There is ample evidence that many African American teens are exposed to considerable violence as victims, witnesses and close others of victims. Health disparities literature suggests that black youth also will experience the loss of close others through non-violent means and are themselves at risk for illness and accident. However, the role of these types of events, particularly the loss of close others from violence and non-violence, has not been adequately investigated as a factor in behavior problems or mental health difficulties for these high risk youth.
The specific aims of the study are to examine: 1) the occurrence of loss and trauma involving close others in a sample of urban adolescents; 2) the extent to which trauma involving close others, and grief, are related to mental health outcomes (PTSD, anxiety, depression) and problem behaviors (internalizing and externalizing) relative to other sources of trauma (witnessing of violence, victimization, and non-violent trauma), and; 3) gender differences in the pattern of trauma exposure and its impact. The current study will screen a sample of 260 black adolescents, in grades 6-8, at a local elementary school located in a moderately high violence, but typical, neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. Students will complete a series of standard outcome measures and a packet of instruments that have been used with similar populations to screen for trauma, loss, grief, and PTSD symptoms. The immediate goal of the study is to understand how loss and trauma associated with death and injury of close others contribute to negative outcomes for these at-risk youth. The findings will help to identify those factors that influence the well-being of black youth, and provide a clearer framework for intervention. This work is seen as a preliminary study of relationships that should be examined in a more representative sample of black youth and their caregivers using multiple methods and sources of data. ? ?
| Jenkins, Esther J; Wang, Edward; Turner, Larry (2009) Traumatic events involving friends and family members in a sample of African American early adolescents. Am J Orthopsychiatry 79:398-406 |
