Abstract
Individuals residing in impoverished, lower SES neighborhoods are more susceptible to acts of violence. Not only do acts of violence cause physical harm to the victim and communities’ plaque by violence, it also has long lasting effects on individuals’ behaviors. The macro-level strain theory proposed by Agnew, theorized that community violence is a result of strain (i.e., stressors) and high crime communities contain specific characteristics that retain and create more strain for residents. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between macro-level and individual-level strain factors in relationship to violence exposure and behavioral outcomes utilizing structural equation modeling. Additionally, this study sought to examine the roles of protective factors such as collective efficacy, social support, and emotion regulation, on mediating the effects of strain and violence exposure on behavioral outcomes. Ultimately, results indicated that strain was not predictive of internalized nor externalized behaviors, disproving the outlined hypotheses.