Assessing the acute effects of exposure to community violence among adolescents: A strategic comparison approach.

This paper examines whether exposure to spatially proximate homicide affects norms, attitudes, and the adaptive strategies adolescents take to insulate themselves from violent victimization. Drawing on survey data from a large sample of urban youth (n = 3195), we assess the impact of homicides occurring within a one-mile radius of respondents' homes on a variety of psychosocial outcomes. We exploit random variation in the timing of survey administration to compare the survey responses of youths who were exposed to a homicide in the immediate vicinity of their homes in the one-month period leading up the administration of the survey with students who did not experience a homicide near their homes during that period but would the following month. This strategic comparison approach minimizes the confounding influence of endogenous processes that funnel children and families into places where homicides tend to concentrate.

Does the State Impact Hope? The Impact of Direct and Vicarious Police Contact on the Optimism of Youth in Large Cities.

A growing body of research has begun to examine the implications of police contact for youth. Largely emphasizing serious police contact (arrest, court involvement, and incarceration), this scholarship has generally found that police contact is associated with negative health and educational outcomes. In this study, we build on this work by examining the implications of direct and vicarious police contact for youth attitudes towards the future, both generally and with respect to graduating college. Using multivariate regression models that incorporated a wide range of control variables and data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we found that youth who experienced police stops without an arrest were less optimistic in general and with respect to college graduation. We found the same for youth who experienced vicarious police contact, but for youth who experienced arrest we only found a significant reduction in optimism with respect to college graduation. Therefore, based on our findings and prior scholarship, we argue that social workers should push policymakers to move beyond the status quo and to make significant changes to how they go about promoting public safety.

Dignified Resources and Coping Strategies During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Qualitative Study of Racially and Economically Marginalized Communities.

INTRODUCTION: Amid the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), racially and economically marginalized communities experienced a disproportionate burden of disease and social consequences (e.g., unemployment, increased exposure). This study seeks to understand strategies that these communities employed to cope with unequal burdens of the pandemic. METHODS: We utilized qualitative data collected between 2020 and 2021 from a mobile mapping platform designed to facilitate real-time, geocoded data collection on individual's experiences and perceptions of their neighborhoods. Reports were iteratively coded by an academic researcher and community partner. We employed an inductive approach to analysis, which allowed findings to emerge organically without constraint of researcher hypotheses. RESULTS: A total of 19 respondents (14 under the age of 45, 16 non-White, 15 with less than half a year of emergency savings) provided 236 qualitative reports. Participants described innovative strategies for exchanging resources as a means of informally networking and building community, the importance of tailored programming (e.g., for specific racial/ethnic groups) in fostering belonging and comfort, and the importance of two specific dimensions of services-interactions with service providers and the quality of goods or services-in providing dignified care. DISCUSSION: Amidst exacerbated racial and economic disparities emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, our study highlights the need for investment in mutual aid, the importance of tailored services and support, and promoting dignity in social services. As other macro-level social stressors become more prevalent as the pandemic continues, these findings can inform how we examine and address them.

Building Bridges and Strengthening Bonds: An Exploratory Investigation Into Social Capital and Youth Programming.

BACKGROUND: Social capital is increasingly recognized as a key component of adolescent development, providing important opportunities to grow and strengthen their social networks while increasing access to resources such as jobs and social support. OBJECTIVES: This study explored how youth-serving organizations (YSOs) across California address social capital development and assessed need for a social capital curriculum or measurement tools. METHODS: The sample for this study was drawn from the 2019 IRS Business Master File from the National Center for Charitable Statistics Data Archive. We contacted a random sample of 169 California YSOs and implemented a 15-item survey to capture organizational perspectives on the importance of social capital, tools to measure this construct, and the use of programming related to social capital. RESULTS: Among 41 YSOs completing the survey, only 24 (59%) had heard of the term "social capital," but when the term was described, 88% felt it was a highly important asset for youth. Thirty YSOs (73%) provided programming designed to promote social capital. Most respondents (68%) said being able to measure social capital would be very important and nearly all said they would be interested in adopting a tested social capital curriculum. CONCLUSIONS: Strong interest from YSOs for additional social capital tools highlights the need for additional work in this area. With support, YSOs can connect young people to institutions and influencers significantly outside of normal social circles, thus creating an increasingly sustainable and diverse range of resources available to youth as they navigate life milestones.

Investigating the (in)visible: Piloting an integrated methodology to explore multiple forms of violence.

Traditional research methods typically utilize singular forms of data to conceptualize and measure violence. Methodologies designed to examine the impact of violence have been structured to primarily examine the interpersonal. However, scholars in community psychology, anthropology, and social work, and so forth, have recognized additional dimensions of violence that impact marginalized populations by restricting agency and negatively affecting physical and mental health, such as structural violence. Given growing interest in multiple forms of violence, new methodologies are required to holistically capture the full impact of violence on individuals. This article will discuss a unique methodology designed to investigate multiple forms of violence by melding semi-structured place-based interviews, family history interviews, walking interviews, and physiological data on heart rate coordinated with GPS data. This novel combination of methods allowed the researcher to deepen understanding of the relationship between place and violence while also highlighting the voices and experiences of young adults. Challenges to data collection, limitations of technology, and insights gained from the methodology will be discussed.