Results point toward the importance of ethnic identity with PE and in the empowerment process. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Neighborhood Cultural Heterogeneity and the College Aspirations of Low-Income Students of Color

For decades, higher education has concerned itself with understanding the complex pathways to college for low-income students of color in general, and those in urban contexts in particular. This paper applies the concept of neighborhood cultural heterogeneity, defined as the presence of a wide array of competing and conflicting cultural models, to explore college aspirations and enrollment among low-income, urban youth of color. The findings, based on a five-month ethnography involving low-income students of color in a Los Angeles neighborhood, highlight diverse positive and negative neighborhood-informed messages regarding college-going.

Hip-Hop Cypher in Group Work

ABSTRACTGroup work holds significant value in communities that face mental health disparities. Although there is an array of research that supports the use of group therapy as a therapeutic medium, populations such as urban youth of color are often unable to access these services or fully benefit from them. To compensate, some communities have developed their own cultural methods of healing. In this article, the authors argue that by using expressive methods of healing social workers can accentuate the power and potential of groups with these populations.

Examining Hip-Hop as Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

Culturally relevant pedagogy is a framework that conceptualizes the process of student learning as contingent upon educators’ deep understanding of students’ cultural backgrounds to co-construct knowledge and develop academic skills. Concurrently, there are a growing number of studies that explore hip-hop as a culturally relevant curriculum for urban youth of color. This work explores the potential and pitfalls of hip-hop as culturally relevant pedagogy by offering insights from two studies based in Chicago that incorporate hip-hop discourses and ideologies into curriculum and programing in and out of schools. Insights suggest that hip-hop can be a powerful tool to engage youth of color, but educators must first truly grasp students’ realities, develop strong relationships with students, families, and communities, and be committed to social justice.

89. An Innovative Approach to Screening Urban Youth of Color for Sexually Transmitted Infections

89. An Innovative Approach to Screening Urban Youth of Color for Sexually Transmitted Infections

Advancing Social Justice in Urban Schools Through the Implementation of Transformative Groups for Youth of Color

The unique challenges faced by some youth of color living in high poverty contexts necessitate the creation of innovative, culturally relevant, group interventions. Framing the work of group counselors from a social justice perspective provides a structure for emphasizing the complex intersection of economic, political, and socio-historical issues facing some urban youth of color. The purpose of this article is to describe the transformative group approach for working with youth of color in under-resourced contexts. The implementation of 2 pilot groups using this critical consciousness-raising approach with 7th and 8th grade urban students of color will also be presented.

School Engagement Among Urban Youth of Color

School engagement is a multifaceted psychosocial process that functions as a key mediator of academic achievement, motivation, and school dropout. This study investigated the effects of vocational exploration and racial identity on behavioral (attendance, attention, time spent on class work) and psychological (identification with school) factors of school engagement among urban youth of color ( N = 197). Hierarchical multiple regression and criterion-pattern analysis revealed a predictive profile marked by high levels of positive racial internalization and career planning combined with low levels of racial dissonance. The study's limitations, directions for research, and implications for practice are discussed.

“This Is Political!” Negotiating the Legacies of the First School-Based Gay Youth Group

In 1972, a group of students of color at New York City's George Washington High School's founded the first school-based gay group on record in the United States, using their school as a site of activism by participating in both their school's student government opportunities and in an emergent social movement. The group formed by these Bronx students can be interpreted as the very first example of what is known today as a gay-straight alliance (GSA) even though the conventional history of the GSA begins in the late 1980s with a group of suburban private school students. This exclusion from the history of student participation in activism for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights suggests a significant alternate reading of the racism, classism, and geographic biases of the greater LGBT movement, its organization, direction, priorities, and narratives for/about LGBTQ youth, especially urban youth of color. Considering alternate readings of youth participation might better enable us to envision a political strategy that accentuates shared values of social justice, the civil and human rights to an equitable education, and the significance of building coalitions in order to ensure safer schools for all.

The SURVIVE Community Project

The purpose of this article is to describe the development of a family-based intervention designed to target the harmful effects of exposure to family and community violence on urban youth and their parents. The program, “Supporting Urban Residents to be Violence-Free in a Violent Environment (SURVIVE),” is a 12-week multiple family group (MFG) intervention modeled upon similar children's mental health programs implemented with urban youth of color and their families in several major U.S. cities. The design and implementation of the SURVIVE Community Project were guided by a collaborative partnership between community members, including mental health professionals, teachers, and parents from the Bronx, and an interdisciplinary team of university-based researchers. In order to establish the feasibility and relevance of the program for urban communities, 25 families with children ages 7-11 participated in a pilot test of the curriculum. The description of the SURVIVE Community Project provided here is based on this work, and includes a discussion of facilitation issues. Implications for family-based intervention targeting urban children and families affected by violence are highlighted.

Gender Differences in Rates of Depressive Symptoms Among Low-Income, Urban, African American Youth: A Test of Two Mediational Hypotheses

The present study tested for gender differences in depressive symptoms in a sample of 622 low-income, urban, African American adolescents. Results indicate that adolescent girls in this sample were significantly more likely to endorse depressive symptoms than were boys. To examine possible explanations for this gender difference, 2 variables were tested as mediators of the relation between gender and depressive symptoms: (1) interpersonal stressors and (2) ruminative coping. Results indicate that ruminative coping, but not interpersonal stressors, mediated the relation between gender and depressive symptoms in this sample. Possible explanations for these findings, in light of the common and unique experiences of low-income, urban youth of color, are explored.

"Safe Places to Go and Things to Do": Political Texts from Urban Youth of Color

"Safe Places to Go and Things to Do": Political Texts from Urban Youth of Color