Exposure to Neighborhood Disorder and Risk Behaviors in a Sample of South African Youths

Background: Exposure to structural violence is a common experience among 'high risk' youth. Various dimensions of violence within the environment have been associated with engagement in risk behaviors, including unsafe sexual practices that can result in negative health effects. The aim of this study was to examine the association between perceived exposure to violence and adolescent risk behaviors.

Methods: Data were derived from a sample of 80 parents with adolescents in secondary schools. Participants were administered the City Stress Inventory, a survey assessing perceived neighborhood disorder (e.g.,presence of drug houses, gangs, public intoxication) and exposure to violence (e.g.,family members assaulted), and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), a parent-report questionnaire rating the child on various behavioral and emotional problems.

Results: In this small pilot sample, most of the adolescents (mean age 15.8 years) did not display clinically significant levels (i.e.,≥13) of overall externalizing behaviors based on the CBCL (sample = 9.6, SD 9.3), and there were no significant gender differences in externalizing behaviors as reported by parents. However, parents'reports of living in areas with high neighborhood disorder were significantly associated to their reports of adolescent rule-breaking behaviors such as alcohol and drug consumption, excessive thoughts of sex, lying, cheating, and stealing (Pearson r = 0.276, p = 0.015).

Conclusions: The data offer support for an association between neighborhood disorder and risky adolescent behaviors. Implications include the need to integrate programming and policy for reducing and addressing neighborhood disorder as a public health problem in South Africa.