Risky and Protective Contexts and Exposure to Violence in Urban African American Young Adolescents

TLDR

Contexts of risk and protection for exposure to violence were identified and their association with delinquent behaviors and trauma symptoms was examined. The study used Experience Sampling Method over one week, with 167 African American 6th‑ to 8th‑grade students carrying watches and booklets to record daily risky and protective contexts. Structural equation modeling showed that increased time in risky contexts and decreased time in protective contexts were associated with greater exposure to violence, which partially mediated the link between contextual exposure and delinquent behaviors and PTSD symptoms.

Abstract

Abstract Contexts of risk for and protection from exposure to violence were identified and the relation of exposure to violence to delinquent behaviors and symptoms of trauma was examined. Using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), the immediate daily experience of risky and protective contexts was examined. One hundred sixty-seven African American 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-grade children from urban neighborhoods carried watches and booklets for 1 week. Structural equation modeling supported the hypotheses that more time in risky contexts and less time in protective contexts was related to more exposure to violence. Exposure to violence partially mediated the relation of time in protective and risky contexts to delinquent behaviors, assessed with the Juvenile Delinquency Scale and the Child Behavior Checklist, and distress levels, assessed by a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) score.