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Community violence and PTSS are widespread among older adolescents. Prevalence rates indicate that those most likely to be exposed to community violence are older adolescents. However, few studies exist that comprise samples of culturally diverse older adolescents. Therefore, the relationship between exposure to community violence and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among a diverse sample of older adolescents was investigated in this study. The theoretical framework chosen to explain the connection between exposure to community violence and PTSS was the combination of two theories, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and schema theory. A quasi-experimental research design was conducted on a sample of 429 research participants. Several statistical tests were conducted (e.g. t-tests, F-tests, multiple regression), confirming most of the hypotheses. The overarching hypothesis was confirmed, demonstrating that the relationship between total exposure to community violence and PTSS is statistically significant among diverse older adolescents. Implications for social work practice, social work policy, and social work education are discussed in this book.

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Dr. Jannette Urciuoli received her Ph d in Social Welfare from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and her Masters degree in Social Work from Fordham University. She is director of a thriving Counseling Center within the City University of New York and has worked with urban college students for over 13 years.

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