Examining the relationship between environmental correlates and emotional and behavioral outcomes among urban African American adolescents

The purpose of this research is to understand the influences of living in an urban environment on African-American adolescents' emotional and behavioral health. This study has three objectives: to assess the prevalence of internalized symptoms1 and externalized behaviors2 among African American youths, to investigate the relationship between neighborhood risk and internalized symptoms and externalized behaviors, and to identify protective factors within their environment.;This study builds on the research literature on African-American adolescents' mental health by examining the environmental influences on the mental health of African-American adolescents living in public housing developments. This study contributes to the prevention science literature on African-American adolescents' emotional and behavioral health by identifying protective factors that may buffer the negative effects of living in urban, public housing environments.;Data used in this study were collected from 238 African-American adolescents ages 13 to 19 living in three public housing developments located in the city of St. Louis. Descriptive analysis was conducted to examine the prevalence of internalized symptoms and externalized behaviors among the sample. Multivariate analysis was conducted to investigate the relationships between neighborhood characteristics and internalized symptoms and externalized behavior, and to investigate possible interaction effects of parenting behaviors, peer influence and youth attitudes.;Results indicate that males reported higher levels of depressive symptoms and delinquent behavior than females. No gender differences were found for both depression and anxiety symptoms. School performance and delinquent behavior did differ by age. Depressive symptoms and anxiety sensitivity were significantly associated with delinquent behavior; they were not associated with school performance. Neighborhood risk was negatively associated with depression, anxiety symptoms, and delinquent behavior for both males and females. There was no relationship between neighborhood risk and school performance. Overall, the relationship between neighborhood risk and the outcome variables was exacerbated when youth reported involvement with delinquent peers. Parental monitoring and encouragement and unfavorable attitudes toward deviance had a protective effect on adolescents' emotional and behavioral health. These results have implications to prevention and interventions and support the need for additional research on the expression of depressive and anxiety symptoms among African-American youth living in public housing developments.;1Depressive and anxiety symptoms. 2Delinquency and school performance.