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The Impact of Violence Exposure on African American Youth in Context

Third Judicial Circuit Court, Detroit, Michigan

VETTA L. SANDERS THOMPSON

University of Missouri, St. Louis

Statistics indicate that violence exposure is a major health concern for African American youth. Studies have focused on traditional reactions to violence exposure but have failed to explore violence exposure among African American youth in the context in which it occurs. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine whether the stress and coping responses of 178 African American youth were the result of violence exposure alone or an accumulation of stressors. Violence experienced was a significant predictor of posttraumatic stress symptoms but not of preferred coping strategy. Life events, discrimination, violence exposure, neighborhood disadvantage, number of people in the home, and gender (each variable contributing to sociopolitical context) significantly predicted variance in active coping. Witnessing violence failed to be predictive of any variable. Assessment and treatment implications are discussed.

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