| Community violence exposure comes in many forms---including direct exposure, indirect witnessing and hearing stories shared among the community. This dissertation is a study that raises questions about the level of exposure to community violence experienced---specifically, among low-income, urban, African American, adolescent males within the United States. Numerous stressors impact the lives African American males, especially those who are living in communities that have high levels of violence. Interventions provided in schools and in community agencies (e.g., recreational facilities) may provide some form of respite from community violence. However, gang activity, aggression, decreased academic performance and concerns with conduct are salient within African American sub-culture, despite best efforts within the community. The exploration of resilience factors that may moderate the impact of violence exposure on African American youth, has received far less research attention.;Knowledge of factors that promote adaptation among Black, urban youth is necessary for the targeting of those at risk for negative behavioral and psychological sequelae as a result of their exposure to violence. Two, well-known components of African American culture and identity---spirituality and religiosity---have operated as individual and collective sources of refuge, purpose, forgiveness, hope, and liberation. As a result, a way to possibly address the epidemic of adolescent, African American exposure to community violence is through focused exploration of the role spirituality and religiosity could potentially serve in African American communities. To capture often-unheard thoughts and feelings of young, African American men and the unique challenges they face in their particular sociocultural environment, the study sampled seven, adolescent, African American males between the ages of 14 and 16 who were from a large, Midwestern city.;The results supported the notion that African American, male adolescents frequently experience pervasive, negative exposure to violence within their communities, which can impact building and maintaining interpersonal relationships and personal self-efficacy. As a result, a sense of safety is a critically essential component required for change to occur in these communities. These findings do not intend to generalize across all adolescent, African American male experiences, but rather provide a richer understanding of the participant's lived experienced. |
