Citation

Browning CR, Calder CA, Ford JL, Boettner B, Smith AL, Haynie D. Ann. Am. Acad. Polit. Soc. Sci. 2017; 669(1): 41-62.

Affiliation

The Ohio State University.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0002716216678167

PMID

28845047

PMCID

PMC5567748

Abstract

Emerging evidence indicates that exposure to violent areas may influence youth wellbeing. We employ smartphone GPS data on youth activity spaces to examine the extent of, and potential explanations for, racial disparities in these exposures. Multilevel models of data from the Adolescent Health and Development in Context study indicate that exposures to violent areas vary significantly across days of the week and between youth who reside in the same neighborhood. African American youth are exposed to areas with substantially higher levels of violence. Residing in a disadvantaged neighborhood is significantly associated with exposure to violent areas and explains a non-trivial proportion of the racial difference in this outcome. However, neighborhood factors are incomplete explanations of the racial disparity. Characteristics of the activity locations at which youth spend time explain the residual racial disparity in exposure to violent areas. These findings highlight the importance of youth activity spaces, above and beyond their neighborhood environments.

Language: en

Keywords

activity spaces; adolescents; exposure to violence; neighborhoods; social disparities