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A significant body of research has examined the psychological harm of exposure to collective traumas such as disasters (e.g., tornados, hurricanes, mass violence). Less well studied are the mental health effects of exposure to macro-level race-related traumas, such as instances of police violence toward African Americans and subsequent civil unrest that are widely covered by traditional and social media. Method: This study examined posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms in a sample of 936 Black and white residents of the St. Louis, MO, metropolitan statistical area surveyed following the August 2014 fatal shooting of Michael Brown and subsequent civil unrest in Ferguson, MO. We used structural equation modeling to examine direct, indirect, and conditional relationships among race, protest engagement, media use, and resilience on PTS symptoms. Results: Race and protest engagement were directly associated with PTS symptoms, whereas media exposure was indirectly associated with PTS through protest engagement. Resilience had an inverse relationship with PTS symptoms. Conclusion: Our results suggest that social workers should provide mental health resources and interventions for community members experiencing macro-level race-related events and work to address racial injustices that compound trauma and increase risks for posttraumatic difficulties.

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Although homeless youth are likely to engage in concurrent sexual relationships and doing so can accelerate HIV transmission, the issue of sexual concurrency (i.e., having sexual partnerships that overlap in time) has received scarce attention in this vulnerable population. The literature that exists tends to focus on individuals' characteristics that may be associated with concurrency and overlooks the influence of their social environment. Informed by the risk amplification and abatement model (RAAM), this study explored the association between pro-social and problematic social network connections, and sexual concurrency among homeless youth using drop-in center services (N = 841). Nearly 37% of youth engaged in concurrency. Partially consistent with the RAAM, regression analyses showed that affiliation with more problematic ties (i.e., having more network members who practice concurrency and unprotected sex) was associated with greater sexual concurrency. Programs addressing HIV risk among homeless youth in drop-in centers should consider the role youths' network composition may play in concurrency.

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