Community Violence and Racial Socialization Their Influence on the Psychosocial Well-Being of African American College Students

The present study investigated the links between community violence exposure (witnessing and direct victimization) and racial socialization and psychological well-being in a sample of 281African American college students (76% female). We predicted that community violence exposure would be negatively...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of black psychology Vol. 41; no. 4; pp. 358 - 383
Main Authors Banerjee, Meeta, Rowley, Stephanie J., Johnson, Deborah J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.08.2015
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
African Americans
Mental health
Social psychology
Socialization
Victims of crime
Violence
Witnesses
United States > US
African Americans
community violence
psychological well-being
racial socialization
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:The present study investigated the links between community violence exposure (witnessing and direct victimization) and racial socialization and psychological well-being in a sample of 281African American college students (76% female). We predicted that community violence exposure would be negatively related to psychosocial well-being. Additionally, it was hypothesized that the dimensions of racial socialization, cultural socialization and preparation for bias, would mitigate the effects of community violence exposure on psychosocial well-being. Consistent with the research hypotheses, the results from this study show that racial socialization buffers the effects of community violence exposure on mental health outcomes. Implications for assessing exposure to community violence and how racial socialization may mitigate psychosocial well-being are discussed.
ISSN:0095-7984
1552-4558
DOI:10.1177/0095798414539174