Citation

Wilson WC, Rosenthal BS, Austin S. J. Adolesc. Health 2005; 36(4): 313-319.

Affiliation

School of Social Work, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jadohealth.2004.02.037

PMID

15780786

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.

Language: en