African American Men in Crisis

This book presents a model for examining the relationship between multiple types of childhood trauma and psychological functioning in a sample of 140 homeless adolescents, including physical, sexual, and psychological abuse; exposure to domestic violence; and community violence. Upwards of two million American youth run away from home each year, fleeing from homes marred by abuse and violence only to find more of the same on the streets. The social and political view of these youths has advanced little from the notion that they are deviant, if not pathological. To better understand this victimized subculture of American society, it is imperative to examine the devastating effects of multiple childhood trauma on their development.The impact of individual types of trauma is well documented in the literature reviewed in this book, providing specific research and clinical implications. Significant among the findings include accounting for one-quarter of the variance in the paths leading to major depression and borderline personality disorder, support for viewing psychological abuse as the core issue in all forms of abuse and neglect, and the devastating impact of community violence on pathology.