Using both surveys and the experience sampling method (ESM), community violence exposure, social support factors, and depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed longitudinally among inner-city African American adolescents. Moderator models were tested to determine protective factors for youth exposed to community violence. Several social support factors emerged as protective-stabilizing forces for witnesses of violence both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, including maternal closeness, time spent with family, social support, and daily support (ESM). Contrary to hypotheses, several social support factors demonstrated a promotive-reactive effect such that, in conditions of high victimization, they failed to protect youth from developing symptoms. Effects did not differ by outcome or sex, though sex differences in findings emerged. Protective-stabilizing effects occurred more for witnessing violence, whereas promotive-reactive patterns occurred more for victimization. Results affirm social support factors as protective from the adverse effects of violence exposure, but they also suggest that some factors typically conceived as contributing to resilience might at times fail to protect youth in conditions of extreme risk.
Several scholars have suggested that life changes-such as desistance from crime-may be shaped by social structures through a process of "knifing off." Individuals are thought to change their lives by severing themselves from harmful environments, undesirable companions, or even the past itself. Despite the frequent use of this terminology in criminology and other fields, the concept of knifing off remains underdeveloped. Few studies have considered diverse contexts and conditions in which knifing off may or may not occur. The authors raise the following questions: What is knifing off? What gets knifed off, and who does the knifing? Is knifing off necessary and/or sufficient for behavioral change? They conclude that the concept is useful for understanding desistance and selfchange but also encourage further refinement and clarification. Recommendations are proposed for developing the concept of knifing off for theories of desistance, particularly recognizing the significance of life scripts for constructing a noncriminal future.
Using ethnographic data from Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study, we examined time obligations and resource coordination of low-income mothers. Longitudinal data from 75 African American, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White families residing in Chicago, including information on daily routines, perceptions of time, and access to resources, were gathered via participant observation and intensive semistructured interviews over 4 years. Results indicated that families constantly improvised daily rhythms to obtain and sustain resources, including child care, transportation, and social services. Participants were proactive in identifying and coordinating resources to transition from welfare to work or to maintain paid employment. Strategies used to coordinate resources and the cost associated with the inability to do so are discussed. Policy and social service recommendations are offered.
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