title: Profiles of Community Violence Exposure Among African American Youth: An Examination of Desensitization to Violence Using Latent Class Analysis.
abstract: The current study employed latent class analysis (LCA) to identify distinct profiles of community violence exposure and their associations to desensitization outcomes in 241 African American early adolescents (M age = 12.86, SD = 1.28) in the sixth through eighth grade from under-resourced urban communities. Participants self-reported on their exposure to community violence, as well as on depressive and anxiety symptoms. The LCA revealed three distinct classes: a class exposed to low levels of violence (low exposure class), a class exposed to moderately high levels of victimization (victimization class), and a class exposed to high levels of all types of violence (high exposure class). Consistent with predictions, the high exposure class showed the lowest levels of depressive symptoms, suggesting a desensitization outcome. Gender and age were also examined in relation to the classes, and age was significantly associated with an increased risk of being a member of the high exposure class relative to the low exposure class. Using person-based analyses to examine desensitization outcomes provides useful information for prevention and intervention efforts, as it helps to identify a specific subgroup of youth that may be more likely to show desensitization outcomes in the context of community violence.
authors.affiliation: Loyola University Chicago, IL, USA ngaylor@luc.edu.
authors.forename: Noni K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Gaylord-Harden
authors.affiliation: Loyola University Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dickson
authors.affiliation: Loyola University Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pierre
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American; D001007:Anxiety; D002648:Child; D019548:Crime Victims; D003863:Depression; D000069581:Exposure to Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014505:Urban Population
keywords: community violence; mental health and violence; violence exposure