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Violence exposure has a significant impact on victims' psychological well-being. This study examined the relationship between two types of violence exposures (threats and physical assaults), coping styles (emotion focused, avoidant, and problem focused), gender, and depression among 211 (147 females and 64 males) young urban adults (ages 18-24). Most participants (60%) endorsed being physically assaulted, whereas many (40%) endorsed being threatened. Hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted. As hypothesized, women reported using more emotion-focused coping and reported greater depression than men. Avoidant coping was a predictor for increased depression for both men and women. However, women who employed problem-focused coping after their first physical assault reported lower rates of depression. These findings have implications for designing early interventions.

Neighborhood research indicates that adolescents are at higher risk for delinquency when they reside in neighborhoods low in collective efficacy, low in perceived prosocial norms and values, and high in availability of substances and firearms. However, as adolescents develop, they are more likely to independently travel during their day-to-day activities, and the effects of their home neighborhood may be weakened as they spend time in other communities. The current study surveyed 179 adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system in a small Midwestern city on their perceptions of their home neighborhood and self-reported delinquency. While perceptions of several home neighborhood characteristics significantly predicted severity of delinquency for all respondents, neighborhood effects were significantly weaker for those adolescents who tended to engage in illegal behaviors outside their home neighborhood. These findings suggest that future research and prevention efforts should include more attention to how adolescents may be influenced by multiple neighborhoods.

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