title: Psychological distress for African-American adolescent males: exposure to community violence and social support as factors.
abstract: This study examined exposure to community violence and depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms within a non-random sample of low-income, African-American male adolescents. The moderating effect of social support on these relationships was also examined. Seventy-seven African-American adolescent males were recruited from an inner-city, Midwestern high school and surveyed on exposure to violence, depression, post-traumatic stress, and social support. Regression analyses revealed that exposure to violence was significantly associated with both depressive and PTSD symptoms. However, social support was not found to moderate the relationship between exposure to community violence and psychological distress. Implications for intervention are discussed.
authors.affiliation: DePaul University, USA. kepaxton@cdrewu.edu
authors.forename: Keisha Carr
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Paxton
authors.forename: W LaVome
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: Seema
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Schoeny
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology*; D004777:Environment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012944:Social Support; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D001741:Black or African American