Structural racism and youth firearm violence: Socioecological mechanisms and resilience

University Of Michigan At Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract Structural Racism and Youth Firearm Violence: Mechanisms and Resilience While firearm violence is the leading cause of death for youth (ages 10 to 24) in the U.S., like other public health issues, Black youth disproportionately shoulder the burden of nonfatal and fatal firearm injury. Historical (e.g., redlining) and contemporary (e.g., racialized economic segregation) forms of structural racism have been identified as contributors to racial inequities in firearm violence and injury. Translating this research into culturally responsive youth firearm violence prevention programs will require addressing several critical knowledge gaps about how structural racism influences youth firearm violence. Our overarching goal is to generate knowledge to inform youth firearm prevention programs that address the insidious downstream effects of structural racism by strengthening community-based resources by addressing three knowledge gaps. First, we need a measure that captures racism across systems (e.g., housing, criminal justice) to accurately assess the influence of structural racism on youth firearm violence. Second, we need an interdisciplinary evidence base that can elucidate the multifaceted mechanisms underlying the link between structural racism and youth firearm violence to inform the development of youth firearm violence prevention efforts that address the consequences of structural racism. Third, we need to identify resilience-promotive factors that can mitigate the influence of structural racism on youth firearm violence. The identification of these promotive (positive) factors is critical for informing youth firearm violence prevention programs that both focuses on positive aspects in youths’ lives and leverages community-based resources (e.g., natural mentors). We propose to conduct secondary analyses using longitudinal survey data of 349 Black youth (ages 14-24) presenting to the primary emergency department in Flint, Michigan. We will link these data to community-level data (e.g., American Community Survey, home mortgage data) to address our three specific aims: 1) develop and validate a measure of structural racism and evaluate the direct effect of structural racism on youth firearm violence risk; 2) test longitudinal mechanisms bridging structural racism to youth firearm violence risk; and 3) identify promotive factors that moderate the effects of structural racism on youth firearm violence risk. The significance of this proposal is that it offers a first look at how negative socioecological and psychological consequences of structural racism shapes firearm violence among Black youth. It will also provide the foundation for a larger research proposal (e.g., R01) in which academic and community partners co-design and co-implement a longitudinal study to elucidate additional key pathways from structural racism to firearm violence among youth most impacted by firearm violence and injury.