Correlates of Polyvictimization Among African American Youth: An Exploratory Study

African American adolescents are exposed to high rates of community violence, and recent evidence indicates that these youth may also be at high risk of polyvictimization. Guided by an ecological approach, this study explored individual, familial, and extra-familial correlates of single and multiple forms of violence exposures (i.e., witnessing verbal parental aggression, witnessing or being a victim of community violence exposures) among a sample of 563 urban African American adolescents. Findings indicated that boys reported higher levels of polyvictimization than girls. In addition, the correlates of violence exposures varied by typology and gender. These findings support the development and use of gender-oriented approaches for identifying youth at risk of various types of violence exposures.