Elevations in Blood Pressure Associated with Exposure to Violence are Mitigated by Pro-gun-Carrying Attitudes among Street-Identified Black Males and Females.

Living in neighborhoods with elevated rates of violent crime, such as in many poor Black American communities, is a risk factor for a range of physical and mental health challenges. However, the individual different factors that influence health outcomes in these stressful environments remain poorly understood. This study examined relations between exposure to violence, gun-carrying attitudes, and blood pressure in a community sample of street-identified Black American boys/men and girls/women. Survey data and blood pressure were collected from 329 participants (ages 16-54; 57.1% male) recruited from two small urban neighborhoods with high rates of violence using street participatory action research methodology. Results revealed that systolic blood pressure was elevated in the sample as was exposure to severe forms of direct and vicarious violence (e.g., shootings, assault). Attitudes about carrying guns moderated associations between the degree of violence exposure endorsed by participants and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Specifically, the positive association between exposure to violence and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure at low levels of pro-gun-carrying attitudes was no longer apparent at high levels of pro-gun attitudes. Furthermore, pro-gun attitudes appeared to moderate the association between exposure to violence and systolic pressure for older participants but not younger participants. Results suggest that positive attitudes about carrying guns (presumably indicative of pro-gun-carrying behavior) weakened the link between violence exposure and blood pressure. These novel findings suggest that carrying a gun may protect against the harmful effects of chronic stress from violence exposure on physical health outcomes (i.e., hypertension) among street-identified Black Americans.

Structural barriers explain the link between negative community re-entry experiences and motives for illegal behavior in street-identified Black men and women.

This study examines how the re-entry process is related to structural barriers in the community and to motives for engaging in illegal behavior-two key risk factors for recidivism. We analyzed survey data collected on perceptions of community re-entry, employment opportunities, neighborhood violence, and illegal behavior motives from 379 formerly incarcerated and street-identified Black-American community members residing in Wilmington, Delaware (Mage = 32.3/8.9 years old; 77.0% men; 100% Black) by employing Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR) methodology. We found that negative perceptions of re-entry correlated positively with (i) hardship caused by structural barriers in the community, specifically blocked employment opportunities and neighborhood violence, and (ii) motives for engaging in illegal behavior. Notably, the link between negative perceptions of re-entry and motives for illegal behavior became significantly weaker when the influence of structural barriers on these individual-level factors was included in a multivariate model. Results suggest negative views of the re-entry process reflect the resource-scarce and stressful environments people are living in, and structural barriers can account for the relationship between negative re-entry experiences and why individuals are motivated to engage in illegal behavior. Findings underscore the importance of improving the economic conditions of communities with high numbers of returning citizens.

More than race? Intragroup differences by gender and age in perceptions of police among street-identified Black men and women.

OBJECTIVE: Whereas studies have documented racial differences in attitudes toward police between White and Black Americans, relatively little is known about the intragroup, gender-based variations among urban Black residents involved in criminal activity (i.e., street-identified men and women). HYPOTHESES: We hypothesized Black women would be more likely to believe in police legitimacy and positive intent than men (Hypothesis 1), especially among the younger segment of the sample (Hypothesis 2). We also expected this relationship to be moderated by contact with police (Hypothesis 3) and experiences with victimization (Hypothesis 4). METHOD: Using survey data, this Street Participatory Action Research project examined the direct and interactional relationships between gender, age, involuntary police contact, personal victimization, and participants' perceptions of police legitimacy and positive intent. Participants included 515 street-identified Black men (40.4%; n = 208) and women (59.6%; n = 307), ages 18-35 years, from two high-crime neighborhoods in Wilmington, Delaware. RESULTS: Women had significantly higher perceptions of police legitimacy than did men (Hypothesis 1). While older participants tended to have lower perceptions that the police behave with positive intent, age did not moderate the relationship between gender and perceptions of police (Hypothesis 2). The relationship between gender and perceptions of positive police intent was moderated by involuntary police contact (Hypothesis 3) and experiences of victimization (Hypothesis 4). CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to existing literature, prior involuntary police contact mattered more for street-identified Black women than men in predicting perceptions of police. Experiences of victimization were also more impactful for these perceptions for street-identified Black women than men. Men's perceptions of positive police intent were consistent, regardless of the frequency of police contact, whereas women's favorable perceptions declined with more police contact and victimization experiences, and they eventually became more critical of the police than their male counterparts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Examining risky firearm behaviors among high-risk gun carriers in New York City.

Precarious firearm conduct among inexperienced gun possessors has the potential to intensify firearm-related fatalities and injuries. The current study involves face-to-face interviews with 51 high-risk (and prohibited) residents of Brooklyn and the Bronx, NY, each of whom have either been shot or shot at. We analyze study participants' lived experiences regarding urban gun violence (including as victims and perpetrators), firearm handling, sharing, and improper storage. Despite claiming to be knowledgeable about firearm fundamentals, the vast majority of respondents acknowledged never having received professional instruction, but rather "figured it out" by "playing around" with available guns. These informal methods were shaped by respondents' desire to arm themselves despite inadequate access to firearm training. Study participants also described routinely stashing firearms in unsecure, easily accessible locations. Our study findings have important implications for informing community-based harm reduction and safety strategies among persons within high-risk networks.

The cumulative effect of gun homicide-related loss on neighborhood perceptions among street-identified black women and girls: A mixed-methods study.

Racial disparities in death indicate that Black women and girls are disproportionately bereaved by violent loss across their lifetime. Yet the context and consequences of this loss remain largely understudied. This study examines the effect of gun homicide-related loss of relative/friends on subjective neighborhood perceptions among street-identified Black women and girls (ages 16 to 54). The study used a convergent mixed-methods design, with simultaneous quantitative and qualitative components. Data were collected from two low-income, high-crime neighborhoods in Wilmington, Delaware. Quantitative data (n = 277) included a community-based survey on health, opportunity and violence. Qualitative data (n = 50) included semi-structured interviews primarily from a sub-group of the survey population. This study used a street participatory action research (Street PAR) methodology, which included members of the target population onto the research project. OLS regression analyses predicted the effect of exposure to gun homicide on perceptions of neighborhood social environment (i.e., safety, aesthetic quality, walkability, social cohesion, and availability of healthy foods). Interviews were analyzed using grounded theory. Approximately 87% of those surveyed were exposed to a relative/friend gun homicide. All interviewees were exposed to a relative/friend gun homicide. Exposure to the gun homicide of either a relative or friend alone was nonsignificant. But the combination of exposure to gun homicides of both a relative and friend was significantly related to poorer neighborhood perceptions, even when controlling for co-occurring factors. Mixed-method findings indicate that the cumulative impact of gun homicide-related loss matters most in shaping negative neighborhood perceptions. Qualitative data suggest that losing multiple members of one's familial and peer networks to homicide is a powerful form of co-victimization that alters how participants conceptualize and navigate public space. Interventions to decrease gun violence should consider how traumatic loss has unintended consequences on the quality of life of co-victims and those in close proximity to street life.

Mothering in the Streets: The Familial Adaptation Strategies of Street-Identified Black American Mothers.

Objective: Using components of the Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response Model, Critical Race Feminism, and Sites of Resilience this study explored how street-identified Black American mothers engage in street life, while juggling the pressures of childrearing, family, and home life within a distressed, urban Black community. Background: Street-identified Black American mothers are vilified for their intersecting identities of being Black women who are experiencing poverty, and who may also be involved in illegal activity. Black mothers are disproportionately represented in the criminal legal system, but existing research has inadequately examined how street-identified Black mothers "do" family in the confines of structural violence. Method: We addressed this gap by analyzing interview data with 39 street-identified Black American mothers ages 18 to 54. Data were collected using street participatory action research. Results: We identified a typology of three adaptive mothering strategies employed by street-identified Black women as they respond to and cope with violent structural conditions shaping their mothering: constrained mothering, racialized mothering, and aspirational mothering. Conclusion: Findings suggested that these strategies were developed in response to an overarching carceral apparatus, of which these mothers were tasked with avoiding when possible and confronting when necessary. Their mothering strategies were shaped by a collective, Black American cultural identity and worldview, and the mothers possessed a unique way of perceiving the world as criminalized subjects with disproportionate proximity to the punitive State.