Physical and Mental Health Outcomes of Black Emerging Adults with Community Violence Exposure: An Integrative Review.

Community violence exposure (CVE) and its health impact is a public health crisis. Violent crime has steadily increased over recent years and has disproportionately affected Black communities. Emerging adulthood (18-29 years old) is a vulnerable period of development and Black emerging adults may be at increased risk for negative physical and mental health consequences from CVE. This integrative review was conducted to evaluate available evidence on health outcomes in Black emerging adults exposed to CVE. This review appraised published studies (2012-2022) addressing physical and mental health outcomes of Black emerging adults with CVE. Articles were identified using structured search terms in several databases (CINAHL, PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science), a gray literature search, and citation mining. A total of 177 studies were identified for screening and 19 studies met inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The majority of studies found a significant positive association between CVE and adverse mental (n = 12) and physical (n = 7) health outcomes. CVE appears to have both mental and physical health consequences for Black emerging adults. Given that violent crime disproportionately increased in Black communities and Black people are more likely to develop chronic health conditions at younger ages, more work is needed to elucidate the relationship between CVE and health outcomes.

Perceived Racism-based police use of force and cannabis use among Black emerging adults.

Background: Racial discrimination and cannabis use among Black emerging adults in America is a growing public health concern. However, research examining the relationship between exposure to perceived racism-based police use-of-force and cannabis use for this population is scant. This study examined the frequency of exposure (direct and indirect) to racism-based police use-of-force and its relationship with past 30-day cannabis use for a sample of Black emerging adult men and women 18-29 years of age. Methods: Black emerging adults (N = 300; 49% males, 51% females) in St. Louis, Missouri completed computer assisted surveys on frequency of exposure to perceived racism-based police use-of-force and cannabis use. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between frequency of exposure to perceived racism-based police use-of-force and cannabis use, controlling for covariates (sociodemographic, police contacts, and community violence). Results: Our findings revealed that females reported significantly higher rates of indirect exposure to perceived racism-based police use-of-force than males. Relative to Black females, indirect exposure to perceived racism-based police use-of-force increased the odds of cannabis use among Black males. Conclusions: Study findings advance our understanding of the prevalence of exposure to perceived racism-based police use-of-force and its influence on cannabis use for Black emerging adults, specifically males. Results highlight the need for future research, behavioral health interventions, and policy targeting the interplay between indirect exposure to perceived racism-based police use-of-force and cannabis use.

The Direct Relationship between Bullying Rates and Extracurricular Activities among Adolescents and Teenagers with Disabilities.

Past studies have indicated students who have disabilities are at a higher risk of experiencing bullying victimization in comparison to other student groups. Extracurricular activity participation has shown to establish better social outcomes for students. These positive social outcomes indirectly decrease the amount of times a student is bullied. The following study uses the National Crime Victimization Survey - School Crime Supplement (NCVS/SCS) to analyze the bullying occurrence rates experienced among students, with disabilities being a focal variable. To explore the relationship between extracurricular involvement and bullying occurrence rates, this study employs a binary logistic regression to determine if athletic and non-athletic extracurricular activities have an impact on the number of times a student with disabilities experiences bullying. Implications for future social welfare practice and research are discussed.