3-014 - Examining the Role of Relationship Qualities in Promoting Resilience in Low-Income Urban Youth

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Youth residing in high-violence, low-income urban neighborhoods experience a disproportionately higher risk of internalizing symptomatology, delinquency and aggressive behavior, as well as poorer social adjustment and subjective well-being compared to their peers. Building relationships may buffer against these adverse effects. However, relationships also have the potential to contribute to worse outcomes, suggesting a need to explore the complicated and nuanced effect of relationships on youth outcomes.

The current symposium brings together three studies, each of which examines the role of particular relationship qualities in promoting positive or negative outcomes for high-risk youth. The first study utilized the Experience Sampling Method to assess youths’ attitudes towards and time spent with companions predicting to depression and anxiety. The study found that feelings of friendliness in families and acquaintance relationships were most significantly associated with reduced symptomology, and that other qualities (i.e., trust, helpfulness) may not be as protective in certain contexts. Building upon this work, the second study examined self-reported peer friendship quality as a protective factor between delinquency and aggressive behavior, showing higher friendship quality may break the cyclical relation between delinquency and aggression. Finally, the third study showcases preliminary results from an ongoing cross-age peer mentoring intervention for African American youth in high-violence, low-income urban neighborhoods, suggesting that developing strong mentor-mentee relationships improves a variety of psychosocial outcomes. Our discussant will provide expertise from her work with low-income, urban youth exposed to trauma about strategies for implementation of effective interventions with diverse populations.

Sub Unit

• Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Chair

• Maryse Richards, Loyola University Chicago

Discussant

• Cheryl Ann Boyce, National Institutes of Health

Individual Presentations

• The Promotive Effects of Mentees’ Perceptions of Relationship Strength in a Cross-Age Peer Mentoring Program - Presenting Author: Cara DiClemente, Loyola University Chicago; Catherine Rice, Loyola University Chicago; Maryse Richards, Loyola University Chicago; Katherine Tyson McCrea, Loyola University Chicago

• The Impact of Peer Delinquency and Friendship Quality on the Aggressive Behavior of Serious Adolescent Offenders - Presenting Author: Amanda N Burnside, Loyola University Chicago; Noni K. Gaylord-Harden, Loyola University Chicago

• Daily Feelings towards Companions and Mental Health among Urban African American Youth - Presenting Author: Catherine Rice, Loyola University Chicago; Bridget Murphy, Loyola University Chicago; Cara DiClemente, Loyola University Chicago; Maryse Richards, Loyola University Chicago