Understanding violence and developing resilience with African American youth in high-poverty, high-crime communities

McCrea, Katherine Tyson; Richards, Maryse H.; Quimby, Dakari; Scott, Darrick; Davis, Lauren; Hart, Sotonye; Andre, Thomas; Hopson, Symora

doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.12.018

Cited by 34 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…Therefore, we encourage researchers and practitioners to leverage youth-led participatory methods when designing and tailoring community-based services. Not only do youth know where and when neighborhood spaces are safe, but participatory and action-orientated methods of youth engagement may be particularly appropriate for violence exposed youth (McCrea et al, 2019). One such exemplar program is the Youth Empowerment Solutions for Peaceful Communities (Zimmerman et al, 2011), which leverages participatory practices to build cultural and community pride, enhance safety and positive perceptions of communities, and reduce violence in chronically violent settings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Safe Spaces Embedded in Dangerous Contexts: How Chicago Youth Navigate Daily Life and Demonstrate Resilience in High‐Crime Neighborhoods

DaViera

Roy

Uriostegui

et al. 2020

American J of Comm Psychol

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Much is known about how experiences of community violence negatively affect youth, but far less research has explored how youth remain resilient while living in dangerous neighborhoods. This study addresses this need by analyzing in‐depth, geo‐narrative interviews conducted with 15 youth (60% Black, 27% Latinx, 53% female, 14 to 17 years old) residing in low‐income, high‐crime Chicago neighborhoods to explore youths’ perceptions of safety and strategies for navigating neighborhood space. After carrying geographical positioning system (GPS) trackers for an eight‐day period, youths’ travel patterns were mapped, and these maps were used as part of an interview with youth that explored daily routines, with special consideration paid to where and when youth felt safe. Drawing on activity settings theory and exploring youth voice, we find that experiences of community violence are commonplace, but youth describe how they have safe spaces that are embedded within these dangerous contexts. Perceptions of safety and danger were related to environmental, social, and temporal cues. Youth reported four overarching safety strategies, including avoidance, hypervigilance, self‐defense, and emotional management, but these strategies considerably varied by gender. We discuss implications for practice and future directions of research. Highlights This study explored Chicago youths' safety strategies and resilience in high‐crime neighborhoods. Safe and dangerous spaces are embedded or overlapping settings. All youth practiced safety strategies but they considerably varied by gender. Perceptions are intersubjectively created due to the codes, rules, and norms of community life. Violence is common and extreme in everyday life of this sample of Chicago adolescents.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Safe Spaces Embedded in Dangerous Contexts: How Chicago Youth Navigate Daily Life and Demonstrate Resilience in High‐Crime Neighborhoods

DaViera

Roy

Uriostegui

et al. 2020

American J of Comm Psychol

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“…The Empowering Counseling Program (ECP; https://empowercounselprog.wixsite.com/ecp-luc) has, over the past 15 years, served more than 800 youths and trained 60 graduate social work students to serve impoverished youths of color, thanks to local, foundation, state, and federal funding. The program is grounded in trauma-focused psychodynamic treatment models (Gil, 2011;Perry, 1997), the strengths perspective (Saleebey, 2012), critical race theory (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017), and selfdetermination theory Ryan & Deci, 2000; see McCrea et al, 2019 for more conceptual foundations). Most recently, the ECP partnered with the Risk and Resilience Lab (Professor Maryse Richards, Principal Investigator) to carry out cross-age mentoring services (thanks to funding from the Department of Justice; see savinglivespinsirpingyouth.weebly.com).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“The Flow that Pushes you”: Christocentric Reflections on the Compassion Expressed by African American Youths in Chicago Suffering Profound Disadvantage

McCrea

Gillespie

2021

Pastoral Psychol

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Youth beset by community violence, racism, and deep poverty experience profound suffering, and it is important to learn about their strengths to support them. To that end, we asked African American youths in Chicago what made social services provided to them by the Empowering Counseling Program meaningful to them. Their responses focused on the giving and receiving of compassion. To illuminate these youths’ experiences, this study examines their understandings of compassion in light of scriptural references to compassion. In the Old Testament, compassion is a passionate, personal force and an essential virtue. Yahweh self-defines as the compassionate and merciful one. In the New Testament, compassion is the English translation of three different Greek words: splagchnizomai , eleos , and agape. Splagchnizomai signifies an inner experience of Jesus that compels him to heal, teach, and nourish people. Eleos refers to acts of mercy, a response to human sinfulness exemplified by Jesus’ forgiveness, and is a capacity his followers must fulfill. Agape refers to God’s nature, represented in Jesus, and is a potential in all persons. Themes that the scriptural references and the youths’ data have in common are highlighted. In the narratives of both the youths and Scripture, compassionate responses address suffering and alienation with consolation, forgiveness, care, healing, and reconnection. Acts of compassion are to be extended to strangers as well as to friends and family and should always include respect for the autonomy and choices of others. Both the youths and Scripture regard compassion as a transforming liberation from stigma, social oppression, and terror, a life-giving process that brings hope and joy, and a commitment that endures across relationships and time.

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“…Although a strong association between bullying victimization and delinquent behavior has been documented, it is important to also recognize that not all victims of bullying are at risk of displaying delinquent behavior. For adolescents in urban schools, identifying influential factors and developing resilience that potentially attenuates the linkage between victimization and adverse outcomes is especially critical [ 20 ] as these adolescents tend to have fewer resources than their suburban peers in helping them overcome adversities. Researchers on African American and non-heterosexual/cisgender adolescents have also come to recognize the salience of understanding influential factors that can help these youth to cope with adversities, such as chronic victimization, in healthier ways [ 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One influential factor, which has yet been explored to our knowledge, is adolescents’ motivation to move out of their community to escape poverty and violence. Overcoming poverty and achieving upward mobility is a difficult feat for African American adolescents in urban neighborhoods [ 24 ] as they are confronted with structural barriers, poverty, and racism triggered violence, which impedes their future goals [ 20 ]. However, as literature on adolescent future orientation (i.e., an individual’s thoughts, beliefs, plans, and hopes for the future) suggests, adolescents with a positive outlook of their future are less apt to display problematic behavior or engage in risky behavior that would otherwise jeopardize their future goals [ 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motivation to Move Out of the Community as a Moderator of Bullying Victimization and Delinquent Behavior: Comparing Non-Heterosexual/Cisgender and Heterosexual African American Adolescents in Chicago’s Southside

Hong

Zhang

Garthe

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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A growing body of research documents that bullying victimization is associated with delinquent behavior. There is an increasing need to better illuminate the factors that might moderate this relationship. This study examined whether the motivation to move out of low-resourced neighborhoods and sexual orientation/gender identity moderated the relationship between bullying victimization and delinquent behavior among a sample of 450 heterosexual and 91 non-heterosexual/cisgender African American youths. Measures considered were bullying victimization, delinquent behavior, sexual orientation/gender identity, motivation to move out, and family demographics. Sexual orientation/gender identity was not associated with youth delinquent behavior after controlling for covariates. Being motivated to move out moderated the association between bullying victimization and delinquent behavior. Sexual orientation/gender identity and being motivated to move out of low-resourced communities jointly contributed to the moderating effect between bullying victimization and delinquent behavior. For non-heterosexual/cisgender youth, bullying victimization is correlated with increased delinquent behavior for those with low motivation to move out of their communities compared with those with an average or higher level of motivation to stay. However, such a moderating effect was not shown for heterosexual youth.

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Understanding violence and developing resilience with African American youth in high-poverty, high-crime communities

Cited by 34 publications

References 90 publications

Safe Spaces Embedded in Dangerous Contexts: How Chicago Youth Navigate Daily Life and Demonstrate Resilience in High‐Crime Neighborhoods

Safe Spaces Embedded in Dangerous Contexts: How Chicago Youth Navigate Daily Life and Demonstrate Resilience in High‐Crime Neighborhoods

“The Flow that Pushes you”: Christocentric Reflections on the Compassion Expressed by African American Youths in Chicago Suffering Profound Disadvantage

Motivation to Move Out of the Community as a Moderator of Bullying Victimization and Delinquent Behavior: Comparing Non-Heterosexual/Cisgender and Heterosexual African American Adolescents in Chicago’s Southside

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