Anxiety sensitivity among Black youth: A cross-sectional analysis of the direct and indirect effects of community violence exposure, neighborhood risk, parenting practices, and peer effects.

Youth exposed to community violence and neighborhood stressors report devastating mental health consequences. Black youth are at greater risk and experience community violence at rates higher than other youth populations. An underexplored mental health consequence is anxiety sensitivity, the fear of experiencing anxiety-related symptoms, which contributes to maladaptive coping strategies and the development and severity of other mental health problems.

Examining the Utility of the Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI) among Children in the Nigeria Context.

An estimated 6 million children under the age of five in Nigeria (out of nearly 31 million) risk not reaching their full developmental potential. The dearth of context-relevant measures poses a challenge to the planning and implementation of effective interventions. This study assesses the utility of the Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI) in Nigeria.

Stress Biomarkers in Black Youth: Exploring Psychological, Behavioral, and Socio-Ecological Correlates.

Exposure to chronic stress is a major public health concern. Black youth are vulnerable to chronic stress exposure given their overrepresentation in urban neighborhoods characterized by socio-ecological stressors. We contribute to this emerging body of knowledge by (1) investigating stress-induced variability in cortisol response patterns among Black youth, and (2) examining risk and protective factors associated with physiological stress responses.

Assessing the Modified Neighborhood Cohesion Index Among African American Adolescents Living in Public Housing: An Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis.

Objective: African American youth are disproportionately overrepresented in low-resourced segregated urban neighborhoods. Consequently, they experience greater exposure to neighborhood risks and subsequent depressive symptoms. Neighborhood cohesion represents a protective factor for youth in such environments.

Safeguarding the Lives of Children Affected by Boko Haram: Application of the SAFE Model of Child Protection to a Rights-Based Situation Analysis.

The Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria is responsible for the highest number of lives lost in Africa in the past decade. The country has witnessed significant violations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Nigeria has signed and ratified. For instance, Nigeria had the second-highest number of children recruited to armed groups and the third-highest number of abductions in 2018.

Getting to zero HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa: Understanding perceptions of locals using the social determinants of health framework.

This study explored a community perception of the facilitators and inhibitors of Getting to Zero (GTZ) in rural Zambia, sub-Saharan Africa. Data were collected in 2017. We use the Social Determinants of Health framework to guide organisation of key themes emerging from semistructured, focus group interviews with community members (N = 52).

Maternal caregiver's typologies and internalized behaviors in African American adolescents living in urban public housing.

Aims: This study explores how variations in maternal caregiver types may be associated with adolescents' internalized behaviors (i.e., depressive symptoms) and resources (i.

Exposure to Violence and Posttraumatic Stress Among Youth in Public Housing: Do Community, Family, and Peers Matter?

This study examines the mediating roles of neighborhood risk factors, parental behaviors, and peers on the relationship between community violence exposure and posttraumatic stress in a sample of urban youth in low-income public housing communities. Data are from 320 African-American youth living in public housing in a northeastern city in the USA. Structural equation modeling was utilized to examine the stated relationships.