PurposeThe current piece summarizes five critical points about racism from the point of view of black scholars and allies: (1) black people are experiencing exhaustion from and physiological effects of racism, (2) racism extends far beyond police brutality and into most societal structures, (3) despite being the targets of racism, black people are often blamed for their oppression and retaliated against for their response to it, (4) everyone must improve their awareness and knowledge (through both formal education and individual motivation) to fight racism and (5) anti-racist policies and accountability are key to enact structural reformation.FindingsThe first three of these points detail the depths of the problem from the perspectives of the authors and the final two lay out a call to action.Practical implicationsThis viewpoint is the joint effort of 14 authors who provided a unified perspective.Originality/valueThis was one of the most original experiences the authors have had – working with 13 former/current students on joint perspectives about police brutality and racism more generally. The authors thank for the opportunity.

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Although prior research finds a robust link between delinquent behavior and expectations, or an adolescent's perceived likelihood of obtaining one's future goals, fewer studies have evaluated aspirations, or the perceived importance of achieving one's goals. In addition, few studies consider how individual traits such as impulsivity affect the degree to which expectations and aspirations motivate or deter delinquent behavior. We contribute to this body of research by evaluating the independent effects of expectations and aspirations, and the aspiration-expectation gap (i.e., strain) on delinquent behavior during the year following an adolescent's first arrest using a large (N = 1117), racially/ethnically diverse sample of male adolescents (46.55% Latino, 35.81% Black, 14.95% White, and 2.69% Other race). In addition, we considered how impulse control interacts with expectations, aspirations, and strain to motivate behavior. Our results indicated that both aspirations, expectations and strain uniquely influence criminal behavior. Importantly, aspirations interacted with impulse control, such that aspirations affected delinquency only among youth with higher impulse control. Our findings suggest that aspirations may only influence behavior if youth also have the psychosocial capabilities to consider their future aspirations when behaving in the present.

Researchers have identified father absence as a contributor to juvenile delinquency. Consequently, politicians and community leaders are making efforts to re-engage fathers. However, it is possible that the presence of fathers is not, in itself, a substantial protective factor and, in some cases, can even be more detrimental than father absence. Employing a diverse sample of male juvenile offenders in the U.S. (ages 13-17), the present study examined the differential effects of absent fathers and harsh fathers on delinquency. Results indicated that youth in the harsh-father group engaged in more offending behaviors and used more substances than youth in the absent-father group. This difference remained even after controlling for the mother-child relationship. Implications of these findings for future research and delinquency prevention programs are discussed.

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In 2020, individuals of all ages engaged in demonstrations condemning police brutality and supporting the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Research that used parent reports and trends commented on in popular media suggested that adolescents under 18 had become increasingly involved in this movement. In the first large-scale quantitative survey of adolescents’ exposure to BLM demonstrations, 4,970 youth (meanage = 12.88 y) across the United States highlighted that they were highly engaged, particularly with media, and experienced positive emotions when exposed to the BLM movement. In addition to reporting strong engagement and positive emotions related to BLM demonstrations, Black adolescents in particular reported higher negative emotions when engaging with different types of media and more exposure to violence during in-person BLM demonstrations. Appreciating youth civic engagement, while also providing support for processing complex experiences and feelings, is important for the health and welfare of young people and society.

Using data from an ongoing longitudinal study, we examined the impact of the COVID‐19 stay‐at‐home orders on a racially diverse population of unstably housed domestic violence (DV) survivors over time. Specifically, we examined survivors' safety, housing stability, and mental health before, during, and after the onset of COVID‐19, and how demographic, social, and familial factors attenuated or exacerbated the effect of the stay‐at‐home orders. Approximately 300 participants were initially interviewed after they sought services from a DV agency, and then again, every 6 months over 2 years. COVID‐19 stay‐at‐home orders occurred midway through the completion of this multi‐year study. Longitudinal mixed effects models were estimated to examine the impact of COVID‐19 on the safety, housing stability, and mental health of survivors over time. We also examined models with several time‐varying (e.g., employment, income, social support, and number of children) and time‐invariant (baseline outcome scores, racial/ethnic identity, education, and disability status) control variables. Results revealed that safety, housing stability and mental health were improving for study participants before the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic but plateaued after the stay‐at‐home orders were issued. Experiences of abuse, housing instability, and mental health symptomatology did not worsen as a result of the COVID‐19 stay‐at‐home orders. Notably, social support and housing services emerged as important predictors of outcomes, such that participants who received housing‐related services and greater social support reported less abuse, less housing instability, and lower mental health distress. COVID‐19 temporarily disrupted the positive trajectory unstably housed DV survivors were experiencing in regard to safety, housing stability and mental health. These findings provide critical insight into the importance of service access during and after global catastrophes. Additional resources and support may be helpful in assisting survivors to return to their pre‐pandemic recovery and growth trajectories.

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