Publications on Community
Research Reports
Select by document types:
All Reports |
Research Reports |
Annual Reports |
Data Reports |
Descriptive Reports
Social Networks and the Behaviors of Youth in the District of Columbia: An Interim Research Report (DCPI Research Link)Meagan Cahill, Samantha S. Lowry, Caterina RomanThe D.C. Crime Policy Institute, in partnership with Temple University, is conducting a study on the behavior and social networks of youths ages 14 to 21 in Washington, D.C. The study measures both positive activities (e.g., sports, after-school programs) and delinquent behaviors (e.g., theft, violence) and uses data on social networks to understand how relationships influence behavior and, in turn, to provide insight on how to best prevent youth involvement in delinquent or violent activity. Our preliminary analysis, outlined in this report, finds that nonpeer relationships (teachers, mentors, extended family members) may be just as important as peer relationships when examining delinquency and violence.
|
| Published by: Cahill, M., Lowry, S.S., Roman, C.G. 2012. Social Networks and the Behaviors of Youth in the District of Columbia: An Interim Research Report. Urban Institute: Washington, DC. |
| Publication Year: 2012 | Availability: HTML |
Do Human and Social Capital Protect Young African American Mothers From Depression Associated With Ethnic Discrimination and Violence Exposure? (DCPI Research Link)Amy Lewin, Stephanie Mitchell, Andrew Rasmussen, Kathy Sanders-Phillips, Jill JosephYoung minority mothers are particularly vulnerable to depression associated with community-level or contextual stressors such as violence exposure and ethnic discrimination. This study explores whether human and social capital act as buffers of the associations between such stressors and maternal depression. Among a sample of 230 urban, African American mothers, who were teenagers when their preschool-age children were born, both being a victim of violence and experiencing ethnic discrimination predicted increased depressive symptoms, and higher educational attainment predicted fewer symptoms. Ethnic identity moderated the association between witnessed violence and maternal depression, and community cohesion moderated the association between ethnic discrimination and depression. Social support protected against depressive symptoms associated with witnessed violence but seemingly exacerbated depression associated with victimization. The specific roles that forms of human and social capital play in moderating the effects of contextual stressors suggest the need for nuanced programmatic efforts to reduce maternal depression among young African American mothers living in violence-prone, urban neighborhoods.
|
| Published by: Journal of Black Psychology 37(3): 286-310. |
| Publication Year: 2011 | Availability: HTML |
Social Defeat or Social Resistance? Reaction to Fear of Crime and Violence Among People with Severe Mental Illness Living in Urban 'Recovery Communities' (DCPI Research Link)Rob WhitleyThis article is propelled by recent theory positing that ‘social defeat’ is a common experience for people with severe mental illness, potentially affecting course and outcome. The primary objective is to investigate how far fear of crime and violence contributes toward ‘social defeat’ among people with mental illness. This is done through examining 6 years of ethnographic data collected from a sample of urban-dwelling people with severe mental illness, all securely-housed in apartments located in small scale ‘‘recovery communities.’’ Findings suggest that many participants living in the highest crime neighborhoods report that they deliberately restrict their temporal and spatial movement as a consequence of such crime. This hinders aspects of their recovery. Nevertheless, participants actively confront the nefarious affects of neighborhood crime by engaging in various empowering strategies of resistance. These include confronting disruptive people, fortifying homes, moving around the neighborhood in small groups and carrying objects such as umbrellas and canes that can be used in self-defense. Some reported that fear of crime directly contributed to the development of a rich and gratifying domestic life, centered on hospitality and religion. I conclude that participants partake in valiant and durable ‘‘social resistance,’’ and may better be perceived as imaginative and resourceful resistors, rather than passive victims of ‘‘social defeat.’’ An influential factor fostering such resistance is the ‘‘recovery community’ itself, which creates secure and reliable housing within a micro-community in which participants could thrive.
|
| Published by: Whitley, Rob. Culture, Medicine & Psychiatry, Dec2011, Vol. 35 Issue 4, p519-535, 17p; DOI: 10.1007/s11013-011-9226-y. |
| Publication Year: 2011 | Availability: HTML |
Violence Prevention at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School (DCPI Research Link)Jocelyn Fontaine, Sara Debus, P. Mitchell Downey, Samantha S. HetrickThis summary brief is based on research conducted by the Urban Institute's Justice Policy Center on the violence prevention activities taking place at the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School during the 2008–2009 school year. Researchers from the Justice Policy Center conducted an assessment of the school's violence prevention activities using qualitative and quantitative data from stakeholder interviews, programmatic records, and surveys with students and faculty. This brief provides an overview of Thurgood Marshall Academy's violence prevention approach; a more detailed report on the full assessment will follow in Summer 2010.
| Publication Year: 2010 | Availability: HTML |
HOPE IV and Neighborhood Economic Development: The Importance of Local Market Dynamics. (DCPI Research Link)Richard Volth, Sean ZielenbachThis study examines the extent to which HOPE VI redevelopments have had positive spillover effects on their surrounding neighborhoods. It examines four such redevelopments-two in Boston, Massachusetts, and two in Washington, D.C.-and documents the changes that have taken place in property values, violent crime patterns, and resident incomes in surrounding neighborhoods since the redevelopment began. The study assesses the extent to which those changes can be attributed to the public housing redevelopment.
|
| Published by: Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research Vol 12. No.1 pp 99-132 |
| Publication Year: 2010 | Availability: HTML |
