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This study examines the effect of homicides around schools on the standardized test scores of fifth and ninth graders (N = 4729; Mage = 12.71 years, SDage = 2.13) using a quasi‐experimental design in two Colombian cities. Exposure to homicides occurring within 7 days of the test and within 500 m of the school decreases test scores by 0.10 SD. Effects show a greater sensitivity to timing than distance, becoming null as the time to the testing date increases but remaining consistent across larger radii. Since students in the study are on average exposed to 12.1 homicides per year, even short‐lived learning losses can accumulate to impair learning for substantial portions of the school year. Findings are discussed, considering previous empirical work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violence against young children is known to have detrimental short and long-term effects. Yet, few studies investigate the prevalence of violence against young children, particularly very young children under the age of 2 years. This paper reports on the prevalence of violence against young children in Jamaica using data obtained from the JA KIDS birth cohort study that undertook pre-enrolment of pregnant mothers in the antenatal period and followed full or sub-samples of parents and children at 9–12 months, 18–22 months and 4–5 years. Violence in pregnancy was experienced by 6.1% of pre-enrolled mothers. As many as 43.1% of Jamaican children ages 9–12 months were shouted at, and almost 30% were slapped. Physical and emotional violence increased with age, and by 4–5 years, approximately 90% of children experienced physical and emotional violence. Non-violent methods, primarily explaining and reasoning with children, were also reported by more than 95% of parents at 4–5 years. Corporal punishment was the most common form of violence experienced, but young children also witnessed hurtful physical and emotional violence between mothers and their partners and lived in communities in which there were violent events. Strategies to reduce young children's experiences as victims and witnesses of violence are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explored the content of hate crime prototypes in a North American context, with particular attention to how such prototypes might influence blame attributions. In Study 1a, participants were recruited from a blended sample of universities (n = 110) and community members (n = 102) and asked to report their thoughts about typical hate crime offenses, victims, and offenders. These open-ended responses were coded, and common themes were identified. In Study 1b, a new group of participants (n = 290) were presented with these themes and asked to rate each for their characteristics of hate crimes. Studies 1a and 1b confirmed the presence of a clear prototype of hate crimes, such that (a) perpetrators were believed to be lower status White men with clear expressions of bias, (b) hate crime offenses were believed to be acts of interpersonal violence accompanied by slurs or verbal abuse, and (c) hate crime victims were thought to be members of a marginalized group who remain passive during the offense. Study 2 explored the consequences of victim prototypes on assessments of victim blame. Participants (n = 296) were recruited from York University and presented with a case vignette that varied the prototypicality of a victim of hate, depicting him as either Black or White and either passive, verbally responsive, or physically confrontational in the context of an assault. Participants showed greatest sympathy for the Black victim who passively ignored verbal harassment but increasingly assigned blame when the Black victim spoke or reacted physically. When the victim was White, participants showed little variation in their assessment of blame as a function of the victim's behavior. These results suggest that Black victims are subjected to greater behavioral scrutiny than White victims and that sympathy for victims of hate may be contingent on their passivity in the face of harassment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secure mental healthcare staff provide care in the context of exposure to violence and restrictive practices. Yet, despite recognition of the moral dilemmas afforded by these events, they are yet to be explored within a moral injury framework. The current study sought to explore the potentially morally injurious effects of violence and restrictive practices through an intersectional lens. A cross-sectional survey was completed by 222 secure mental healthcare professionals. Associations between exposure to violence, restrictive practices and moral injury were significant in white female participants only. When entered into a hierarchical regression, exposure to violence significantly predicted moral injury score for this group, and nullified the effects of restrictive practices. The findings position restrictive practices and exposure to violence as potential sources of moral injury for white female healthcare professionals. The implementation of strategies to reduce exposure to such events and their impacts in this occupational group are important priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community violence exposure (CVE) and its health impact is a public health crisis. Violent crime has steadily increased over recent years and has disproportionately affected Black communities. Emerging adulthood (18–29 years old) is a vulnerable period of development and Black emerging adults may be at increased risk for negative physical and mental health consequences from CVE. This integrative review was conducted to evaluate available evidence on health outcomes in Black emerging adults exposed to CVE. This review appraised published studies (2012–2022) addressing physical and mental health outcomes of Black emerging adults with CVE. Articles were identified using structured search terms in several databases (CINAHL, PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science), a gray literature search, and citation mining. A total of 177 studies were identified for screening and 19 studies met inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The majority of studies found a significant positive association between CVE and adverse mental (n = 12) and physical (n = 7) health outcomes. CVE appears to have both mental and physical health consequences for Black emerging adults. Given that violent crime disproportionately increased in Black communities and Black people are more likely to develop chronic health conditions at younger ages, more work is needed to elucidate the relationship between CVE and health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To control resurging infectious diseases like mumps, it is necessary to resort to effective control and preventive measures. These measures include increasing vaccine coverage, providing the community with advice on how to reduce exposure, and closing schools. To justify such intervention, it is important to understand how well each of these measures helps to limit transmission. Methods: In this paper, we propose a simple SEILR (susceptible-exposed-symptomatically infectious-asymptomatically infectious-recovered) model by using a novel transmission rate function to incorporate temperature, humidity, and closing school factors. This new transmission rate function allows us to verify the impact of each factor either separately or combined. Using reported mumps cases from 2004 to 2018 in the mainland of China, we perform data fitting and parameter estimation to evaluate the basic reproduction number R 0 . As a wide range of one-dose measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine programs in China started only in 2008, we use different vaccination proportions for the first Stage I period (from 2004 to 2008) and the second Stage II period (from 2009 to 2018). This allows us to verify the importance of higher vaccine coverage with a possible second dose of MMR vaccine. Results: We find that the basic reproduction number R 0 is generally between 1 and 3. We then use the Akaike Information Criteria to assess the extent to which each of the three factors contributed to the spread of mumps. The findings suggest that the impact of all three factors is substantial, with temperature having the most significant impact, followed by school opening and closing, and finally humidity. Conclusion: We conclude that the strategy of increasing vaccine coverage, changing micro-climate (temperature and humidity), and closing schools can greatly reduce mumps transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Factors that impact flavored tobacco sales restriction (flavor restrictions) effectiveness on youth e-cigarette behavior are unclear. Tobacco retailer density (retailer density) is a health equity issue with greater retailer density in high-minority, low-income areas. We examined the association between flavor restrictions and youth e-cigarette behavior by retailer density across diverse communities in the California Bay Area. Aims and Methods: We analyzed data from the California Healthy Kids Survey using a difference-in-differences (DID) strategy. We compared pre- and post-policy changes in e-cigarette access and use one-year post-implementation among high school students in the Bay Area with a flavor restriction (n = 20 832) versus without (n = 66 126). Separate analyses were conducted for students in cities with low and high retailer density, with a median cutoff of 3.3 tobacco retailers/square mile. Results: Students with high retailer density were more likely to identify as a minority and have parents with lower education. Among students with low retailer density, flavor restrictions were associated with 24% lower odds in the pre- to post-policy increase in ease of access relative to unexposed students (DID = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.58, 0.99). Among students with high retailer density, flavor restrictions were associated with 26% higher odds in ease of access (DID: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.56) and 57% higher odds of current use (DID = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.31, 1.87). Conclusions: Flavor restrictions had positive impacts on youth e-cigarette access in low, but not high retailer density cities. From a health equity perspective, our results underscore how flavor restrictions may have uneven effects among vulnerable groups. Implications: In diverse communities in the California Bay Area, our results suggest a protective association between flavored tobacco sales restrictions and youth access to e-cigarettes in low, but not high tobacco retailer density cities one-year post-implementation. These results underscore how flavor restrictions may have uneven effects, and when implemented in high retailer density areas, may disproportionately place already vulnerable groups at heightened exposure to e-cigarette use and access. In high retailer density areas, additional tobacco control efforts may need to be included with flavor restriction implementation, such as increased education, youth prevention and cessation programs, policies to reduce tobacco retailer density, or stronger tobacco retailer enforcement or compliance monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic childhood events are some of the few identifiable and to some extent preventable causes of psychiatric illness. Children exposed to severely stressful events may react with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and this may impact their level of function in daily life, their future development and mental health. The traumatic stress model suggests that traumatic stress in the family, community violence, and other traumas are regarded as additive environmental factors that can outweigh protective compensatory factors and thus interact with individual vulnerabilities. This study is based on prospective panel data including the whole population of children born in Denmark from 1984 to 1994, who are followed from age 7 to age 18 (N = 679,000) in the window between 2001 and 2012. Risk factors for first-time diagnose with PTSD are analyzed by the discrete time log-odd model. We found a lifetime prevalence of 2.3% PTSD in school-age children (n = 15,636). In accordance with the model, indicators of traumatic stress in the family, family disintegration, community violence, and individual vulnerabilities predicted later diagnose with PTSD. Individual neurodevelopmental disorder – especially autism (adjusted Odds Ratio (OR 7.1) and ADHD (OR 10.7) – were predicative of PTSD. The results cooperated the traumatic stress model. Some results were inconsistent with the traumatic stress model e.g., parental substance abuse were associated with less than expected PTSD in school-age children when adjusted for other risk factors. This indicates that PTSD may be underestimated in these groups. PTSD diagnoses in administrative records underestimate the prevalence, systematically. Efforts to increase PTSD screening may allow for better management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines and describes circumstances involving non-fatal firearm injuries in a pediatric population from a Level I Pediatric Trauma Center in the southeastern U.S. Researchers analyzed Firearm Injury Questionnaire (FIQ) data collected from 144 children and adolescents, aged 2–17 years, who were treated in the emergency department and/or admitted to the hospital for non-fatal firearm injuries. Descriptive statistics are presented regarding participant demographics and FIQ responses, such as caregiver information, mental health history, adverse childhood experience (ACE) exposure, firearm access, injury intent, relationship to shooter, type of firearm used, and context of injury. Most patients identified as Black (82%) and male (75%), with most injuries categorized as intentional (72%) versus unintentional (24%) assaults. The average ACEs score was.60, with only 37% of patients' reporting any ACE experience; however, nearly half (47%) of patients reported experiencing a traumatic event beyond an identified ACE. Community violence was the most common context that attributed to patients' assaults (56%). As U.S. pediatric gun injury and fatality trends are increasing, this study provides timely data regarding pediatric firearm injuries and exposure to community violence. These findings highlight the need to provide integrated health services to pediatric patients experiencing non-fatal firearm injuries. Researchers discuss public health implications for integrated mental health care services, hospital- and school-based violence intervention programs, policy recommendations, and directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnic minority women experience disparities in mammography screening utilisation and breast cancer outcomes. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesised multidomain and multilevel factors that intersect to influence the utilisation of mammography among ethnic minorities. A literature search was conducted in five databases (PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO) from inception to May 2022. Guided by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparity research framework, the retrieved data were synthesised using narrative summaries and meta-analyses. Among the 27 studies, most (n = 24) reported individual, interpersonal, and community factors in the health care system domain. In the sociocultural domain, interpersonal and societal (n = 8) factors, such as modesty and karma beliefs, were less frequently identified than individual (n = 20) factors in relation to acculturation. Only individual-level factors were reported for the biological and physical/built environment (e.g., rural residence) domains. In the behavioural domain, cancer screening behaviours had a high combined prediction ability (odds ratio = 18.23; I2 = 23%), whereas interpersonal (e.g., family obligations) and community (e.g., neighbourhood violence) factors discouraged mammography screening. Special focus should be given to ethnic minority women, especially those living in rural areas, those with considerable family obligations, and those who have suffered from violence and other life pressures, to increase their access to mammography services. Multidomain and multilevel efforts, culturally appropriate strategies, and equity-advancing policies such as geographic access and insurance coverage would help to mitigate the ethnic disparities in mammography screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social leaders and human rights defenders (SLHRD) in Colombia have been under increasing attack for defending the rights of communities affected by violence. From 2016 to 2022, over 600 SLHRD were assassinated, resulting in a serious violation of both individual and community human rights. The media's portrayal of these attacks can shape public perceptions and influence efforts towards peacebuilding and promoting human rights. This study examines the media's framing of violence against SLHRD in Colombia between 2016 and 2020, a period marked by an escalation of violence after the signing of the 2016 peace accord between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). We analysed 1506 textual publications from seven media outlets using a lexicometric approach and identified two frames of news articles: episodic and thematic. Our findings suggest that the episodic media framing may present a simplistic and non‐political perspective of the issue, which can impede peacebuilding efforts, while the thematic frame can raise awareness of violence against SLHRD and promote human rights defence. Our study highlights the media's significant role in shaping public opinion on violence against SLHRD, offering practical implications for advocacy and activism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health disparities education is an integral and required part of medical professional training, and yet existing curricula often fail to effectively denaturalize injustice or empower learners to advocate for change. We discuss a novel collaborative intervention that weds the health humanities to the field of health equity. We draw from the health humanities an intentional focus retraining provider imaginations by centering patient narratives; from the field of health equity, we draw the linkage between stigmatized social identities and health disparities. We describe a longitudinal health equity curriculum for the Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship in Memphis, Tennessee, to give trainees exposure to the concept of structural violence and how it affects clinical care. The curriculum was developed in partnership with humanities and social sciences faculty who staff a Health Equity academic program at a small liberal arts college in Memphis. This curriculum has been implemented for the past four years in support of 22 hospice and palliative medicine fellows. Group debriefs and a mixed methods survey have revealed widespread and lasting impact towards understanding health equity concepts, enhanced communication and treatment of patients, and empowerment to address the broader needs and policies affecting patients and the communities in which they live. Ultimately, we model an educational initiative that integrates equity across the full scope of healthcare practice and equips learners with skills for sustaining compassionate practices, focusing on equity-oriented, person-centered care across the full scope of healthcare practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relying on ethnographic observation and in-depth interviews with undocumented Latinx young adults (18–31) who arrived in Los Angeles, California, as unaccompanied minors (11–17), this study examines immigrant youth workers’ migration motives, their transnational ties and transnationalism’s effect on their imagined futures. Findings show that, in the context of structural and community violence and poverty, Central American and Mexican youth migrate alone at young ages, in part to fulfill moral obligations to provide financial and emotional support within networks of care for the families they eventually leave behind. For many, left-behind family’s needs increase as parents and siblings age into new life stages. Unmarried transnational youth workers are especially likely to shoulder moral obligations. This is while they transition into young adulthood in the US and weigh their own prospects for education and occupational mobility in Los Angeles or their home communities. Maintaining moral obligations established in adolescence throughout the transition into young adulthood can cause youth to reimagine futures to include the possibility of staying and other alternatives. This research offers important insights into the changing nature of transnational families, unaccompanied minors’ coming of age, and the lives of migrant youth workers in the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the acute effect of community‐level homicides on early childhood language development and explores the moderating role of maternal efficacy and satisfaction in Chile. It uses data from the 2017 wave of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey of Chilean Children (N = 1194, Mage: 52.8 months, 52% girls). Children in municipalities with homicides 1 month before the Peabody Picture Vocabulary assessment scored between 0.18 and 0.41 SDs lower compared to children in the same municipality but for whom homicides happened after the assessment. On average, higher maternal satisfaction appears to have a protective effect, though it dissipates in the most violent municipalities. Evidence that higher maternal efficacy protects children from the negative effects of violence is inconclusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to assess the mental health needs and risk behaviors of adolescents attending an afterschool life-skills skateboarding program, to evaluate the perceived benefits of the program, and to identify potential modifications required to meet the identified needs. Program participants were from three gang- and poverty-affected urban communities in Cape Town, South Africa. Seventy-six adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years old (83% male) completed a self-report survey, and 24 adolescents and 19 key influencers participated in in-depth interviews and focus groups. Descriptive analyses were conducted on survey data and a framework approach was used to analyze qualitative data. 72% of the adolescents reported symptoms of moderate to severe anxiety and/or depressive symptoms, 66% had experienced food insecurity, 45% had been physically abused at home, 47% had been bullied, and 59% had used alcohol. Benefits of the program included experiencing a sense of belonging to a skateboarding subculture, protection from gang recruitment and community violence, physical and emotional benefits of exercise, mentors as positive role models, and learning life skills. Recommendations to improve the program were to include information on depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and grief, and to include stress management and emotion regulation skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The pathways by which adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with early marriage and early pregnancy are poorly understood. Early marriage and early pregnancy may be risk factors for adulthood intimate partner violence (IPV). The aim of this study was to assess the relationships among ACEs, early marriage, early pregnancy, and IPV among women in Honduras. Method: We used weighted data from 1,436 women aged 18–24 years from the nationally representative 2017 Honduras Violence Against Children and Youth Survey. We used path analysis to estimate relationships and accounted for sample design, non-response, and within-country clustering. Results: We found that ACEs had differential relationships with outcomes of interest. For example, witnessing violence in the community was directly associated with increased probability of early pregnancy (10 percentage points (PP); 95% CI: 0.04, 0.15) and IPV (6 PP; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.10), while emotional violence was not directly or indirectly associated with any outcome. Early marriage and early pregnancy had no direct or indirect effect on IPV, but the total effect of early marriage on IPV was significant. Conclusions: Understanding the relationship between ACEs, early marriage, early pregnancy, and IPV may help inform prevention efforts. For example, programs aiming to reduce early pregnancy may consider addressing sexual violence experienced in childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Girls' education has for many decades been central to the global development agenda, due to its positive impact on girls' health and wellbeing. In this paper, the authors revisit boys' attitudes, behaviours and norms related to girls' education, following the Samata intervention to prevent girls' school dropouts in Northern-Karnataka, South India. Data were collected from 20 boys in intervention villages before and after the intervention, and analysis was undertaken using a thematic-framework approach. Findings suggest that while boys did hold some attitudes and beliefs that supported girls' education and delayed-marriage, these remained within the framework of gender-inequitable norms concerning girls' marriageability, respectability/family-honour. Participants criticised peers who sought to jeopardise girls' respectability by teasing and community gossip about girls-boys' communication in public. Boys who rejected prevailing norms of masculinity were subjected to gossip, ridicule and violence by the community. Boys' attitudes and beliefs supported girls' education but were conditional on the maintenance of gendered hierarchies at household and interpersonal levels. Social norms concerning girls' honour, respectability and the role of boys as protectors/aggressors appeared to influence boys' response to girls' school dropouts. Future interventions aiming to address girls' education and marriage must invest time and resources to ensure that intervention components targeting boys are relevant, appropriate and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Existing research on the impacts of adversity on young children's psychological well‐being has largely focused on household‐level risk factors using observational methods in high‐income countries. This study leverages natural variation in the timing and location of community homicides to estimate their acute effects on the regulatory, behavioral, and developmental outcomes of Brazilian 3‐year‐olds. Methods: We compared the outcomes of children who were assessed soon after a recent neighborhood homicide to those of children from the same residential neighborhoods who had not recently experienced community violence. Our sample included 3,241 3‐year‐olds (Mage = 41.05 months; 53% female; 45% caregiver education less than middle school; 26% receiving a public assistance program) from seven neighborhoods in São Paulo, Brazil. Child outcome measures included parent reports of effortful control and behavior problems as well as direct assessments of children's developmental (cognitive, language, and motor) skills. Community homicides were measured using police records. Results: Recent exposure to community homicides was associated with lower effortful control, higher behavior problems, and lower overall developmental performance for children (d =.05–.20 standard deviations; p = ns – <.001). Effects were consistent across subgroups based on sociodemographic characteristics and environmental supports, but generally largest when community violence exposure was geographically proximal (within 600 m of home) and recent (within 2 weeks prior to assessment). Conclusions: Results highlight the pervasive effects that community violence can have on young children as well as the need to expand support to mitigate these effects and prevent inequities early in life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects one in four women globally and is more commonly enacted by men than women. Rates of IPV in South Africa exceed the global average. Exploring the background and context regarding why men use violence can help future efforts to prevent IPV. Methods: We explored adult men's perspectives of IPV, livelihoods, alcohol use, gender beliefs, and childhood exposure to abuse through a secondary analysis of qualitative interviews that were conducted in South Africa. The setting was a peri-urban township characterized by high unemployment, immigration from rural areas, and low service provision. We utilized thematic qualitative analysis that was guided by the social ecological framework. Results: Of 30 participants, 20 were residents in the neighborhood, 7 were trained community members, and 3 were program staff. Men reported consumption of alcohol and lack of employment as being triggers for IPV and community violence in general. Multiple participants recounted childhood exposure to abuse. These themes, in addition to culturally prescribed gender norms and constructs of manhood, seemed to influence the use of violence. Conclusion: Interventions aimed at reducing IPV should consider the cultural and social impact on men's use of IPV in low-resource, high-IPV prevalence settings, such as peri-urban South Africa. This work highlights the persistent need for the implementation of effective primary prevention strategies that address contextual and economic factors in an effort to reduce IPV that is primarily utilized by men directed at women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the Readiness for Solutions to Lower Violence Model (ReSOLV) a model generated from Elinor Ostrom's Institutional Analysis Framework, as an alternative approach for adopting equitable and evidence-based strategies to reduce violence in schools and communities. The article explores application of the model within the context of three unique study sites from a longitudinal study in California involving one large county urban school district and county, one small city and school district, and one rural city and school district. We review prevailing approaches for responding to school and public safety problems and examine relevant literature on individual, organizational and community readiness to change the status quo in favor of evidence-based solutions. Implications for school safety research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging literature links neighborhood disadvantage to altered neural function in regions supporting socioemotional and threat processing. Few studies, however, have examined the proximal mechanisms through which neighborhood disadvantage is associated with neural functioning. In a sample of 7- to 19-year-old twins recruited from disadvantaged neighborhoods (354 families, 708 twins; 54.5% boys; 78.5% White, 13.0% Black, 8.5% other racial/ethnic group membership), we found that exposure to community violence was related to increased amygdala reactivity during socioemotional processing and may be one mechanism linking neighborhood disadvantage to amygdala functioning. Importantly, parenting behavior appeared to modulate these effects, such that high parental nurturance buffered the effect of exposure to community violence on amygdala reactivity. These findings elucidate the potential impact of exposure to community violence on brain function and highlight the role parents can play in protecting youth from the neural effects of exposure to adversity. Public Significance Statement: Although prior studies have primarily focused on family-level adversities, developmental researchers are now paying increased attention to the effect of neighborhood-level adversity on youth brain development. We find that increased exposure to community violence is related to heightened amygdala reactivity to threat and may be a mechanism explaining the link between neighborhood disadvantage and brain function in youth. Further, the study highlights that nurturing parenting can protect children from the risks posed by living in a disadvantaged and dangerous neighborhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Interpretative Phenomenological study seeks to unravel the experiences of infertile women regarding societal violence in Jordan. By focusing on different types of community violence - physical, psychological, and emotional - The study aims to provide nuanced insights into the challenges these women confront. It also endeavors to identify contributing factors, including societal attitudes, cultural beliefs, and individual encounters, while informing policy and practice to mitigate this issue. Methods: Employing a qualitative approach, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with purposively sampled infertile women. Thematic analysis was utilized to uncover recurring patterns and themes, facilitating a comprehensive exploration of their experiences. Results: Five main themes were identified: How the surrounding people view me as an infertile woman; I am suffocated by their questions; they interfere in the smallest details; I got burned and turned to ashes, and I have no right to complain; The problem of childbearing and the treatment plan is a matter for me and my husband only; and who supports me and what do I want from those around me? Implications: This study's implications are significant for policy and practice. By foregrounding the prevalent violence faced by infertile women, it underscores the urgency of interventions. Raising awareness, providing education, and extending support can counteract societal stigma and violence. Creating a more compassionate societal fabric can ensure a safer, more inclusive environment for these women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homelessness and intimate partner violence (IPV) do not impact all communities equally. Survivors from marginalized communities—that is communities that have been historically and structurally excluded from social, economic, and political resources—face additional challenges weathering IPV and housing crises. Understanding the housing experiences of marginalized survivors is necessary to achieve housing equity for all survivors. Community‐based participatory research methods were utilized to convene 14 listening sessions (7 primary/7 validation) with Black and Latinx IPV survivors with intersectional identities (n = 92). Listening sessions were held in community‐based locations including a church, health clinic, social service agency, and private residence. The last five validation sessions were conducted virtually on Zoom due to COVID pandemic protocols. All listening sessions were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Latinx population listening sessions were conducted in Spanish and were implemented and translated with attention to linguistic justice principles. The research team used a modified constructivist grounded theory approach for data analysis. Four overarching themes (and seven subthemes) related to survivors' housing experiences emerged: (1) safety and healing challenges, including living in unhealthy physical environments, not being safe in their homes, and contending with community violence, sexual exploitation threats, and eviction fears; (2) formal service fragmentation/bureaucracy that hampered access to housing resource information and resources; (3) resource scarcity associated with limited affordable housing stock; and (4) systemic oppression resulting from discriminatory treatment and gentrification. Comprehensive multileveled approaches are needed to disrupt the cycle of housing insecurity for IPV survivors from marginalized communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Exposure to community violence (ECV) continues to be a major public health problem among urban adolescents in the United States. We sought to identify subgroups of adolescents' ECV and examine how after‐school activities are related to exposure subgroups across two samples. Methods: In Study 1 there were 1432 adolescents (Cohort 9 n = 717, Mage = 11, and Cohort 12 n = 715, Mage = 14; 52% boys) from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (1994–2002). Study 2 had a more recent sample of 537 adolescents (Mage = 16 years; 54% girls) from the After‐School Activity Study (ASAS; 2015–2017) in Chicago and Detroit. Results: Exploratory latent class analyses yielded a three‐class solution for Study 1: a "No ECV" class (44%); a "Low ECV" class (36%); and a "High Exposure" class (14%). In Study 2, a four‐class solution was the best fit with a "No ECV" class (33%), a "Moderate Witness/Low Victim" class (36%), a "High Witness/Moderate Victim" class (19%), and a "High ECV" class (11%). Home‐based activities appeared to be protective against high ECV for adolescents in Study 2. School‐based activities were associated with higher ECV across both samples, but community‐based activities were only associated with greater violence exposure in Study 1. Adolescents' unstructured socializing in both studies was associated with higher odds of ECV. Conclusions: Results indicate that subgroups of adolescents can be identified based on ECV and highlight the complexity of after‐school activities as risk and protective factors in both past and more recent contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of mental health challenges continues to worsen among adolescents, with Black American adolescents experiencing rates of suicide attempts that are increasing faster than any other racial and ethnic groups. Research has found that the neighborhood environment impacts mental health through the type and level of stress that people experience generally. More is yet to be known, however, about the biological and psychological impacts of the neighborhood environment on stress among Black American adolescents. This study used a scoping review to explore the neighborhood environment's contribution to stress among Black American adolescent's, specifically. Seven bibliographic databases were used to identify relevant studies. Ten articles met eligibility criteria and were included in this review. Findings reveal that the biological stress response to neighborhood poverty and community violence has implications for mental and behavioral health functioning in adolescence. Implications for future research and interventions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schools and districts nationwide have heavily emphasized supporting students' health and wellbeing by engaging families and caregivers to truly support the "whole child," as outlined in the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model. The COVID-19 pandemic only heightened the important role of school and family partnerships in supporting children's health. The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Healthy CPS initiative is designed to support schools in their compliance with existing health and wellness policies to support child health. This study aimed to explore parents' primary health concerns for their children, characterize these views, explore any alignment with WSCC, and identify recommendations for family engagement in school health promotion. Eleven semi-structured focus groups (seven English, four Spanish) were conducted with CPS parents/caregivers. Groups were conducted in spring 2021 on Chicago's West Side, one of the more historically disinvested communities in the city. Focus groups were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using constant comparison, incorporating both inductive and deductive approaches. Key themes emerged related to parents' perceptions of schools' role in promoting health including: (1) parents see child health as a shared responsibility between families and schools; and (2) parents identify significant structural barriers and inequities that impede child health, such as racism, community violence, and a lack of community resources in their neighborhoods, and believe schools can do more to address them. Parents' viewed child health and wellbeing as multidimensional and stated that these dimensions must be considered holistically. Their views aligned with WSCC family engagement-related components. Parents recommended that schools employ a variety of strategies to engage families. Findings from this paper have implications for engaging families in school health policy and program development as well as implementation, particularly those in lower income, urban communities that have faced a history of structural inequities. Highlights: Chicago Public Schools parents in in this sample see child health as a shared responsibility between families and schools. Consistent with the long-standing evidence documenting historic disinvestment on the West Side of Chicago, participating parents identify significant structural barriers and inequities, such as racism, community violence, and a lack of community resources in their neighborhoods, and believe schools can do more to address them. Parents recommend schools take a variety of strategies to engage families and recommend more leadership opportunities for parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violence is a global public health problem that affects especially the most vulnerable people. The aim was to analyze the prevalence of psychological violence in the Brazilian population and inequalities according to sex and skin color. This was a cross-sectional study in which the database of the National Health Survey 2019 was used. Psychological violence was considered present when an individual answered yes to at least one of the five variables investigated: In the last 12 months, has anyone (a) offended you, humiliated you, or ridiculed you in front of other people?; (b) yelled at you or called you names?; (c) used social media or cell phones to threaten, offend, curse, or expose your images without your consent?; (d) threatened to hurt you or hurt someone important to you?; and (e) destroyed something of yours on purpose? The independent variable was skin color. The crude prevalence ratio (PR) was determined by Poisson regression. All analyses were stratified by sex. Of the 88,531 respondents, 41,662 were males and 46,869 were females. The prevalence of the presence of psychological violence was 19% in women and 15.6% in men. Men and women with black/brown/yellow/indigenous skin color were 20% and 15% more likely to suffer one or more items of psychological violence, respectively, than men and women with white skin color (PR = 1.20; 95% CI [1.11, 1.30] and PR = 1.15; 95% CI [1.08, 1.23]). Psychological violence occurred predominantly against females and individuals with black/brown/yellow/indigenous skin color. There were notable inequalities in the exposure to this type of violence that need to be considered when making plans to address this problem. The findings emphasize the relevance of constantly reviewing political and social constructions to promote a reduction of inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community violence is the leading cause Of death for young adults in Detroit. Our community and others across the country desperately require solutions that center the needs Of violence survivors and interrupt cycles Of violence, reinjury, retaliation, incarceration, and premature death. Most cities have confronted the problem of community violence by deepening investments in punitive and carceral approaches, such as expanding police forces, surveillance infrastructure, jails, and prisons. Yet these investments have not stopped community violence, and often only exacerbate the problem and further destabilize communities. Since 2018, Detroit Life is Valuable Everyday (DLIVE) and the Detroit Justice Center (DJC) have collaborated on a health-justice partnership that has proven effective at reducing community violence and improving economic well-being among some Of the most vulnerable members Of our community. We partnered originally because we realized that discrete elements Of the carceral system (e.g., warrants, traffic tickets, court fines and fees, criminal records) were adversely impacting the health and well-being of survivors Of violence and their communities; a traffic stop would routinely set offa cascade of events that created significant barriers to breaking cycles Of community violence. Yet the health-justice partnership has expanded to encompass much more than civil and criminal legal services. We have explored new supportive housing options for survivors Of gun violence, non-law enforcement avenues for restorative and transformative justice, mechanisms to make crime victim compensation equitable, and more. Rather than doubling down on destructive policies, the partnership and policy recommendations we discuss have the potential to actually end cycles of community violence, reduce incarceration, support survivors' ability to heal and dream, and create healthier and safer communities. We hope our collaboration can inspire efforts elsewhere to address violence with trauma-informed, abolitionist solutions and contribute to an overhaul Of how we direct resources for public safety as a society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anti-violence movement has embraced a strategy for confronting interpersonal violence through criminal justice legislation. This has led anti-violence activists to advocate for police enforcement and prison punishment. Turning against its roots in feminist activism, the conclusion to the movement demonstrates an over-coding of state violence on anti-violence interventions. As a critique, this article engages Deleuze and Guattari's theory of four regimes of violence to analyse how criminal justice reforms for survivors of violence result in an enactment of greater violence. With special attention to hate crimes and domestic violence, carceral and juridical assemblages provide the mechanics of the regime of state violence manifesting carceral feminism and homonationalism. As an alternative formation, reenvisioning the anti-violence movement as a war machine provides an abolitionist anti-violence praxis. Two concrete strategies emerge for this abolitionist anti-violence project: first, to support and protest for the release of imprisoned survivors of violence, and second, to develop alternative strategies for confronting violence within communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Sudan's civil war has since 2013 threatened the protection of civilians, which UN peacekeepers are mandated to ensure. One aspect represented a new challenge, due to its scale and rapid onset: more than 200,000 civilians fled to UN bases across the country, seeking protection. This amounted to more than a tenth of all internally placed people at one stage. The response by the UN helped to save many lives, but created further dilemmas. Real problems were also experienced, with attacks on these 'sites' and on peacekeepers. This article analyses the significance of the phenomenon and how it unfolded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Household firearm availability is a risk factor for firearm suicide when a household member at-risk for suicide. Firearm ownership for protection and perceptions of community violence may reduce the likelihood of limiting access to firearms as a way to prevent suicide. The association between a firearm suicide risk belief and the intention to reduce firearm access as a means of preventing suicide, with fear of community violence and firearm ownership for protection as moderators, was examined. The analytic sample consisted of 388 Missouri firearm owners from a cross-sectional, statewide survey of Missouri adults. Logistic regression models were estimated. Among Missouri firearm owners, firearm suicide risk belief was positively associated with the intention of reducing firearm access for firearm owners who were not afraid of community violence and owned a firearm for non-protection reasons (e.g., hunting). Findings suggest that firearm suicide prevention efforts must be tailored to address the underlying beliefs about their violence risk among firearm owners who indicate they principally own for protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data on the long-term and comprehensive cost of violence are essential for informed decision making regarding the future benefits of resources directed toward violence prevention. This review aimed to summarize original per-person estimates of the attributable cost of interpersonal violence to support public health economic research and decision making. In 2023, English-language peer-reviewed journal articles published in 2000–2022 with a focus on high-income countries reporting original per-person average cost of violence estimates were identified using index terms in multiple databases. Study contents, including violence type (e.g., adverse childhood experiences), timeline and payer cost perspective (e.g., hospitalization event-only healthcare payer cost), and associated per-person cost estimates, were summarized. Costs were in 2022 U.S. dollars. Per-person cost estimates related to adverse childhood experiences, community violence, sexual violence, intimate partner violence, homicide, firearm violence, youth violence, workplace violence, and bullying from 73 studies (majority focusing on the U.S.) were summarized. For example, among 23 studies with a focus on adverse childhood experiences, monetary estimates ranged from $390 for adverse childhood experience–related annual healthcare out-of-pocket costs per U.S. adult with ≥3 adverse childhood experiences to $20.2 million for the lifetime societal economic burden of a U.S. child maltreatment fatality. This review provides a descriptive summary of available per-person cost of violence estimates. Results can help public health professionals to describe the economic burden of violence, identify the best available estimate for a particular public health question, and address data gaps. Ultimately, understanding the long-term and comprehensive cost of violence is necessary to anticipate the economic benefits of prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study shows that variations in violence across communities in Africa can be traced back to the proportion of common-pool resources (CPRs) in historical ethnic homelands, which determines current levels of trust in local chiefs or neighbors. Combining individual-level trust survey data with historical data of the ethnic homeland's geographical features, this study finds that higher levels of CPRs-driven communal trust raises the number of militias' battle casualties against external groups but reduces violence against in-group civilians. Evidence from diverse identification strategies suggests that the relationships are causal. Moreover, this study shows that the penetration of state power to local communities alleviates the offensive nature of communal trust. These findings not only highlight the contrasting causal effect of in-group trust on communal violence, which is internally pacifying yet externally combative, but also reveal its relational nature, whose attributes are determined by the community's connectivity with the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies at the juncture of development economics and public health take on considerable responsibility in addressing inequality and related mental health distress. Mental healthcare in economically marginalized populations requires depicting the linkages between socioeconomic status and psychological distress. In the present work, a sequential mixed-methods design was used to study 190 people in such communities in India. Gender-dependent psychological distress was found according to the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10) with moderate distress in women (M = 26.30, SD = 9.15) and mild distress in men (M = 21.04, SD = 8.35). Regression analysis indicated that gender significantly predicted psychological distress, followed by age, marital status, and the level of education of the head of the family. The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of semi-structured interviews of the six women who scored the highest on the distress scale unveiled three master themes: (1) manifestation of psychological distress, (2) contextual challenges, and (3) sources of strength and resilience. Overall, participants reported a lack of resources, community violence, gender discrimination, and widespread substance use as major contributors to the ongoing distress. These findings can pave the way for future studies to expand beyond independent economic indicators and curate clinical interventions for culturally competent mental healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, the spread of the violence became one of the most worrying phenomena in the Palestinian Arab community in Israel. This article focuses on the violence where victims and offenders come from Palestinian Arab community in Israel. Its purpose is to review the attitudes of the public figures in the Jewish and the Palestinian Arab communities of the country regarding the violence in the latter community through the lens of the conspiracy and the cultural violence theories. The review shows that some leaders of the Palestinian Arab community tend to refer to the persistence of violence and crime in their community in a cospirative way. Their key claim is that the state authorities intentionally neglect this phenomenon and possibly have some sinister goal behind this way of conduction. In contrast, public representatives of the Jewish community tend to refer to the persistence of violence and crime in Palestinian Arab community in cultural terms. Their key claim is that violence in Palestinian Arab community is deeply rooted in the culture of this community. The review suggests that the attitudes reflect the discourse around the "blaming the victim" concept, whereas representatives of the hegemonic Jewish majority use this tactic in their cultural violence rhetoric, and representatives of the dispossessed Palestinian Arab minority complain against it using the conspiracy beliefs. The review is concluded with broad implications for the Israeli society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Further study is needed regarding the intersection of community violence exposure, coping strategies, and health behaviors among young adult African American men and Hispanic/Latino men. This study did so in Lake County, Indiana, which contains multiple areas with disproportionate prevalence of violence relative to population size. Approximately 22 miles from Chicago, Lake County includes noteworthy mid-sized cities such as Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago. This study explored the perceptions of African American men and Hispanic/Latino men ages 18 to 25 regarding coping strategies and both healthy and health risk behaviors after directly witnessing or indirectly experiencing a violent act or event. We used aspects of social cognitive theory to design this community-based participatory research study. Thirteen males who self-identified as African American, Hispanic/Latino, or both, completed 34- to 80-minute, audio-recorded phone interviews. Audio recordings were transcribed, and NVivo 12 Windows was used by the research team (primary researchers and two coders) to complete transcript analysis. Findings from this study provided insight around African American men and Hispanic/Latino men regarding (a) witnessing violence directly or indirectly experiencing violence; (b) changes in everyday life experiences; (c) coping strategies that involved socio-emotional health, spiritual health, social health, and risky health behaviors; (d) rationales for not asking for help; (e) observations of significant others' coping; (f) what to do differently in the future; (g) beliefs about mentors; and (h) beliefs about mental health providers. Delving into participants' experiences revealed that African American men and Hispanic/Latino men in Lake County, Indiana chose to adopt a range of health risk and health positive strategies after directly witnessing or indirectly experiencing violence. Becoming knowledgeable about African American men's and Hispanic/Latino men's diverse coping strategies and health behaviors may help inform the community about how best to cocreate spaces that aim to alleviate the traumatic experience of having directly or indirectly experienced community violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether within or outside of the psychoanalytic consulting room, when individuals or professional groups can recognize their limitations in addressing familiar challenges and have the opportunity to find partners to explore and understand the underlying sources of their distress, opportunities for new adaptive solutions emerge as well. Shared concerns about the challenges of violence exposure and childhood trauma formed the basis of what at first seemed an unlikely collaboration between psychoanalysts and other clinicians at the Yale Child Study Center and members of the New Haven Police Department. This paper will describe the development of the Child Development-Community Policing partnership and later, our engagement with policymakers. The story of how these collaborations emerged illustrates ways in which the application of the most basic psychoanalytic principles of listening, close observation, and collaborative learning led to the development of early intervention and clinical treatment that have helped to advance the field of childhood trauma. Mobilizing these collaborative efforts outside of the consultation room has, most importantly, led to a far greater number of traumatized children who no longer need to remain alone in the immediate aftermath of the traumatic realization of their worst nightmares. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While research on perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) is growing, few studies have sought to explore perpetrators' perspectives on their abusive behaviors. Thus, much remains unknown regarding how perpetrators view their abuse. We conducted 34 semistructured, open-ended interviews with men convicted of an IPV crime in which we broadly explored their perspectives on contributors to abuse. A history of exposure to violence as children, experiences with other traumatic events, and other causes (e.g., drug abuse) were the most cited. Our findings highlight areas where intervention efforts need to be tailored to address the unmet needs of men who perpetrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify the issues raised by the unsuccessful Voice referendum and propose removal of barriers to reporting and prevention of family violence in remote communities as the most ambitious measure of success in hearing First Nations voices. Conclusions: The Voice referendum was partly justified to improve the mental health of First Nations Australians, despite concern the process and its outcome might worsen both. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders revealed the tensions that arise between individual and communal interests when marginalised groups fight for self-determination. While a unified First Nation Voice is likely to amplify prominent messengers, we should also be interested in hearing diverse, dissenting voices. As the most marginalised group within a marginalised community, the ability to hear the voices of women and children subject to family violence in rural/remote Australian communities may be the best measure of success in overcoming the barriers that was the motivation for the referendum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary on the study by McCoy et al. (2023) examining the negative effects of neighborhood violence on the development of toddlers growing up in the city of São Paulo (Brazil) interprets these outcomes from the perspective of ecological system theory, modern brain research, and the prospect of resilience. We argue that societies should give children the opportunity to grow up in a safe and sufficiently affluent social environment in order to give them a chance to achieve their full developmental potential. Governments and the health care system should, therefore, first and foremost invest in safe and stimulating child‐rearing environments, informed by scientific research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many inequities exist in serving and supporting Black survivors of violent crime. A key question in reducing inequities in care after victimization is whether police first responders and other formal system providers identify the victim as an "offender" and/or someone who is "undeserving" of supports. These labels and associated biases can directly reduce access to supports through a variety of mechanisms that include police withholding information about one's rights as a victim, among other direct and indirect barriers to social and health services. Unaddressed financial, mental, and physical health consequences of victimization contribute to poorer health outcomes later in life. This paper seeks to bring together the extant research on help-seeking, discrimination in criminal legal system functioning, and barriers to victim services by synthesizing these discrete threads into a theoretically and empirically informed conceptual model that captures the range of factors that shape Black Americans' decision to report their victimization to the police and subsequent help-seeking. Qualitative and quantitative data from a purposive sample of 91 Black victims of community violence is used to ground the developing model. The conceptual model can help lay the foundation for research that seeks to remedy the marked mismatch between the prevalence of violent victimization and help-seeking among Black Americans. Research findings can be applied to guide policies and programming to reduce inequities in care for victims of violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parenting behaviors are among the most robust predictors of youth resilience to adversity. Critically, however, very few studies examining these effects have been genetically-informed, and none have considered parenting as an etiologic moderator of resilience. What's more, despite the multidimensionality of resilience, extant etiologic literature has largely focused on a single domain. The current study sought to fill these respective gaps in the literature by examining whether and how parental nurturance shapes the etiology of academic, social, and psychological resilience, respectively. We employed a unique sample of twins (N = 426 pairs; ages 6–11) exposed to moderate-to-severe levels of environmental adversity (i.e., family poverty, neighborhood poverty, community violence) from the Twin Study of Behavioral and Emotional Development in Children. As expected, parental nurturance was positively correlated with all forms of resilience. Extended univariate genotype-by-environment interaction models revealed that parental nurturance significantly moderated genetic influences on all three domains of resilience (academic resilience A1= -0.53, psychological resilience A1= -1.22, social resilience A1= -0.63; all p <.05), such that as parental nurturance increased, genetic influences on youth resilience decreased. Put another way, children experiencing high levels of parental nurturance were more resilient to disadvantage, regardless of their genetic predisposition towards resilience. In the absence of nurturing parenting, however, genetic influences played an outsized role in the origins of resilience. Such findings indicate that parental nurturance may serve as a malleable protective factor that increases youth resilience regardless of genetic influences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a conflict model to analyse Majority-Minority relations (M-M), this paper focuses on the Hazara community in Afghanistan. Assuming M-M relations are power relations, the struggle for control among divergent ethnic groups has persisted. The Hazaras have historically resided in several provinces and experienced various forms of targeted violence. Millions have fled to other countries to escape persecution. This research diverges from dominant approaches that focus only on ethnicity and religion as the causes of violence against the Hazaras. Instead, the paper examines other factors that have been largely neglected by conflict studies literature. Based on historical data, the study finds that the Hazaras' geostrategic location in Afghanistan, their alliances with Pashtun tribes, and their struggle for autonomy have been the primary factors contributing to the targeted violence against them. Therefore, while ethnicity and religion may have made the Hazaras vulnerable to violence, they are not the main causes of violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teacher turnover is an issue of national significance and has worsened since the start of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Teacher‐directed violence and teacher turnover can significantly impact school life for students, staff, and communities. Using Wang and Degol's school climate framework, we examined school characteristics that contribute to teacher‐directed violence and related turnover. The current study examines the qualitative experiences of 403 teachers who reported that their most upsetting incidents of violence contributed to desires to leave the profession, transfer, or retire. Many teachers indicated concerns about safety and community factors, including parent–teacher relationships and community violence. Educators emphasized issues related to administrators, describing a lack of support and poor leadership. Finally, teachers discussed concerns with policy on both school and government levels. Improving school climate may be one avenue for decreasing teacher‐directed violence and preventing turnover. Practitioner Points: Teacher‐directed violence is a significant factor in teachers' decisions regarding transferring, leaving the profession, and retiring.School climate influenced how incidents of violence against teachers unfolded.School characteristics, such as safety, parent–teacher relationships, and administrative support contributed to teachers' considerations of leaving their positions or profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined how different family level (family financial stress, family violence) and individual (food insecurity, gender, race) determinants of health were associated with mental health among Puerto Rican adolescents living in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample consisting of 119 Puerto Rican adolescents, aged 13 to 17, was collected via Qualtrics Panels between November 2020 and January 2021. We examined the association between family financial stress experienced during the pandemic and psychological distress. We also evaluated whether the association between family financial stress and psychological distress was moderated by family violence, food insecurity, and the participant's gender and race. Findings showed that food insecurity positively predicted psychological distress. Results also showed that participants' race moderated the association between family financial stress and psychological distress. Specifically, we found that while there was a significant positive association between family financial stress and psychological distress among Puerto Rican adolescents who identified as a racial minority, this association was nonsignificant among White Puerto Rican adolescents. Our research highlights the significant role of COVID-19 related family financial stress and food insecurity on Puerto Rican adolescents' poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aimed to identify profiles of youth presenting with a unique combination of environmental characteristics and understand the differential relationship between profile membership, anxiety, and depression symptoms. Data were drawn from 158 Latino youth between the ages of 11 and 13. Youth provided information on community violence exposure, acculturative stress, familial and peer support, and parental supervision. Main analyses included Latent Profile Analysis and Multivariate Analysis of Variance. Support for a four‐profile model was found. Profiles are distinguished by mean levels of community violence exposure, acculturative stress, familial and peer support, and parental supervision. Profile membership was significantly associated with anxiety and depression, separately. Those belonging to the profile with the highest levels of environmental risk reported the highest levels of anxiety and depression. Findings contribute to a personalized understanding of risk and protective experiences in the environment for Latino youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Violence against health care workers (HCWs) is a multifaceted issue entwined with broader social, cultural, and economic contexts. While it is a global phenomenon, in crisis settings, HCWs are exposed to exceptionally high rates of violence. We hypothesize that the implementation of a training on de-escalation of violence and of a code of conduct informed through participatory citizen science research would reduce the incidence and severity of episodes of violence in primary healthcare settings of rural Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and large hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq. Methods: In an initial formative research phase, the study will use a transdisciplinary citizen science approach to inform the re-adaptation of a violence de-escalation training for HCWs and the content of a code of conduct for both HCWs and clients. Qualitative and citizen science methods will explore motivations, causes, and contributing factors that lead to violence against HCWs. Preliminary findings will inform participatory meetings aimed at co-developing local rules of conduct through in-depth discussion and input from various stakeholders, followed by a validation and legitimization process. The effectiveness of the two interventions will be evaluated through a stepped-wedge randomized-cluster trial (SW-RCT) design with 11 arms, measuring the frequency and severity of violence, as well as secondary outcomes such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), job burnout, empathy, or HCWs' quality of life at various points in time, alongside a cost-effectiveness study comparing the two strategies. Discussion: Violence against HCWs is a global issue, and it can be particularly severe in humanitarian contexts. However, there is limited evidence on effective and affordable approaches to address this problem. Understanding the context of community distrust and motivation for violence against HCWs will be critical for developing effective, tailored, and culturally appropriate responses, including a training on violence de-escalation and a community behavioral change approach to increase public trust in HCWs. This study aims therefore to compare the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of different interventions to reduce violence against HCWs in two post-crisis settings, providing valuable evidence for future efforts to address this issue. Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.gov Identifier NCT05419687. Prospectively registered on June 15, 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Violence against health care workers (HCWs) is a multifaceted issue entwined with broader social, cultural, and economic contexts. While it is a global phenomenon, in crisis settings, HCWs are exposed to exceptionally high rates of violence. We hypothesize that the implementation of a training on de-escalation of violence and of a code of conduct informed through participatory citizen science research would reduce the incidence and severity of episodes of violence in primary healthcare settings of rural Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and large hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq. Methods: In an initial formative research phase, the study will use a transdisciplinary citizen science approach to inform the re-adaptation of a violence de-escalation training for HCWs and the content of a code of conduct for both HCWs and clients. Qualitative and citizen science methods will explore motivations, causes, and contributing factors that lead to violence against HCWs. Preliminary findings will inform participatory meetings aimed at co-developing local rules of conduct through in-depth discussion and input from various stakeholders, followed by a validation and legitimization process. The effectiveness of the two interventions will be evaluated through a stepped-wedge randomized-cluster trial (SW-RCT) design with 11 arms, measuring the frequency and severity of violence, as well as secondary outcomes such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), job burnout, empathy, or HCWs' quality of life at various points in time, alongside a cost-effectiveness study comparing the two strategies. Discussion: Violence against HCWs is a global issue, and it can be particularly severe in humanitarian contexts. However, there is limited evidence on effective and affordable approaches to address this problem. Understanding the context of community distrust and motivation for violence against HCWs will be critical for developing effective, tailored, and culturally appropriate responses, including a training on violence de-escalation and a community behavioral change approach to increase public trust in HCWs. This study aims therefore to compare the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of different interventions to reduce violence against HCWs in two post-crisis settings, providing valuable evidence for future efforts to address this issue. Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.gov Identifier NCT05419687. Prospectively registered on June 15, 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to peer aggression and bullying victimization are both expressions of peer victimization but distinct constructs among adolescents. This study examined the potential associations between peer victimization and individual/family/peer factors and assessed whether the factors associated with peer aggression differed from those related to bullying victimization. This cross-sectional study, conducted in a low-income Brazilian city characterized by poverty, inequality, and violence, involved a three-stage probabilistic sampling plan that included a random selection of census units, eligible households, and the target child. Data collected from face-to-face confidential home interviews with 669 in-school adolescents (11 to 15 years, 51.7% girls) were analyzed. The level of exposure to peer aggression was determined by the sum of the presence of 15 events (within the categories of physical aggression, verbal harassment, and social manipulation) occurring at different frequencies in the previous six months. Bullying victimization occurring more than once a week or most days in the previous six months was investigated after presenting a bullying victimization definition to participants which required them to have felt harmed by their victimization experiences. Path analysis identified factors associated with peer aggression and bullying victimization. Suicide ideation or attempt was associated with bullying victimization, while being overweight, using alcohol (previous 12 months) and having no social support from a friend were associated with exposure to peer aggression. Community violence exposure was associated with both study outcomes. In conclusion, the fact that suicidality was associated with bullying victimization but not with peer aggression suggests that when adolescents recognize that peer victimization hurts their feelings, their mental health appears to be negatively affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gun violence imparts a tremendous human and financial toll on local communities. Researchers have documented extensive mental and physical health consequences of generalized violence exposure but few studies have analyzed the particular impacts of gun violence on community well-being using nationally comprehensive data. We leverage a unique database of almost 16,000 neighborhoods in 100 US cities (2014–2019) to examine how year-over-year rates of gun violence correspond to overall neighborhood well-being and three aspects of community health: (1) health behaviors, (2) physical and mental health status, and (3) health prevention efforts. We simultaneously consider the reciprocal influence of neighborhood well-being on subsequent gun violence while accounting for concentrated disadvantage in communities. The results demonstrate that gun violence is associated with poorer community health in subsequent years, particularly health behaviors and mental/physical health status. Furthermore, we find substantial reciprocal effects for both gun violence and community health in their relationship to neighborhood concentrated disadvantage. These findings highlight the consequential role of gun violence in perpetuating cycles of harm in local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]