Abstract

Inner city youths are at particular risk for violence. The social effects of violence on our adolescents have profound implications on their development, now and as they mature into adulthood. The purpose of this study was to describe the effects of exposure to violence in an inner city community on aspects of adolescent identity development during this critical phase. The collection of data was pursued to answer specific questions: (a) what are adolescents' experiences with exposure to violence in their community as revealed in their self narratives, (b) what interpretations and meanings do adolescents ascribe to their exposure to violence in the community, (c) how does exposure to violence affect adolescents' self image, view of a just and benevolent world, value of human life, ideology of right and wrong, and thoughts of their future? The conceptual orientation for this study was psychobiography, or life history. Personal narratives are significant resources for understanding individual persons. The ascribed meanings for life experiences influence how persons organize their self identity. The methodology for this study was a qualitative exploratory design that used a non-probability sample.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 9969561; ProQuest document ID: 304586312. The author still retains copyright.

Author Details

Deborah L. Schiavone, PhD, PMHCNS, CNE

Sigma Membership

Kappa

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Descriptive/Correlational

Research Approach

Qualitative Research

Keywords:

Inner City Youths, Violence, Social Effects, Identity Development

Advisor

Sr. Mary Jean Flaherty

Second Advisor

Janice Hallal

Third Advisor

Camille Grosso

Degree

PhD

Degree Grantor

The Catholic University of America

Degree Year

2000

Rights Holder

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All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2024-03-13

Full Text of Presentation

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