Longitudinal Associations Between Peer Risk and Promotive Factors and Exposure to Community Firearm Violence Among Black Adolescents

Firearm violence is pervasive for Black early adolescents in disinvested urban communities. The current study used a subsample of a longitudinal school‐based dataset ( N = 479, ages 10–17, 100% Black), which included middle school students from three urban communities who completed surveys at two time points (Fall, Spring). Cross‐lagged panel models were run to specify the directionality of relations between five firearm exposure items and four peer factors; multiple group models tested differences in paths by sex and by grade. Results indicated that community firearm violence exposure was associated with higher adolescent‐reported peer delinquency and peer support for aggression; peer support for nonviolence with less exposure over time. Significant cross‐lagged paths were identified for females and older adolescents, but less so for males and younger adolescents. Results may inform community‐relevant firearm violence prevention, intervention efforts for middle‐school adolescents living in disinvested communities with elevated community violence prevalence.