Exploring the Link Between Neighborhood Violence and Health Among African-American and Latinx Youth Returning Home After Incarceration

Background African-American and Latinx youth are disproportionately exposed to neighborhood violence and are overrepresented in the U.S. juvenile justice system. Perceived neighborhood violence is associated with negative health outcomes. Objective We examined associations between African-American and Latinx youths' perceived neighborhood violence and health during reentry after juvenile incarceration. Methods Youth (n = 50) returning home after incarceration completed health questionnaires at one-month post-incarceration. A subset of participants (n = 25 youth) also participated in one-on-one, semi-structured longitudinal interviews. Results Twenty-eight (56%) participants reported neighborhood violence in quantitative surveys. Quantitative analyses revealed that perceived neighborhood violence was positively associated with reported asthma diagnosis, doctor recommendations for medical follow-up, perceived stress, and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Perceived neighborhood violence was negatively correlated with perceived family support. Stress ratings were associated with ACE total scores, moderate to severe depression symptoms, and family support. Moderate-to-severe depression symptoms were significantly correlated with lower ratings of family support. Qualitative interviews supplemented our quantitative findings and showed that responses to perceived neighborhood violence were linked to specific health-related behaviors, such as substance use or avoidance of gang activity. Conclusions Overall, our quantitative and qualitative results indicate that perceived neighborhood violence is associated with many negative psychosocial factors that could impact overall health and wellbeing of youth undergoing reentry. Treatment implications include the development and testing of family-centered interventions that help improve the transition back into the community for youth undergoing reentry and especially, their access to evidence-based treatment, including leveraging family telehealth substance use interventions.