Running head: COMMUNITY VIOLENCE EXPOSURE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL- BEING The Relationship Between Community Violence Exposure and Psychological Well-Being Among Latino Adolescents

Adolescents living in poor, urban neighborhoods are placed at an extremely high risk for witnessing community violence as well as being personally victimized by community violence. Such exposure to community violence increases the likelihood of adolescents developing adverse psychological outcomes such as depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). With a sample of 223 Latino ninth grade students, this study examines three potential moderators between the relation of community violence exposure and adverse psychological outcomes: gender, parent-child closeness, and religiosity. The results demonstrate that being male, having greater closeness with one’s mother, and exhibiting higher rates of religiosity are protective factors against developing negative psychological symptoms in the face of community violence