How do Urban African American Youth Respond to Life Event Stress?

Young African Americans living in urban, low-income communities often face more adverse life events than youth in other contexts. As a result, they are often at greater risk of experiencing difficulties as they mature, such as dangerous internalizing and externalizing behaviors. The different contexts in which these young people live shape their coping strategies as well. Findings published this January in “Adverse Life Events, Coping and Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors in Urban African American Youth,” in the Journal of Child and Family Studies indicate that for preadolescent African Americans, different types of adverse events are strongly associated with one type of maladaptive behavior, and the effectiveness of coping strategies varies with gender and type of event.

Research claims that approach strategies, in which individuals directly confront problems, are more effective than avoidance strategies when responding to an adverse circumstance. However, youth living in more dangerous contexts might prefer avoidance strategies in actuality, as approach strategies may increase their risk of experiencing future violence.

To address this question, the authors interviewed 353 African American third to fifth graders residing in Baltimore, Maryland. Children were asked about adverse life events, internalizing or externalizing symptoms, and coping strategies. Internalizing behaviors, such as depression or social withdrawal, are commonly defined as behaviors that occur when individuals direct negative emotions on themselves. Externalizing behaviors, such as aggression and defiance, are those that occur when individuals direct their emotions out onto others.

The researchers found that exposure to violence was the most frequently reported adverse life effect, and it was more strongly associated with externalizing behaviors than internalizing ones. Economic stress and discrimination, however, were each more strongly associated with internalizing behaviors than externalizing ones.

No differences existed between the genders when the authors looked at exposure to the adverse life events studied, including economic stress, discrimination, and community violence. In general, however, girls reported more internalizing symptoms than boys did, and boys reported more externalizing symptoms than girls. Additional research suggests that boys may be more prone to externalizing behaviors because of a fear of appearing weak or becoming a victim. This shows that when working with urban African American youth, adults must offer gender-specific strategies that are relevant to high levels of violence and cultural pressures youth experience.

When considering exposure to violence, girls who did not use avoidance strategies had more externalizing problems with increased exposure to violence. Girls who avoided problems saw no change in their externalizing behaviors as exposure to violence rose. For boys, the use of avoidance strategies had no effect on the positive correlation between violence and externalizing behaviors. This is significant because boys who live in consistently dangerous contexts may need other active types of coping strategies such as problem solving when confronted with hostility.

Examining coping strategies led the authors to conclude that avoiding problems and expressing feelings were associated with less internalizing and externalizing behaviors. However, none of the coping strategies studied had an effect on the relationship between economic stress or discrimination and internalizing behaviors.

This research focuses on economic stress, discrimination, and exposure to violence experienced by African American preadolescents and how young people cope with and respond to these events. Although the study is limited in only examining three types of adverse events, it begins to illuminate the variability of occurrence and effectiveness of young people’s responses to these adverse events.

One way to improve response to adverse events, the authors found, is through programs that focus on problem-solving skills for children and parents. Other programs also designed to improve response create collaborations between community partners, youth, and interventionists to make sure the content is culturally appropriate. Policy makers must take into consideration the cultural context and social pressures of urban, low-income African American youth when designing prevention and intervention efforts. As many youth in Chicago’s under-resourced communities experience these adverse events, parents, school staff, and youth workers might consider paying equal attention to internalizing behaviors and employing gender-based, problem-solving strategies when caring for this group of young people.

Feature Photo: cc/(Matt Preston)