Adolescent Experiences of Violence and Relation to Violence Perpetration beyond Young Adulthood among an Urban Sample of Black and African American Males

The purpose of this study is to determine if experiences of physical violence during early and late adolescence (12–21 years) places urban Black males at increased risk for interpersonal violence perpetration beyond young adulthood (30 years and older). Participants of this cross-sectional study were Black and African American men (N = 455) between the ages of 30 and 65 years, recruited from four urban clinical sites in the Northeast. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze the relation of adolescent experiences of violence to: (1) past 6 month street violence involvement and (2) past year intimate partner violence perpetration. Ten percent of the sample reported that they experienced adolescent victimization. Men reporting adolescent victimization were significantly more likely to report past 6-month street violence involvement (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 3.2, 95 % CI = 1.7–6.3) and past 6 month intimate partner violence perpetration (AOR = 2.8, 95 % CI = 1.8–5.4) compared to men who did not report such victimization. Study findings suggest that in order to prevent adulthood perpetration of violence, more work is needed to address experiences of victimization among young Black males, particularly violence experienced during adolescence.