Exposure to community violence and upper respiratory illness in older adolescents
Received 15 September 2003; accepted 26 February 2004.
Abstract
Purpose
To examine the relationship between exposure to chronic community violence and upper respiratory illness (URI) symptoms among urban adolescents of color; and to test the generality of a model of the relationship between social stress and URI.
Method
The research used a cross-sectional correlational design. The sample was 769 first-semester first-year students in an urban nonresidential 4-year college from the academic years 1999–2002. Data were collected by a group-administered questionnaire in academic classes. The research used three multi-item additive scales (each with high reliability and validity): exposure to community violence, psychological distress, and URI symptoms. Multiple regression procedures were used to analyze the data.
Results
Positive correlations were obtained between: exposure to community violence and reporting of URI (r = .19), exposure and psychological distress (r = .22), and psychological distress and URI (r = .51). The relationship between exposure to community violence and URI is greatly reduced when level of psychological distress is statistically controlled.
Conclusions
Exposure to community violence is related to experiencing URI symptoms among older urban adolescents of color; the effect size of the relationship is small-medium. Psychological distress mediates the impact of exposure to community violence on URI. The findings expand the range of social stressors that are empirically related to URI, and populations in which a relationship between social stressors and URI may be found.
aSchool of Social Work, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York
bSocial Sciences Department, York College and The Graduate Center of The City University of New York, Jamaica, New York
cPsychology Department, York College of The City University of New York, Jamaica, New York
Address correspondence to: Dr. Beth Spenciner Rosenthal, Social Sciences Department, York College of The City University of New York, 94-20 Guy R. Brewer Blvd., Jamaica, NY 11451.
ABSTRACT