Individual, family background, and contextual explanations of racial and ethnic disparities in youths' exposure to violence

G.M. Zimmerman and S.F. Messner

American Journal of Public Health, 2013, vol. 103, issue 3, 435-442

Abstract: We used data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods to examine the extent to which individual, family, and contextual factors account for the differential exposure to violence associated with race/ethnicity among youths. Logistic hierarchical item response models on 2344 individuals nested within 80 neighborhoods revealed that the odds of being exposed to violence were 74% and 112% higher for Hispanics and Blacks, respectively, than for Whites. Appreciable portions of the Hispanic-White gap (33%) and the Black- White gap (53%) were accounted for by family background factors, individual differences, and neighborhood factors. The findings imply that programs aimed at addressing the risk factors for exposure to violence and alleviating the effects of exposure to violence may decrease racial/ethnic disparities in exposure to violence and its consequences.

Keywords: adolescent; age; article; Caucasian; child; demography; ethnic group; ethnology; family; family size; female; health disparity; human; male; Negro; peer group; preschool child; race; risk factor; social environment; statistical model; statistics; United States; violence, Adolescent; African Continental Ancestry Group; Age Factors; Chicago; Child; Child, Preschool; Continental Population Groups; Ethnic Groups; European Continental Ancestry Group; Family; Family Characteristics; Female; Health Status Disparities; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Peer Group; Residence Characteristics; Risk Factors; Social Environment; Violence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2012.300931_1

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300931

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