Neighborhood Violence Research Articles

Self-Reported Adverse Childhood Experiences and Risk for Internalizing and Externalizing Difficulties among Adolescent Custodial Grandchildren

Despite custodial grandchildren’s (CG) traumatic histories and risk for psychological difficulties, knowledge is scant regarding the frequencies, types, and consequences of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) they have encountered. We examined self-reported ACEs via online surveys with 342 CG (ages 12 to 18) who were recruited to participate in an RCT of a social intelligence training program. ACEs were assessed by 14 widely used items, and risk for internalizing (ID) and externalizing (ED) difficulties were measured using 80th percentile cut-offs on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Classification and regression tree analyses included all 14 ACEs (along with CG gender and age) as predictors of ID and ED risk separately. Given possible comorbidity, analyses were run with and without the other risk type as a predictor. Less than 9% of CG self-reported no ACEs, 48.6% reported two to five ACEs, and 30.5% reported ≥6. Irrespective of ED risk, bullying from peers strongly predicted ID risk. ED risk was peak among CG who also had risk for ID. Without ID risk as a predictor, ED risk was highest among CG who were emotionally abused, not lived with a substance abuser, and encountered neighborhood violence. The frequency and types of ACEs observed were alarmingly higher than those among the general population, suggesting that many CG have histories of trauma and household dysfunction. That a small number of ACEs among the 14 studied here were significant predictors of ID and ED risk challenges the widespread belief of a cumulative dose ACE effect.

Exposure to Neighborhood Violence and Gun Carrying Among Adolescents in the United States: Findings From A Population-Based Study.

Although studies have investigated and found an association between victimization and weapon carrying, few studies have examined the association between exposure to neighborhood violence (NV) and gun carrying among adolescents. The objective of this study was to examine the cross-sectional association between exposure to NV and gun carrying among adolescents. Data for this study came from the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. An analytic sample of 17,033 adolescents aged 14 to 18 years old (51.7% male) was analyzed using logistic regression with complementary log-log link function. The outcome variable investigated in this study is gun carrying and was measured as a binary variable, whereas the main explanatory variable examined in this study was exposure to NV, which was also measured as a binary variable. Of the 17,033 adolescents, 4.2% carried a weapon during the past year, and 18.7% were exposed to NV. Controlling for the effects of other factors, adolescents who were exposed to NV had more than double the odds of carrying a gun when compared to their counterparts not exposed to NV (adjusted odds ratio = 2.33, 95% Confidence Intervals [1.69, 3.23]). Other significant factors associated with gun carrying include being a male, non-Hispanic Black, being threatened or injured with a weapon, use of alcohol, cigarette smoking, and misuse of prescription opioids. High parental monitoring was protective against gun carrying. The findings of this study underscore the importance of developing age-appropriate intervention strategies to reduce gun carrying among adolescents. School counselors and other professionals working with adolescents in disadvantaged neighborhoods should actively engage parents in assessments and interventions.

Adolescent psychopathic traits and adverse environments: Associations with socially adaptive outcomes.

Researchers have suggested that psychopathic traits among adults may be, at least in part, an adaptive and/or a learned response for securing socially adaptive outcomes in adverse environments, but there is a lack of developmental evidence supporting this hypothesis among adolescents. Therefore, we examined the indirect links from self-perceived adverse environments (parental neglect, socioeconomic status, school competition, neighborhood violence) to evolutionarily relevant social outcomes (social power, dating behavior) through psychopathic traits. A community sample of 396 adolescents completed measures for the study (Mage = 14.64, SD = 1.52). As predicted, there were significant indirect effects from higher levels of parental neglect, school competition, and neighborhood violence to both forms of socially adaptive outcomes through psychopathic traits, but unexpectedly, there were no indirect effects with socioeconomic status. There were also direct effects between environment and socially adaptive outcomes. Results support the hypothesis that psychopathic traits may be, in part, an adaptive and/or learned response to cues from adverse social environments as a means to acquire evolutionarily relevant social outcomes. Interventions could be designed to target the adverse social issues that might be facilitating the development of psychopathy and should be sensitive to the social outcomes adolescents may acquire from these traits.

Exposure to Neighborhood Violence and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among Adolescents in the USA: Findings from a Population-Based Study

Exposure to Neighborhood Violence and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among Adolescents in the USA: Findings from a Population-Based Study

The Role of Parent–Adolescent Communication Among Youth Exposed to Neighborhood Violence in Rural Mexico

This study examines the potential moderating effects of mother– and father–adolescent communication on the relations between community violence exposure (i.e., witnessing violence and personal victimization), neighborhood-based sexual harassment, and adolescents’ depressive and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. The sample included 200 poor, rural adolescents ( Mage = 14.93, SD = 1.40), the majority of whom were girls (58%) from two public schools in the State of Mexico, Mexico. Multiple hierarchical regressions indicated high rates of exposure to neighborhood violence, as well as positive associations between violence exposure and adolescents’ psychological outcomes. Mother– and father–adolescent communication each separately functioned as distinct protective factors, weakening the associations between violence exposure and adolescents’ psychological outcomes. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Associations Between Exposure to Neighborhood Violence and Firearm Possession Among Chicago Adults

Associations Between Exposure to Neighborhood Violence and Firearm Possession Among Chicago Adults

Urban Violence, Migration and Alcohol, Tobacco, and Marijuana Use among Transnational Students in Northern Mexico.

This article reports on the findings of a study of the relationship between transnational experiences in the United States (US) and the use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana among 7th grade students (n = 1418). The study was guided by a cross-national framework for research on immigrant health and assessed the accumulation of risk factors for transnational adolescents. Data came from a survey conducted in 2017 in Nogales, Mexico. In this study, the last 30-day prevalence of use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana among students was 21.7%, 8.3%, and 2.4%, respectively. Most students were born in Nogales (69.6%), while 10.5% were born in the US, 7.5% attended school in the US, and 3.6% engaged in health-related risk behaviors while living in or visiting the US. Students with transnational experiences, such as attending school in the US, reported the highest 30-day prevalence of tobacco (13.3%) and marijuana (9.5%) use. After adjusting for family, school, access to substances and neighborhood violence variables, students who engaged in health-related risk behavior in the US had significantly increased odds of alcohol and marijuana use while later attending school in Mexico. The article discusses the findings from a prevention science perspective and provides implications for policy, practice, and future research on the Mexico-US border region.

Risk Factors Associated With Bullying in Context of a Territory Exposed to Armed Conflict: A Cross-sectional Study.

School violence and bullying are current and problematic events during adolescence. They are likely to have a marked presence in places highly exposed to armed conflict and violent environments, representing a double public health problem. The study aims to estimate the prevalence of different types of school violence perpetrated and experienced by school adolescents in a community with a history of exposure to armed conflict. Two thousand one hundred eighty-five school adolescents from a municipality in Colombia (males = 54.1%, 14-16 years = 38.6%) participated in the study. Nine educational institutions were included. A systematic random sampling was designed, with a proportional allocation of 35% within each school year from sixth to eleventh grade. The School Coexistence and Circumstances Affecting it-ECECA survey was applied. The prevalence and risks of bully and bullying were estimated. RRa were calculated with the 95% confidence interval adjusted for the other confounding variables. Analyses were constructed from generalized linear models, under the Poisson family and a logarithmic link function. We found a 9.3% of bullying victimization and a 3.5% prevalence of bully. A higher risk of bully was found among males, persons between 10 and 14 years of age, residents of rural or urban dispersed areas, residents of violent neighborhoods, alcohol consumers at school, and victims of aggression in childhood (RRa > 1.0, p-values <.05). The risk of victimization of bullying was higher in students younger than 15 years old, as residents of urban areas, having a history of childhood aggression, suffering abuse by a close person, and as alcohol users at school. This study provides evidence of risk factors for aggression and bullying that have implications for possible prevention measures in multiple social domains, including the individual, the family, and the school environment.

HEALTH AND WELL-BEING ACROSS ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS AND TIME IN MID LIFE AND LATE ADULTHOOD

Abstract Health and well-being are shaped by peoples’ experiences and ecological contexts (Bronfenbrenner, 2005), reflecting the influence of complex person-context relationships. For example, experiences (e.g., daily stressors, early childhood adversity) occur within microlevel (e.g., marital relationships, neighborhoods) and macrolevel (e.g., societal inequalities) contexts, impacting both daily well-being and healthy aging. Further, a robust literature highlights the significance of naturally occurring everyday experiences for a range of health outcomes, underscoring how daily experiences have immediate and lasting effects on individual physical and cognitive health and psychological well-being. Drawing on Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model, the current symposium features novel research examining health and well-being outcomes across diverse ecological systems and time scales across midlife and old age, with the goal of articulating how innovative approaches for studying person-context interactions can be leveraged to understand both proximal and long-term health and well-being. Polenick and colleagues will examine associations between daily negative and positive events and well-being among heterosexual married couples living with early-stage dementia. Cichy et al. will examine gender differences in the prospective effects of daily stress processes on long-term chronic disease risk in midlife and later life. Next, Turner and Mogle will examine how positive and negative affect mediate the associations between daily memory lapses and psychological well-being. Finally, Choi, Munoz, Scott, and Sliwinski will examine whether current positive (i.e., neighborhood cohesion) and negative (i.e., neighborhood violence) neighborhood contexts moderate the effect of childhood stress exposure on cognitive function in adulthood. Robert Stawski will synthesize the presentations and offer insights for future research.

Patterns of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Psychiatric Disorders Among Adolescents with ADHD: A Latent Class Analysis.

There is limited existing research on whether specific combinations of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are associated with different psychiatric disorders among adolescents with ADHD. This study aimed to address this gap by identifying classes of ACEs and examining their association with behavioral problems, anxiety, and depression in adolescents with ADHD aged 11-17 (n = 1,806), using data from the 2018 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH). A latent class analysis revealed a four-class solution: (1) low-risk ACEs (61.6%), (2) moderate-risk ACEs (25.2%), (3) high discrimination and neighborhood violence exposure (7.6%), and (4) high-risk ACEs (5.6%). The "high-risk ACEs" and the "high discrimination and neighborhood violence exposure" class showed a higher likelihood of behavioral problems and depression, and anxiety and depression respectively. These findings provide some insight into the ACE patterns that are more likely to be associated with mental health problems among adolescents with ADHD.

It takes a safe village to raise a child-a commentary on Dana McCoy etal. (2023).

This commentary on the study by McCoy etal. (2023) examining the negative effects of neighborhood violence on the development of toddlers growing up in the city of São Paulo (Brazil) interprets these outcomes from the perspective of ecological system theory, modern brain research, and the prospect of resilience. We argue that societies should give children the opportunity to grow up in a safe and sufficiently affluent social environment in order to give them a chance to achieve their full developmental potential. Governments and the health care system should, therefore, first and foremost invest in safe and stimulating child-rearing environments, informed by scientific research.

Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions: Vonnie C. McLoyd.

The APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions honors psychologists who have made distinguished theoretical or empirical contributions to basic research in psychology. "For advancing understanding of the family-level processes through which poverty harms children. Vonnie C. McLoyd extended a family stress model of how families cope with the shock of economic loss to investigate how families cope with poverty and low income as ongoing conditions. Her work demonstrates that poverty and low-income can adversely affect children's psychological functioning through its impact on mothers' mental health and parenting behaviors. It also provides evidence of the protective effects of social support on mothers and children experiencing poverty and neighborhood violence. Her scholarship interrogating and critiquing the deficit, race-comparative paradigm helped move the study of African American children toward one that gives more attention to normative development, contextual influences, and sources of within-group variation." (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Racial/Ethnic disparities in exposure to neighborhood violence and lung cancer risk in Chicago

BackgroundDespite the lower prevalence and frequency of smoking, Black adults are disproportionately affected by lung cancer. Exposure to chronic stress generates heightened immune responses, which creates a cell environment conducive to lung cancer development. Residents in poor and segregated neighborhoods are exposed to increased neighborhood violence, and chronic exposure to violence may have downstream physiological stress responses, which may explain racial disparities in lung cancer in predominantly Black urban communities. MethodsWe utilized retrospective electronic medical records of patients who underwent a screening or diagnostic test for lung cancer at an academic medical center in Chicago to examine the associations between lung cancer diagnosis and individual characteristics (age, gender, race/ethnicity, and smoking status) and neighborhood-level homicide rate. We then used a synthetic population to estimate the neighborhood-level lung cancer risk to understand spatial clusters of increased homicide rates and lung cancer risk. ResultsOlder age and former/current smoking status were associated with increased odds of lung cancer diagnosis. Hispanic patients were more likely than White patients to be diagnosed with lung cancer, but there was no statistical difference between Black and White patients in lung cancer diagnosis. The odds of being diagnosed with lung cancer were significantly higher for patients living in areas with the third and fourth quartiles of homicide rates compared to the second quartile of homicide rates. Furthermore, significant spatial clusters of increased lung cancer risk and homicide rates were observed on Chicago's South and West sides. ConclusionsNeighborhood violence was associated with an increased risk of lung cancer. Black residents in Chicago are disproportionately exposed to neighborhood violence, which may partially explain the existing racial disparity in lung cancer. Incorporating neighborhood violence exposure into lung cancer risk models may help identify high-risk individuals who could benefit from lung cancer screening.

Exposure to neighborhood violence and insufficient sleep among adolescents in the United States: Findings from a population-based study

Although studies have investigated and found an association between victimization and insufficient sleep among adolescents, few studies have examined the association between exposure to neighborhood violence and insufficient sleep among adolescents. The objective of this study was to investigate the cross-sectional association between exposure to neighborhood violence and insufficient sleep among adolescents. Data for this study came from the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. An analytic sample of 17,033 adolescents aged 14–18 (51.7 % male) was analyzed using binary logistic regression. The outcome variable investigated was insufficient sleep, and the main explanatory variable was exposure to neighborhood violence. Of the 17,033 adolescents, 76.5 % did not obtain the recommended 8 hours of sleep on an average school night, and 18.7 % were exposed to neighborhood violence. Controlling for the effects of other factors, exposure to neighborhood violence was associated with 1.33 times higher odds of having insufficient sleep (AOR = 1.33, 95 % CI = 1.13–1.58). Adolescents were more likely to get insufficient sleep if they were older, non-Hispanic Black, had poor mental health during COVID, felt sad or hopeless, engaged in excessive screen-time behaviors, or used alcohol. Physical activity, school connectedness, and parental monitoring all had protective effects on insufficient sleep. This study found that exposure to neighborhood violence was associated with insufficient sleep among adolescents over and above demographic and other covariates. Future studies that employ longitudinal designs may offer additional insight into the mechanisms underlying the association between exposure to neighborhood violence and insufficient sleep.

Community violence in neighborhoods and common mental disorders among Brazilian adolescents

BackgroundThis study aims to explore the association between exposure to neighborhood violence and the presence of common mental disorders (CMDs) among Brazilian adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. Additionally, we aim to analyze whether sex, age and race are modifiers of the effect of this association.MethodsThe study comprised 1,686 adolescents residing in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, situated in the Southeast region of Brazil. To measure exposure to community violence, we constructed three crime indicators using data from Civil Police of the State of Rio de Janeiro: crimes against property, nonlethal crimes, and lethal crimes. Employing geospatial analysis based on the adolescents’ residence location, logistic regression modeling was performed to measure the association between violence and CMDs.ResultsAdolescents living in regions with higher rates of the three types of violence studied herein were more likely to have CMDs, with odds ratios (ORs) ranging from 2.33 to 2.99. When stratified by sex, age and race, girls, older adolescents and blacks have a greater magnitude of effect on the measure of association, indicating a heightened risk for CMDs.ConclusionThis study provides important contributions to the public health field, as it reveals new information on the influence of community violence on the mental health of adolescents. Given the elevated rates of violence globally, knowing the effects of such violence on adolescents becomes crucial for the prevention and treatment of CMDs within this population.

THU501 Examining The Link Between Exposure To Neighborhood Violence And PRMT6 And Glucocorticoid Receptor Binding To Chromatin In Lung Tumors

Abstract Disclosure: H. Heath: None. S. Kim: None. Z. Madak Erdogan: None. Despite smoking less, Black men experience a higher incidence of lung cancer than white men. This health disparity is even more prevalent in Black men from Chicago, suggesting local neighborhood factors impacting tumorigenesis. Preliminary data found that Black men compared to white men exhibit overexpression of the epigenetic regulator known as PRMT6, have elevated levels of hair cortisol, and live in neighborhoods with disproportionately high levels of violence. This research aims to investigate the receptor for cortisol called glucocorticoid receptor (GR), and PRMT6 recruitment to chromatin and to correlate this recruitment with tumor cortisol levels and exposure to neighborhood violence. Using a version of ChIP-sequencing known as CUT &amp; RUN, the gene binding sites of PRMT6 and GR will be identified using 16 lung tumor samples from patients living in Chicago. Cortisol levels present in lung tumors will be detected using LC-MS. These cortisol levels will be correlated with GR and PRMT6 recruitment to chromatin and neighborhood homicide data obtained using patients’ zip codes. We hypothesize that PRMT6 and GR will be recruited to regulatory regions of genes related to increased lung tumor aggressiveness. We also anticipate that cortisol levels will correlate with neighborhood violence levels and elevated PRMT6 and GR colocalization, indicating chronic exposure to stress as a regulator of lung tumor formation. Presentation: Thursday, June 15, 2023

The Effects of Interpersonal Violence on Sleep Following the COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Order.

Lack of sleep is a harm that can lead to chronic diseases ranging from diabetes to heart disease. We examined the exposure to interpersonal violence and its association with sleep, following the COVID-19 stay-at-home order. Cross-sectional. Surveys were completed online and via paper-and-pencil in English and Spanish (N = 2049; RR = 68.4%). Respondents were 18+ and residing in Chicago. The Chicago Department of Public Health's "2022 Healthy Chicago Survey COVID-19 Social Impact Survey". We developed two weighted models. Model 1 examined the effects of neighborhood violence on meeting the national sleep recommendation. Model 2 examined the effects of violence in the home among friends or family on meeting the sleep recommendation, incorporating additional predictors: victimization, stress, gender, race/ethnicity, household income, and general health. Odds ratios were estimated using multivariate logistic regression. Exposure to neighborhood violence and sleep was not significant, but knowing a friend or family member who experienced violence or mistreatment in their home affected the odds of meeting the sleep recommendation (OR = .61, 95% CI = .44-.84). Non-Hispanic Blacks had 52% lower odds of meeting sleep recommendations (OR = .48, 95% CI = .37-.63). Addressing the harms to sleep that followed COVID-19 should engage diverse stakeholders in implementing culturally responsive interventions to promote adequate sleep and prevent chronic disease.

Anywhere but Here: Neighborhood Violence and Local School Preferences in Baltimore City

In this study, we examine whether students in violent neighborhoods actively avoid their local school as a form of social and physical protection. Specifically, we use 10 years of administrative data (2010–2020) from the high school choice open enrollment program in the Baltimore City Public School System to evaluate the interaction between neighborhood violence and geographic proximity when predicting choice behavior. We find that, adjusting for observed school characteristics and constant unobserved student characteristics, students from more violent neighborhoods are substantially less likely to choose their closest school than are students in safer neighborhoods; even when the closest school is listed, it is ranked lower for students from more violent neighborhoods than for students in safer ones. These findings have implications for how we think about the relationship between neighborhoods and educational opportunity in an era of choice.

Gender and Violence in Toni Morrison’s A Mercy, Elena Ferrante’s Tetralogy My Brilliant Friend and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus

This paper explores the portrayal of violence and gender in its relation to different historical periods, countries, cultures, and religions. The aim is to determine the role these different aspects have in forming of characters’ identities and more specifically how it is all related to gender. The research will focus on Toni Morrison’s A Mercy, Elena Ferrante’s Tetralogy My Brilliant Friend, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus. All three novels, regardless of the different periods they fictionalize and discuss, and the literature they belong to, are connected by the captivating darkness that runs deeply through their fictional fiber and portrays the horrible conditions and struggles women have to go through because of the violence they were succumbed to, but also the violence they have to resort to to survive and even thrive in the ever-changing, but always firmly men’s world. Morrison’s novel is set in the early stages of the slave trade in America when racial, religious, and class tensions were just beginning to form, Ferrante’s tetralogy focuses on the post-WWII Italy, poverty-stricken and violent neighborhoods of the outskirts of Naples, and Purple Hibiscus is set in postcolonial Nigeria, a country struggling with political instability and economic difficulties. All three authors with their respective novels render vibrant pictures of the lives of young girls and grown women, mothers, daughters, and friends, across times, countries, but also classes, that offer plenty of space for comparative research focusing on the presence and role of violence in their lives.

Perceptions of neighborhood threat and caregiver support in early adolescence: Sex differences in neural and behavioral correlates in the ABCD study

BackgroundAdolescents, particularly racial and ethnic minorities, are at increased risk for neighborhood threat and violence exposure, which impacts behavioral and neural outcomes. Caregiver support is associated with healthy socioemotional adjustment and self-regulatory and coping behaviors; however, it remains unclear whether caregiver support, specifically, consolation, can moderate the behavioral and neural impacts of neighborhood threat. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine the role of youth-perceived neighborhood threat on neural and behavioral correlates and to test the moderating potential of caregiver support. Sex differences in associations were examined. Participants and setting11,559 nine- and ten-year old youth enrolled in the multi-site Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study at baseline. MethodsAssociations were examined via linear regression models employing youth-perceived neighborhood threat and caregiver support. Regression and interaction models controlled for youth age, sex, race and ethnicity, primary caregiver's education, family income, family structure, youth-perceived school threat, and intracranial volume when examining neural outcomes. An ANOVA employing a Chi-square test and simple slopes analysis were used to identify significant interactions in moderation models. ResultsNeighborhood threat is associated with structural alterations in the left amygdala (p = .004). Meanwhile, caregiver support interacts in a dose-response fashion with neighborhood threat to attenuate its relationship with left amygdala volume (p = .008). Among youth reporting neighborhood threat, problematic behaviors were more common (p < .0001). While not significant, males reported higher rates of neighborhood threat than females (p = .267). Females reported greater levels of caregiver support (p = .017). Lastly, racial and ethnic differences in neighborhood threat and caregiver support were evident (p < .001). ConclusionsWhile youth may not have been exposed to direct or immediate sources of threat and violence, these findings shed light on the impact of neighborhood threat perception on problematic behaviors and amygdala volume among nine- and ten-year olds. Future research should identify other culturally inclusive sources and measures of support and resiliency.