The second-leading killer of young people aged 15-24 in the United States is homicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The homicide death rate for all races, both sexes, ages 15-19, is 9.3 deaths per 100,000 population. But the death rate for Hispanic males in this age category is more than twice as high – 25.5 deaths per 100,000 population.
Research has shown that violence is not an isolated problem. Adolescent exposure to violence increases risk for depression. Depression has been linked to increased HIV-risk. In the adolescent population, HIV is reaching new epidemic proportions.
That is why Janna Lesser, Ph.D., R.N., and Manuel Oscós-Sánchez, M.D., both assistant professors at the Health Science Center, are collaborating to study the interrelationship between violence, depression and HIV-risk in incarcerated Latino youth. Few intervention studies have been conducted with incarcerated youth, and fewer, if any, have addressed the interrelationship between violence, depression and HIV-risk in this population.
The Health Science Center’s MESA (Michigan En San Antonio) Center for Health Disparities, funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research, provided a grant for the study’s initial phase, a series of focus groups, field observations and individual interviews with Latino youth at the Cyndi Taylor Krier Juvenile Correctional Treatment Center.
The data suggest that violence pervades all areas of these teenagers’ lives. Preliminary findings indicate that these young men engage in a complex cognitive process to determine whether or not to participate in violent activities. After presenting the preliminary findings to the treatment center’s medical staff, the Health Science Center team received much positive feedback.
Following data analysis, Drs. Lesser and Oscós-Sánchez will develop an intervention process to facilitate healing, targeting all three concerns: violence, depression and HIV-risk. They are currently seeking funding for the second phase of this project, which will evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of intervention strategies.
