Adolescents' exposure to community violence and associations with after-school activities across two samples.

INTRODUCTION: Exposure to community violence (ECV) continues to be a major public health problem among urban adolescents in the United States. We sought to identify subgroups of adolescents' ECV and examine how after-school activities are related to exposure subgroups across two samples. METHODS: In Study 1 there were 1432 adolescents (Cohort 9 n = 717, Mage = 11, and Cohort 12 n = 715, Mage = 14; 52% boys) from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (1994-2002). Study 2 had a more recent sample of 537 adolescents (Mage = 16 years; 54% girls) from the After-School Activity Study (ASAS; 2015-2017) in Chicago and Detroit. RESULTS: Exploratory latent class analyses yielded a three-class solution for Study 1: a "No ECV" class (44%); a "Low ECV" class (36%); and a "High Exposure" class (14%). In Study 2, a four-class solution was the best fit with a "No ECV" class (33%), a "Moderate Witness/Low Victim" class (36%), a "High Witness/Moderate Victim" class (19%), and a "High ECV" class (11%). Home-based activities appeared to be protective against high ECV for adolescents in Study 2. School-based activities were associated with higher ECV across both samples, but community-based activities were only associated with greater violence exposure in Study 1. Adolescents' unstructured socializing in both studies was associated with higher odds of ECV. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that subgroups of adolescents can be identified based on ECV and highlight the complexity of after-school activities as risk and protective factors in both past and more recent contexts.

Adolescents in the Community: Extracurricular Activities and Sexual Harassment.

Sexual harassment and participation in extracurricular activities are two common experiences for adolescents, yet little research examines the interplay between these two phenomena, particularly among low-income, racial/ethnic minority adolescents. This study examined whether participation in four types of extracurricular activities-school-based, structured community-based, unstructured community-based, and home-based-was associated with adolescents' PTSD and depressive symptoms over time, and whether those relations were mediated by neighborhood-based sexual harassment. Participants were 537 adolescents who were on average 15.6 years old, 54% girls, and majority Latino/a (n = 416; 77.5%). Path analyses revealed a significant indirect effect between unstructured community-based activities, but not structured community-based, school- nor home-based extracurricular activities and PTSD symptoms via sexual harassment. The findings point to the importance of examining how unstructured community-based extracurricular activities may increase neighborhood risks for adolescents, and the need for creating opportunities for adolescents to engage in structured and well supervised after-school extracurricular activities.

Marginal structural models for estimating the longitudinal effects of community violence exposure on youths' internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: Longitudinal observational data pose a challenge for causal inference when the exposure of interest varies over time alongside time-dependent confounders, which often occurs in trauma research. We describe marginal structural models (MSMs) using inverse probability weighting as a useful solution under several assumptions that are well-suited to estimating causal effects in trauma research. METHOD: We illustrate the application of MSMs by estimating the joint effects of community violence exposure across time on youths' internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Our sample included 4,327 youth (50% female, 50% male; 1.4% Asian American or Pacific Islander, 34.7% Black, 46.9% Hispanic, .8% Native American, 14.3%, White, 1.5%, Other race/ethnicity; Mage at baseline = 8.62, range = 3-15) from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. RESULTS: Wave 3 internalizing symptoms increased linearly with increases in Wave 2 and Wave 3 community violence exposure, whereas effects on externalizing symptoms were quadratic for Wave 2 community violence exposure and linear for Wave 3. These results fail to provide support for the desensitization model of community violence exposure. CONCLUSION: MSMs are a useful tool for researchers who rely on longitudinal observational data to estimate causal effects of time-varying exposures, as is often the case in the study of psychological trauma. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Parental gender differences in attitudes and willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19.

AIMS: COVID-19 affects family life world-wide. Determinants of hesitancy around vaccinating children against COVID-19 are critical in guiding public health campaigns. Gender differences among parents may determine willingness to vaccinate children against COVID-19. METHODS: Secondary analysis of the COVID-19 Parental Attitude Study (COVIPAS) surveying care givers of children presenting for emergency care in 17 sites in 6 countries during peak pandemic (March-June, 2020). We assessed risk perceptions, vaccination history and plans to vaccinate children against COVID-19 once available. We compared responses given by father or mother and used multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 2025 (75.4%) surveys were completed by mothers and 662 (24.6%) by fathers, 60 did not respond to question about future vaccination. Of 2627, 1721 (65.5%) were willing to vaccinate their children. In the multivariable analysis, both fathers and mothers were more willing to vaccinate their child if the parent was older and believed that social distancing is worthwhile, and if their child was up-to-date on childhood vaccines (odds ratio (OR) of 1.02, 3.90, 1.65 for mothers and 1.04, 4.76, 2.87 for fathers, respectively). Mothers (but not fathers) were more willing if they had more than a high school education (OR 1.38), and fathers (but not mothers) were more willing to vaccinate their male children (OR 1.62), compared to female children. CONCLUSION: Unique differences between mothers and fathers underscore the need to view vaccine hesitancy as an acceptable parental response. Public health should plan targeted educational information for parents about a COVID-19 vaccine for children.

Latino/a adolescents facing neighborhood dangers: An examination of community violence and gender-based harassment.

While ample research examines community violence as a serious public health problem that disproportionately affects minority adolescents, less attention focuses on adolescents' experiences of gender-based harassment in poor, urban neighborhoods. Using data from 416 urban, low-income Latino/a adolescents (53% female; Mage = 15.5), this study examined (a) the relations between community violence exposure (CVE), gender-based harassment, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and (b) the role of parent-child cohesion as a moderator of the relations between CVE/harassment and PTSD symptoms. Whereas both CVE and gender-based harassment were associated with greater PTSD symptoms, the effect of gender-based harassment on PTSD symptoms was far greater than the effect of community violence. Additionally, the association between gender-based harassment and PTSD symptoms was exacerbated when parent-child cohesion was high, compared to when cohesion was low or average. Finally, Latino/a adolescents exposed to high levels of both CVE and gender-based harassment had worse PTSD symptoms compared to those exposed primarily to gender-based harassment, who in turn had worse PTSD symptoms than those exposed primarily to community violence. Findings highlight the importance of including adolescents' experiences with gender-based harassment when studying community violence.

Latinx adolescents facing multiple stressors and the protective role of familismo.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we cumulatively examined how a number of cultural and general stressors as well as familismo differentially related to Latinx adolescents' psychological well-being as measured by depressive symptoms, anxiety, and future orientation. In addition, we examined whether familismo buffered Latinx adolescents from the negative psychological outcomes associated with both cultural and general stressors. METHOD: Two hundred and twenty-four low-income, Latinx 9th graders (Mage = 14.5) attending three high schools in the Northeastern United States were surveyed. RESULTS: Findings demonstrated that family-based cultural stressors were associated with increased depressive symptoms whereas familismo was associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Language conflicts and racial discrimination were also positively associated with anxiety. However, when both cultural and general stressors were accounted for, only greater material need was associated with increased depressive symptoms and a less positive future orientation. Moreover, familismo protected adolescents from depressive symptoms linked to material hardship. CONCLUSIONS: Cultural stressors may be less distressing to Latinx adolescents than more general stressors, like financial hardship, and familismo helps buffer the stress of material hardship. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

What Happens After School? Linking Latino Adolescents' Activities and Exposure to Community Violence.

Although community violence and the deleterious behavioral and psychological consequences that are associated with exposure to community violence persist as serious public health concerns, identifying malleable factors that increase or decrease adolescents' risk of exposure to community violence remains a significant gap in our knowledge base. This longitudinal study addresses this research gap by investigating adolescents' endorsement of familismo values and participation in three types of after-school activities, specifically home-, school-, and community-based activities, as potential precursors to adolescents' risk for experiencing community violence. The sample consists of 416 Latino high school students (53% female) with a mean age of 15.5 years (SD = 1.0) and with 85% qualifying for free and reduced school lunch. Cross-sectional results demonstrated that adolescents' endorsement of the Latino cultural value of familismo was associated with lower rates of personal victimization. The frequency of non-structured community-based activities and part-time work were concurrently associated with higher rates of witnessing community violence and being personally victimized by violence. Only the frequency of non-structured community-based activities was related to witnessing more community violence and greater victimization one year later while controlling for prior exposure to violence. These findings underscore the importance of providing structured, well supervised after-school activities for low-income youth in high-risk neighborhoods.

The role of academic mentors for Latino/a adolescents exposed to community violence.

AIMS: We examined the protective role of academic mentors for Latino/a youth exposed to community violence. We tested whether the mentor facilitation of positive growth and mentor school involvement moderated the relations between exposure to violence and Latino/a youth's educational values, school effort, and academic efficacy. METHODS: We used hierarchical linear regressions to examine these relations among 210 Latino/a high school students. RESULTS: Witnessing violence and personal victimization was negatively related to all three educational outcomes. Mentor school involvement was positively related to all three educational outcomes, whereas mentor facilitation of growth was positively related to educational values only. A significant interaction between witnessing violence and mentor school involvement indicated that the negative relation between witnessing violence and educational values weakened at high levels of mentor school involvement. CONCLUSION: We discuss the benefits of academic mentoring and exploring effective mentoring characteristics with Latino/a youth exposed to violence.

Emotionally numb: Desensitization to community violence exposure among urban youth.

Community violence exposure (CVE) is associated with numerous psychosocial outcomes among youth. Although linear, cumulative effects models have typically been used to describe these relations, emerging evidence suggests the presence of curvilinear associations that may represent a pattern of emotional desensitization among youth exposed to chronic community violence. This study uses longitudinal data to investigate relations between CVE and both internalizing and externalizing symptoms among 3,480 youth ages 3 to 12 at baseline and 9 to 18 at outcome. Results support desensitization models, as evidenced by longitudinal quadratic associations between Wave 2 CVE and Wave 3 anxiety/depressive symptoms, alongside cross-sectional linear associations between Wave 3 CVE and Wave 3 aggression. Neither age nor gender moderated the associations between CVE and well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record

Gift and sacrifice: parental involvement in Latino adolescents' education.

Although myriad studies document the benefits of parental involvement in education on various indicators of children's academic performance, less research examines parental involvement among adolescents in low-income Latino families. Incorporating a multidimensional conceptualization of parental involvement, this study examined the relation between parental involvement and academic outcomes in a sample of 223 low-income, Latino adolescents. Results indicated that three types of parental involvement (gift/sacrifice, future discussions/academic socialization, and school involvement) had significant, positive associations with academic outcomes. Moreover, our results suggest that parents' stories about struggles with poverty and immigration are an important component of parental involvement, contributing to adolescents' desire to succeed academically and "give back" to parents. Additionally, our findings indicated that the positive relations between parental involvement and academic outcomes were stronger for immigrant youth and for those with higher endorsements of the Latino cultural value of respeto (respect).

Does neighborhood belonging matter? Examining school and neighborhood belonging as protective factors for Latino adolescents.

Across many investigations, school belonging has been linked to several positive outcomes among adolescents, including academic success and psychological well-being. Based on an ecological framework of child development, this study expands on existing research to explore factors that contribute to adolescents' sense of neighborhood as well as school belonging and investigates how belonging in both contexts is related to Latino adolescents' academic and psychological functioning. Participants consisted of 202 Latino adolescents residing in low-income, urban neighborhoods. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that neighborhood peer support was significantly associated with adolescents' sense of neighborhood belonging, whereas teacher support and school peer support were related to school belonging. Although school belonging was positively associated with higher scores on all academic indicators, neighborhood belonging was negatively related to academic aspirations and expectations, grades, and educational values. Yet, both school and neighborhood belonging were associated with better psychological functioning as manifested by lower reported levels of depression. The importance of investigating Latino adolescents' development within multiple contexts is discussed.

In response to community violence: coping strategies and involuntary stress responses among Latino adolescents.

Among poor, urban adolescents, high rates of community violence are a pressing public health concern. This study relies on a contextual framework of stress and coping to investigate how coping strategies and involuntary stress responses may both mediate and moderate the relation between exposure to community violence and psychological well-being. Our sample consists of 223 ninth grade Latino adolescents from poor, urban families. In response to community violence, these adolescents reported using an array of coping strategies as well as experiencing a number of involuntary stress responses; the most frequent coping responses were turning to religion and seeking social support. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that involuntary stress responses mediated the relations between both witnessing or being victimized by violence and poorer psychological functioning, while coping strategies moderated these relations. These findings suggest that the negative psychological effects of exposure to community violence may, in part, be explained by involuntary stress responses, while religious-based coping may serve as a protective factor.

Always aware (Siempre pendiente): Latina mothers' parenting in high-risk neighborhoods.

Poor mothers contend with numerous economic and environmental stressors that may severely tax their resources for parenting. This study relied on qualitative interviews with 49 low-income Latina mothers to examine how parenting practices are used when facing neighborhood poverty and the threat of community violence. Several themes emerged in the interviews regarding mothers' approaches to parenting. First, Latina mothers in our sample relied on three strategies previously identified in the literature: (a) strict monitoring, (b) physical and/or social withdrawal from the neighborhood, and (c) engagement in positive, enriching activities for children. In concert with these strategies, these mothers also emphasized the importance of (d) establishing strong parent-child communication as essential to effective parenting in challenging environments. Furthermore, two overarching, culturally salient parental goals were identified: (a) fostering principles of educación in their children and (b) maintaining astute parental awareness (estar pendiente) of children's physical as well as emotional states. Our findings illuminated culturally specific meanings that accompany parenting practices for low-income Latina mothers and underscored the importance of adapting culturally sensitive interventions for parents.

Perceptions of women's infertility: what do physicians see?

OBJECTIVE: To assess physicians' awareness of the infertility risk associated with race, age, and education, and to elicit their clinical management recommendations for a hypothetical patient. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Surveys were mailed to 1,000 randomly selected primary care physicians in the state of Michigan. PATIENT(S): None. INTERVENTIONS(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Self-reported questionnaire asking the relative prevalence of infertility among women based on race, education, and age. Physicians were also asked what interventions they would recommend for one of four hypothetical female infertility patients who were either European American or African American and either a working professional or receiving Medicaid. RESULT(S): Although most physicians did not correctly identify the associations between age, race, and socioeconomic status and women's infertility, their suggested clinical interventions did not vary based on a hypothetical patient's race or socioeconomic status. Female physicians, obstetrician/gynecologists, and physicians with more infertility experience or who had seen more infertile patients recommended more components of a model standard of care. CONCLUSION(S): A questionnaire using a hypothetical patient model suggests that primary care physicians may not be sufficiently aware of the infertility risk of African American women and women with lower socioeconomic status to ensure that women in need of services are identified.

Excavating Culture: Disentangling Ethnic Differences from Contextual Influences in Parenting.

Historically, much of the research on parenting has not disentangled the influences of race/ethnicity, SES, and culture on family functioning and the development of children and adolescents. This special issue addresses this gap by disentangling ethnic differences in parenting behaviors from their contextual influences, thereby deepening understanding of parenting processes in diverse families. Six members of the Parenting section of the Study Group on Race, Culture and Ethnicity (SGRCE) introduce and implement a novel approach toward understanding this question. The goal of this project is to study culturally related processes and the degree to which they predict parenting. An iterative process was employed to delineate the main parenting constructs (warmth, psychological and behavioral control, monitoring, communication, and self-efficacy), cultural processes, and contextual influences, and to coordinate a data analytic plan utilizing individual datasets with diverse samples to answer the research questions.

Excavating Culture: Summary of Results.

This is a companion paper to the seven articles also published in this special issue of Applied Developmental Science This paper summarizes and discusses the results from common analyses that were conducted on different datasets. The common analyses were designed to disentangle contextual and ethnic influences on parenting. Initial ethnic group differences were found in many of the datasets with multiple ethnic groups. Although certain ethnic group differences were explained by contextual influences, some ethnic group differences remained after contextual influences were controlled. Follow-up analyses with datasets containing cultural variables reveal within group differences in the degree to which ethnic differences in parenting may be accounted for by contextual factors versus culturally-specific processes. Methodological and theoretical implications are discussed and future directions are offered.

A bilingual "neighborhood club": intervening with children exposed to urban violence.

Mental health practitioners have offered relatively little in response to the pervasive community violence faced by many children living in impoverished neighborhoods. The "neighborhood club" is a school-based, short-term, support group designed to assist children with the psychological impact of exposure to community violence. Ten "neighborhood clubs" were conducted in two public elementary schools in Detroit, Michigan. This paper reviews the implementation of a bilingual "neighborhood club," undertaken to better serve the Spanish-speaking Latino students in a school community. We discuss many of the rewards and challenges of conducting a bilingual, multicultural support group for children and conclude that a bilingual support group provides all children with a model that validates ethnic and cultural diversity while also building empathic bonds based on mutually-reinforcing, common experiences.

Community violence and children's psychological well-being: does parental monitoring matter?

Poor, inner-city children are exposed to inordinately high rates of community violence. Although the link between exposure to violence and adverse mental health outcomes is well documented, less attention has focused on factors that may buffer children from negative outcomes. Using a sample of 163 4th- and 5th-grade children, this study investigated whether children's perceptions of parental monitoring moderate the relation between children's violence exposure and their psychological well-being, as assessed by depression and hopelessness. Greater exposure to community violence was associated with more symptoms of depression and feelings of hopelessness. Moreover, parental monitoring buffered to a certain extent the relation between violence exposure and psychological functioning. Increased monitoring had a positive impact on the psychological well-being of children who were less exposed to violence; however, as violence exposure increased, the impact of parental monitoring was attenuated.

Early problem behavior among children from low-income, mother-headed families: a multiple risk perspective.

Examined proximal and contextual factors most strongly related to externalizing behavior among young children growing up in low-income, mother-headed families. Participants were 50 low-income single mothers and their preschool-age children who were visited twice in the home setting. Measures of proximal (low levels of supportive parenting, high levels of punitive disciplinary practices, low levels of maternal emotional well-being) and contextual (low maternal support, high levels of family stress) risk were assessed in relation to maternal reports of child externalizing behavior and an index of negative child behavior during a clean-up task. Child defiance during the clean-up task was highly associated with punitive maternal control in the same situation but had no other direct correlates. However, multiple risk factors representing both proximal and contextual variables were associated with variations in children's behavior problem scores. Mothers of children with high behavior problem scores reported lower feelings of self-efficacy in handling child care and emotional stressors, more frequent use of punitive child disciplinary practices, and lower feelings of satisfaction with the quality of their supportive resources than others. Maternal self-evaluations of coping efficacy mediated the relation between perceived support and child behavior problems, suggesting that constructs of personal control are important to represent in future studies of highly stressed parents.

Social support and parenting in poor, dangerous neighborhoods.

This study investigated how stressful environmental conditions influence the relation between mothers' social support and parenting strategies, utilizing interview data from a sample of 262 poor, African American single mothers and their seventh- and eighth-grade children, as well as objective data about respondents' neighborhoods. In general, the results indicated that neighborhood conditions moderate the relation between social support and parenting behaviors. Specifically, as neighborhood conditions worsened, the positive relation between emotional support and mothers' nurturant parenting was weakened. In a similar fashion, the negative relation between instrumental social support and punishment was stronger in better neighborhoods. As the surrounding environments became poorer and more dangerous, the relation between greater instrumental support and a lower reliance on punishment was weakened. Thus, on the whole, hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the positive influences of social support on parenting behavior were strained and attenuated in poorer, high-crime environments.