The impact of neighborhood disorganization on neighborhood exposure to violence, trauma symptoms, and social relationships among at-risk youth

Previous research has demonstrated that exposure to violence (ETV) is a serious concern across the north-south socioeconomic divide. While studies have found that social support is a protective factor for youth exposed to violence and trauma, little is known about the impact of trauma symptoms on forming and maintaining social relationships which are key to accessing a vital social resource that fosters resilience in youth experiencing trauma symptomatology. Building on previous models that examine the impact of neighborhoods on exposure to violence and trauma, the current study examines the impact of neighborhood disorganization on ETV among youth and ETV's effects on trauma symptoms and social relationships. Data were collected on 2242 juvenile justice-involved youth with behavioral health issues in 11 urban and rural counties in the Midwestern United States. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), our data demonstrated that living in highly disorganized neighborhoods was associated with higher levels of ETV and that ETV was positively associated with trauma symptoms. Mediational analysis showed that trauma symptoms strongly mediated the effect of ETV on social relationships. Freely estimating structural paths by gender revealed that hypothesized associations between these variables were stronger for females than males. Findings here highlight the need to provide trauma-informed care to help youth to build and maintain social relationships. Identification and treatment of trauma symptoms that is culturally informed is a critical first step in ensuring that identified protective factors in local contexts, such as social relations and social support, have opportunities to minimize the impact of ETV among youth across northern and southern nations.