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Kathy Sanders-Phillips, PhD, School of Medicine, Howard University, 2900 Van Ness Avenue, Holy Cross Hall, Washington, DC 20008, 202-806-8614, ksandersphillips@aol.com
This session will discuss findings from a current R01 study that has conducted preliminary data analyses on 198 of the 400 participants in the study. The goal of the study is to examine the influence of exposure to community violence on substance use in a sample of African American high school students. The sample includes 99 males (51.6%) and 93 females (48.4%). The results of multivariate analyses indicate that community violence (a total frequency score) was a significant predictor of both depression (p <.05) and symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) (p <.01). Three other measures of violence, including scores for frequency of witnessing community violence, frequency of being a victim of community violence, and severity of community violence, significantly predicted PTS at the .05 level or better. The range of violence score (a measure of exposure to violence across community, home, and school violence) was a significant predictor of intent to use other illegal drugs (e.g. heroin, ecstasy) and the cumulative frequency measure of community violence significantly predicted frequency of alcohol use, frequency of marijuana use, and frequency of tobacco use (p <.01). The cumulative frequency community violence score and the victim frequency measure significantly predicted age of alcohol initiation. Frequency of witnessing community violence, frequency of being a victim of community violence, and range significantly predicted frequency of alcohol, frequency of marijuana use, and frequency of tobacco use at the .05 level or better. Analysis of the ethnic identity data indicated that self-efficacy was significantly predicted by ethnic identity and that ethnic identity indirectly influenced drug use through its impact on self-efficacy. These findings support the importance of examining ecological factors related to risk behaviors in youth of color.
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.