183. Dynamic Social Networks and Perceived Safety among Black Youth Exposed to Community Violence

Among youth exposed to community violence, the presence of social supports may impact youth’s emotional states and well-being, including perceptions of safety. This study explored dynamic experiences of social support networks and perceptions of safety among Black youth following violence exposure. Through existing community-based violence prevention programming and partnerships, we recruited Black youth, ages 14-19, who had witnessed community violence in the past 3 months in Pittsburgh, PA. Youth completed a baseline egocentric social network survey and 2 weeks of three-times-per-day ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) administered through a smart-phone app. The egocentric social network survey instructed youth to identify and enumerate peer and adult supports (SN). For each named support, youth reported how likely they were to turn to that person if they were feeling unsafe over the next 30 days (1=very unlikely to 4=very likely). EMA measures captured youth’s momentary social network (momentary SN) and momentary perceptions of safety (possible range:1-4). Descriptive statistics summarized baseline and EMA measures. Multilevel mixed-effects linear regression models estimated the relationship between both overall and time-varying social network characteristics and perceived safety. Youth’s age and gender were included as covariates. Among 25 Black youth (60% female; Mage = 16.4 years), baseline SNs included a total of 137 peer and adult supports. Mean network size was 6.48 (range 2-12). Further, 66% (91) were safety supports, defined as individuals who youth were very likely to turn to if they were feeling unsafe. 80% of the youth reported at least one safety support in their network. Among youth-identified safety supports, 75% were immediate and extended family members, 4% were school-based supports, and 21% were supports from the youth’s community. Youth completed 513 EMAs (49% response rate), and 513 corresponding momentary SNs, which included a total of 841 momentary network members. Among momentary network members, 71% (593) were peer/adult supports from youth’s baseline SNs and 29% (248) were unidentified alters (reported as “other”). Furthermore, 61% (361) of the peer/adult supports named at baseline and in momentary networks were individuals who youth would be very likely to turn to if feeling unsafe; and nearly all (94.5%) of these 361 supports were immediate family members. Mean score for youth’s momentary perceptions of safety was 3.71 (SD 0.67). Mixed-effects analyses revealed that, overall, youth’s average number of safety supports across their momentary social networks was significantly associated with higher momentary perceptions of safety (B=0.29, p=0.02). However, momentary variations in safety supports was not associated with momentary perceived safety (B=0.07, p=0.12). Characterizing youth’s static and momentary social networks, while emphasizing the presence of, and youth’s proximity to, safety supports, this study illuminates associations between these supports and youth’s momentary perceptions of safety over time. Identifying peers and adults who youth can turn to for safety can inform network-based interventions designed to support youth recently exposed to community violence.