Snook, Sarah
(2024)
Examining the Impacts of Community Violence on Mental Health Symptomology and Prevalence Among Black Youth in Pittsburgh.
Master Essay, University of Pittsburgh.
Abstract
Community violence is a public health issue disproportionately impacting Black youth in Pittsburgh. Youth who experience violence also experience higher rates of stress, which increases risks for mental health symptoms. The Get Safe study examined experiences of stress, coping, and support among Black youth recently injured or impacted by community violence. The objectives of this analysis were to determine how witnessing, being victimized by, and perpetrating community violence relate to mental health symptoms. Twenty-five Black youth aged 14-19 were enrolled in the study from November 2020-February 2021. Mean participant age was 16.4 years. Of the individuals enrolled, 60% were female and 40% were male. Participants completed surveys measuring past 30-day experiences of violence (operationalized as any/none by violence type),
anxiety (GAD-7 Anxiety Assessment, 4-point Likert scale), depression (Center for Epidemiology Studies Depression Scale, 4-point Likert scale), and posttraumatic stress symptoms (Child PTS Symptom Scale, 5-point Likert scale). We ran separate logistic regression models to examine the
associations of witnessing violence, violence victimization, and violence perpetration, and symptoms of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. Models were adjusted for parental education, participant age, and participant gender. Youth reported high rates of witnessing violence (n= 25, 100%), violence victimization (n= 23, 92%) and violence perpetration (n= 18, 72%) in the past 30 days. Many youth also reported anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress
symptoms. One in three youth (n=9, 36%) reported moderate to severe posttraumatic stress symptoms, defined as CPSS score ≥ 21. We found no significant associations between witnessing, being victimized by, or perpetrating violence and the occurrence of mental health symptoms in adjusted models. Experiences of violence are common and warrant healing-centered approaches to support young people exposed to and impacted by community violence. As future studies ensue, we plan to incorporate strengths-based interventions to support Black youth who experience community violence to address this critical public health issue.
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Details
| Item Type: |
Other Thesis, Dissertation, or Long Paper
(Master Essay)
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
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| Contributors: |
| Contribution | Contributors Name | Email | Pitt Username | ORCID  |
|---|
| Committee Chair | Glynn, Nancy | epidnwg@pitt.edu | epidnwg | UNSPECIFIED | | Committee Member | Culyba, Alison | ajc204@pitt.edu | ajc204 | UNSPECIFIED | | Committee Member | Kramer, Kailey | hugheskl@pitt.edu | hugheskl | UNSPECIFIED |
|
| Date: |
3 January 2024 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Submission Date: |
27 November 2023 |
| Access Restriction: |
2 year -- Restrict access to University of Pittsburgh for a period of 2 years. |
| Number of Pages: |
38 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Public Health > Epidemiology |
| Degree: |
MPH - Master of Public Health |
| Thesis Type: |
Master Essay |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, violence victimization, violence perpetration, witnessing violence |
| Date Deposited: |
03 Jan 2024 14:47 |
| Last Modified: |
03 Jan 2024 14:47 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/45571 |
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