TY - JOUR T1 - Community Violence in Early Adolescence: Assessing Coping Strategies for Reducing Delinquency and Aggression. AU - DiClemente,Cara M, AU - Richards,Maryse H, Y1 - 2019/09/24/ PY - 2019/9/25/pubmed PY - 2022/4/27/medline PY - 2019/9/25/entrez SP - 155 EP - 169 JF - Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology : the official journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53 JO - J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol VL - 51 IS - 2 N2 - Objective: Exposure to community violence has disabling effects on the mental health of youth in the US, especially for African American adolescents from underserved, urban communities, fostering increased externalizing problems. The current study assessed the utility of problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping strategies for reducing aggression and delinquency amidst this uncontrollable stress. It was hypothesized that greater use of avoidant strategies would most consistently reduce externalizing behaviors over time, with these effects being stronger for boys than girls. Method: Following confirmatory factor analyses, longitudinal moderated moderation analyses were conducted with a sample of 263 Black students from low-income, urban areas (60% female, M = 11.65 years), who completed surveys in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Results: For sixth grade boys who witnessed violence, using more problem-focused strategies increased delinquency in eighth grade, whereas less use of problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping increased eighth grade delinquency for girls with both indirect and direct violence exposure. Girls showed a similar pattern for aggression in seventh and eighth grade. Problem-focused coping was endorsed most frequently overall by boys and girls. Violence exposure was associated with greater use of avoidant strategies in sixth grade. Conclusions: These results suggest that using fewer coping strategies was detrimental for girls, while boys may require more resources to support their coping efforts. This research enhances understanding of how boys and girls adaptively cope with community violence differently, while addressing concerns with conceptualizing categories of coping to inform clinicians in these communities. SN - 1537-4424 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/31549863/Community_Violence_in_Early_Adolescence:_Assessing_Coping_Strategies_for_Reducing_Delinquency_and_Aggression_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -