Psychosocial Outcomes And School Related Protective Factors In Urban Youth Exposed To Community Violence

Download or read book Psychosocial Outcomes and School-related Protective Factors in Urban Youth Exposed to Community Violence written by Kristy A. Ludwig and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examined the relation of two putative school-based protective factors--student identification with school and perceived teacher support--to psychosocial outcomes in a sample of urban youth exposed to community violence. Participants were 175 high school students ages 14-19 in grades 9-12 from a large urban school district. Primary research questions were threefold: 1) What is the relationship between exposure to violence and psychosocial outcomes? 2) What is the relationship between identification with school and teacher support and psychosocial outcomes? 3) Does identification with school and/or teacher support moderate the relationship between overall exposure to violence and psychosocial outcomes? Results indicated that exposure to violence was positively associated with internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Additionally, identification with school and teacher support were related to higher hope and fewer psychological symptoms. Externalizing symptoms were more strongly related to exposure to violence for males and females than internalizing symptoms. Adolescents that reported higher identification with school and higher teacher support reported higher hope, regardless of the level of violence exposure. Results emphasize the importance of school factors, particularly feeling connected to and supported in school, in promoting hope and limiting psychological symptoms for youth exposed to community violence.