"I want to live in a neighborhood where I'm not scared": the mental health impact on adolescents exposed to ongoing community violence.

Title:
"I want to live in a neighborhood where I'm not scared" : the mental health impact on adolescents exposed to ongoing community violence
Creator:
Selip, Meleah Rose Musilek (Author)
Contributor:
Moore Clemons, Kristal (Advisor)
Beltz, Lynda (Committee member)
Ream, Tyler (Committee member)
Language:
English
Publisher:
Boston, Massachusetts : Northeastern University, 2017
Date Accepted:
February 2017
Date Awarded:
April 2017
Type of resource:
Text
Genre:
Dissertations
Format:
electronic
Digital origin:
born digital
Abstract/Description:
Statistically, high poverty communities (and those who live in these communities) experience higher rates of violence than middle and upper income communities (Nikula, Spatz Widom & Czaja, 2011). Repeated exposure to community violence impacts one's perception of safety, which includes protection from elements, security, stability, order, and the freedom from fear (Maslow, 1943). This interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study was conducted with the purpose of examining the lived experiences of six adolescents who have experienced trauma related to repeated exposure to community violence. Four themes emerged as the researcher analyzed the qualitative data regarding how participants made sense of their experiences. First, participants viewed safety in their community as complex, depending on numerous variables. Second, participants reported relationships with those close to them as critical in determining whether or not they communicated about their experiences of trauma. Third, participants' exposure to chronic community violence had an impact on their perception of safety, specifically in regards to ongoing feelings of fear and worry. Finally, participants' views of other people and the world in general were altered by chronic community violence and the trauma associated with witnessing it.
Subjects and keywords:
adolescents
community
mental health
safety
trauma
violence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17760/D20241738
Permanent Link:
http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20241738
Use and reproduction:
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