The beginning -- The tale of two Americas -- Not all violence is the same : race- and place-based violence -- The road to concentrated poverty and neighborhood violence -- The scars of violence -- When violence and sex are entangled -- Living and parenting in the presence of everyday dangers -- Joining the broken pieces : practice and policy solutions and systems integrations -- Making a difference : rebuilding the village -- Notes -- Index.
HIV incidence among black men who have sex with men (BMSM) is at epidemic proportions. However, the vast majority of studies have focused on risk factors related to HIV infections with a dearth of research on resiliency and how BMSM maintain seronegativity. Using three focus groups ( N = 29) comprised of BMSM in New York City, this study explored psychosocial factors and practices related to maintaining seronegativity. Major themes included having spirituality and/or religious beliefs, access to social supports that held positive expectations, and having personal agency by engaging in seroadaptive harm reduction practices. Overall, findings highlight the importance of addressing HIV stigma, supporting the need for BMSM to be validated, and creating safe spaces that allow them to discuss the challenges related to remaining HIV-negative.
Using survey data collected from 115 first-generation Jamaican immigrants residing in New York City, this study identified factors that were associated with their attitudes toward seeking professional mental health services. Results indicated that persons reporting psychological distress, negative stigma and attributions about mental illness, and positive social support from friends were less likely than their counterparts to report positive attitudes towards professional mental health services. Implications of the study are discussed in relation to these findings.
Relationships are central to the profession of social work; relationships with allied disciplines, among professional social work organizations, and between classroom and field education. However, embedded within these relationships are historical tensions, and contemporary opportunities that can advance both the science of social work and the status of the profession. This article mainly highlights opportunities for advancing professional relationships between Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and National Association of Social Work (NASW) and provides exemplars for strengthening relationships between the classroom, field education, and practicing social work professionals. We argue that deepening the connections between CSWE and NASW as well as the Society for Social Work Research (SSWR) require parallel efforts to link research, evidence-based practices, and the training and education of future social workers.
This study examined whether promotive factors (future expectations, family warmth, school attachment, and neighborhood cohesion) moderated relationships between community violence exposure and youth delinquency. Analyses were conducted using N = 2,980 sixth to eighth graders ( Mage = 12.48; 41.1% males) from a racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse sample. After controlling for demographic factors, delinquency was positively associated with community violence exposure and inversely associated with each of the promotive factors. When interaction effects between all promotive factors and community violence exposure were examined simultaneously, only future expectations moderated the relationship between community violence exposure and delinquency. Specifically, community violence exposure had a weaker association with delinquency for youth reporting high versus low levels of future expectations. Results indicate that while promotive factors from family, school, and neighborhood domains are related to lower rates of delinquency, only future expectations served as a protective factor that specifically buffered youth from the risk effects of community violence exposure.
