Poly-strengths Skill Building for Urban Teens at High-risk for Violence Exposure: Leveraging Community After-school Programs to Promote Youth

Authors

Kelly D. Cromer M.S., Florida International UniversityFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Psychology

First Advisor's Name

Stacy Frazier, Ph.D.

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Chair

Second Advisor's Name

Nicole Fava, Ph.D.

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Third Advisor's Name

Dana McMakin, Ph.D.

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Justin Parent, Ph.D.

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Keywords

Teen resilience, mental health promotion, after-school enrichment, poly-strengths, and community-partnered research.

Date of Defense

5-30-2019

Abstract

Violence exposure increases teens’ risk for emotion dysregulation, anxiety, depression, and aggression towards peers. Urban teens are disproportionately more likely to be exposed to violence and less likely to receive mental health services. Community after-school programs can help to reduce these disparities by offering opportunities for skills development and mental health promotion to mitigate risk associated with violence exposure.

The current study examined the implementation and promise of brief meditation and sleep health journaling activities infused within a pre-existing parks-based after-school program for black and Latinx teens. Data include pre-/post-measures of violent and non-violent adversity, emotion regulation, anxiety, depression, and self-efficacy to manage peer conflict. Teens also completed anonymous feedback forms after each activity. Teens with more violence exposure at time 1 reported reductions in anxiety at time 2. Teens with more overall adversity reported reductions in anxiety and improvements in self-efficacy to resolve peer conflict. Strong evidence for fidelity and teen enthusiasm (adherence, utility, and generalizability) were found. Overall, findings indicate poly-strengths training may be infused within community after-school programs to promote resilience among urban teens at high-risk for violence exposure.

Identifier

FIDC008983

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4934-9871

Recommended Citation

Cromer, Kelly D. M.S., "Poly-strengths Skill Building for Urban Teens at High-risk for Violence Exposure: Leveraging Community After-school Programs to Promote Youth" (2019). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4537.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/4537