Community violence exposure is associated with increased depressive symptoms in adolescents. This study examined whether coping style moderates this relationship over time. Eighty-four low-income, urban adolescents (M[subscript age] = 13.36, 50% female, 95% African American) participated in two waves of a longitudinal study. Youth reported on…

A study was conducted to develop a theoretically and statistically sound measure of neighborhood affiliation for use with low-income urban youth. The aim was to develop a measure that can be used in future studies to predict community violence exposure among adolescents from inner-city neighborhoods. Participants were 167 adolescents from a public…

Qualitative research with 127 low-income young men and women, aged 14 to 30, in Rio de Janeiro found rigid gender roles with males displaying widespread "machista" attitudes (an exaggerated deep structure of masculinity) and acceptance of violence against women that was greater in low-income urban areas. Implications for working with…

Many commentators have expressed alarm over the increase in the number of single-parent families in the United States over the past four decades. The growth in single-parent families has been fueled by a rise in the number of out-of-wedlock births. Whether children are more likely to suffer social and economic problems when raised by one parent…

In order to increase the knowledge base on the public policy issues pertaining to family homelessness, Columbia University and the Institute for Children & Poverty designed and implemented an extensive survey on the demographics of homeless families. Data on more than 140 variables were collected from 743 homeless heads-of-households in the spring…

The 12 chapters of this volume offer a comprehensive portrait of today's children and their challenging urban environments. The opportunities and obstacles that confront children are examined in detail, and key social problems are discussed in the following contributions: (1) "Growing Up in the Urban Environment: Opportunities and Obstacles for…

Examines African American youth's encounters with three forms of violence--eyewitnessing, victimization, and participation--to determine its spread in urban schools, the types of violence encountered, the sociodemographic factors associated with the encounter types, and whether there is any overlap among those who witness, are victims of, and…

Presented in this book are studies of social projects for economically disadvantaged inner-city youth engaged in neighborhood revitalizations in low-income communities around the country. Children and teens are highlighted as they participate in nonschool initiatives to achieve economic and political self-determination coupled with personal…

African American youth, although they comprise only 6% of the U.S. population, rank first for incarceration and homicide. In West Tennessee, the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County Report indicated that African American male youths were likely to become delinquent early in the second grade, were six times as likely to be referred on…

This book provides an account of life in the inner city from World War II to the present. Poor, jobless, and racially outcast young black people are economically and socially excluded from the American mainstream. To compensate for this, inner-city children turn to American traditions of consumerism and violence. Buying into the implicit message…