Trauma Symptoms Among Urban African American Young Adolescents: A Study of Daily Experience

Abstract

Daily emotional and attentional factors may be associated with the development of posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms in youth. This study obtained information about the varied daily psychological and emotional experiences of 224 urban African American sixth grade students in low-income communities in Chicago. Data were collected using the Experience Sampling Method. PTS symptoms predicted daily reports of aggression, anxiety, and difficulty paying attention as well as the variability in daily reports of aggression, anxiety, difficulty paying attention, support, and safety among youth. The effects of the PTS subscales (numbing, avoidance, dissociation, intrusion, and hyperarousal) on the daily psychological and emotional experiences of the youth were also examined.

Keywords:

• posttraumatic stress
• exposure to violence
• trauma
• emotional states
• African American youth
• experience sampling method

Acknowledgment

This study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health grant #57938.