Recorded presentation

Elena D. Quintana, PhD¹, Tim Metzger, MUPP², Cody D. Stephens, MA², and Gary Slutkin, MD². (1) University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health, Chicago Project for Violence Prevention, 1603 W. Taylor (M/C 923), Chicago, IL 60612, 312/355-3495, elenaq@uic.edu, (2) University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health, Chicago Project for Violence Prevention/CeaseFire, 1603 W. Taylor, Chicago, IL 60612

The Chicago Project for Violence Prevention is a collaborative effort between university, law enforcement, outreach workers, clergy, business leaders, and residents to lower the shooting rate in several Chicago neighborhoods. A survey was conducted in an effort to capture opinions over time of the highest risk within three intervention neighborhoods and two comparison communities (N=250 per year). The “high-risk” youth participants, between the ages of 15-22 years old were either gang affiliated, on probation, or did not attend a mainstream high school. This group was selected as a way to survey those most at risk for shooting or being shot. The preliminary baseline data from the 2001 youth survey produced a number of statistically significant findings. Respondents who stated that they had highest degrees of social support were the least likely to engage in delinquency (r = -.23, p<.001). Respondents who reported having more caring people around also reported significantly less norms of violence (r = -.28, p<.001). The second wave of survey information was collected in 2003; this data serves as a comparison to the first wave of data collected, and as a snapshot of the state of high-risk youth in some of the most violent neighborhoods in the United States. Implications for public education, police intervention, community collaboration, and support services will be discussed.

Learning Objectives: