IMPORTANCE Race-based discrimination represents an ongoing public health crisis in the US, manifested by wide-ranging disparities in youth health, mental health, and violence exposure. However, studies of racial discrimination often neglect experiences of identity-based bullying (IBB) stemming from other marginalized identities, such as gender identity and sexual orientation. OBJECTIVE To examine associations between experiences of IBB based on race/ethnicity/national origin and other social identities and youth health, mental health, and violence outcomes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cross-sectional study analyzed responses from an anonymous survey conducted at 13 public high schools in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, between

Male youths living in neighborhoods with concentrated disadvantage are exposed to high levels of violence, which increases the risk for violence victimization and perpetration and shapes identify formation. We explored male youths' conceptions of manhood, influences on manhood, and intersections with interpersonal violence in the context of a community-partnered sexual violence prevention study. Methods: We conducted semistructured interviews with predominantly Black males, aged 14e19 years, participating in a gender-transformative sexual violence prevention study. We used an iterative coding process to identify developing themes around youths' definitions of manhood, influences on manhood, and intersections with racial identity and racism. Results: Participants outlined visions of manhood that included many traditionally masculine attributes and also offered nuance and subversion of traditional masculinity. Participants' definitions of manhood centered on themes of responsibility while also acknowledging the importance of emotional expression. Many participants described growing into manhood as a journey toward becoming a moral agent. Participants identified three predominant influences on their conceptions and experiences of manhood: (1) family and community connections; (2) interpersonal and structural racism; and (3) racial pride. Family, particularly fathers and other father figures, emerged as invaluable in understanding manhood and navigating racial identities. Conclusions: These stories suggest that the process of entering manhood comes with unique challenges for adolescents who do so in the context of community violence and racism. Being mindful of intersections between masculinity and racial injustice can inform violence prevention programs that address the lived experiences of minority male youths in neighborhoods with concentrated disadvantage.

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Youth violence victimization continues to be pervasive and a significant cause of adolescent mortality. Since their 2014 “Connecting the Dots” report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have encouraged researchers to identify shared protective factors that prevent multiple forms of youth violence. Parental monitoring, a bidirectional construct encompassing parental knowledge and regulation of their child’s activities with children’s concurrent perception of their parent’s awareness of such activities, could be such a cross-cutting protective factor. In this study, we examined associations between parental monitoring and multiple types of violence victimization among a school-based sample of adolescents. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of an anonymous survey of health risk and protective behaviors completed by students across Pittsburgh Public Schools ( N = 2,426). In separate analyses, we used logistic regression to examine associations between youth-reported parental monitoring and multiple experiences of youth violence victimization, ranging from school- and electronic-based bullying to different forms of sexual and physical violence. We found that many experiences of youth violence victimization were consistent with nationally representative data. In addition, we determined that higher parental monitoring was significantly and inversely associated with all violence victimization outcomes examined (school-based bullying, electronic-based bullying, threatening someone with a weapon, adolescent relationship abuse, sexual assault, and exchange sex) at the p < .05 threshold. Overall, this study is one of the first that examines how parental monitoring relates to multiple forms of youth violence victimization, including exchange sex, which is a critical but less-studied violence experience. This work adds to the growing literature on how parental monitoring may serve as a shared protective factor for multiple forms of violence victimization.

Justice-involved youth are at increased risk for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, and structural barriers may limit their access to vaccination. We implemented a COVID-19 vaccination initiative for justice-involved youth residing at the county juvenile detention center and enrolled in local community-based monitoring programs. Our overarching goal was to increase COVID-19 vaccine access and uptake for justice-involved youth in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Our efforts incorporated: a virtual forum with youth, guardians, and community partners; one-on-one outreach to guardians; motivational interviewing with youth; and coordination with organizational leaders. We collaborated with a multidisciplinary medical team to offer individualized education and counseling to parents and youth expressing vaccine hesitancy. We developed a logistical framework to ensure complete COVID-19 vaccination series for all youth, including centralized tracking and implementation of multiple community-based vaccine clinics. Through our initiative, 31 justice-involved youth have received at least 1 dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. A total of 50 doses have been administered as a result of this initiative. This work has reaffirmed hypothesized barriers to vaccine access among justice-involved youth, including limited parental involvement, inadequate transportation, vaccine misinformation, and distrust rooted in histories of medical mistreatment of communities of color. Best practices for promoting equitable vaccination efforts among vulnerable subgroups include partnering closely with diverse community members; offering individualized, strengths-based counseling on vaccine safety, efficacy, and importance; and demonstrating provider trustworthiness by recognizing histories of oppression.