What Happens After School? Linking Latino Adolescents Activities and Community Violence Exposure

• Main Authors: Ceballo, Rosario, Cranford, James A, Alers-Rojas, Francheska, Jocson, Rosanne M, Kennedy, Traci M
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2021
• Subjects: after-school activities; familismo; adolescents; community violence exposure; Psychology; Sociology
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/psychology-faculty-pubs/293; https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10964-021-01480-6
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

Although community violence and the associated deleterious behavioral and psychological consequences that follow violence exposure for youth persist as serious; ongoing public health concerns; surprisingly little research has examined precursors to adolescents' violence exposure. This longitudinal study investigates adolescents' participation in three types of activities; specifically including home-; school-; and community-based after-school activities and examines which of these activities place youth at greater risk for experiencing community violence. The sample consists of 398 Latino high school students (53% female) with a mean age of 15.5 years (SD = 1.0) and with 85% qualifying for free and reduced school lunch. Cross-sectional results demonstrated that frequency of non-structured community-based activities and part-time work were associated with higher rates of witnessing and being victimized by violence. Adolescents' endorsement of the Latino cultural value of familismo; on the other hand; was associated with lower rates of personal victimization. Longitudinal findings showed that only frequency of non-structured community-based activities was related to greater victimization and witnessing violence one year later. Our findings underscore the importance of providing structured; well supervised after-school activities for low-income youth in high-risk neighborhoods.