Defense Date
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Terri Sullivan Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Fantasy Lozada Ph.D.
Third Advisor
Jamie Cage Ph.D.
Abstract
Due to historical and current systemic racial inequities, African American adolescents and emerging adults living in low-income urban communities bear the burden of higher rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and exposure to community violence. Both exposure to ACEs and community violence are linked to higher levels of substance use. However, limited research exists on how exposure to community violence exacerbates the association between ACEs and higher frequencies of substance use in adolescence and emerging adulthood. There is also a need to understand how community-level protective factors may weaken the relations between ACEs and higher rates of substance use. The current study focuses on two separate samples of primarily African American adolescents (n = 378; ages 12-17) and emerging adults (n = 218; ages 18-22) living in low-income urban areas in the southeastern United States. This study contributed to the literature by using hierarchical regression analyses to examine: (a) the association between ACEs and the frequency of substance use, and (b) the moderating effects of exposure to community violence and community recognition and community support on relations between ACEs and frequency of substance use.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
5-3-2024