Robert J. Reid

• PhD
• Professor (Full) at Montclair State University

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) adolescents experience oppressive mental health stressors and barriers to receiving treatment. Ethnic identity development, attachment to parents, and family prosocial opportunities have been associated with improved mental health outcomes in BIPOC adolescents, yet there is a dearth of literature exami...

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, and Questioning+ (LGBQ+) Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) youth experience significant stigmatization and injustice compared to their non‐LGBQ+ BIPOC peers. Empowerment, civic engagement, and social connection are protective factors that reduce negative psychological outcomes for these youth. Despite th...

Background: According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), death by suicide is the third leading cause of death among youth aged 14 to 19. Suicidal behavior (suicidal thoughts, plans, or attempts) has significantly increased among female and male Hispanic and Black populations in the past few years. Therefore, the purpose of thi...

Purpose of the Review Concerns related to harmful substance use during adolescence continue to persist, and recent trends show racial and ethnic disparities. There is a need to identify effective and culturally responsive prevention approaches focused on communities of color. Innovative approaches to substance use prevention and youth health equity...

Due to systemic racism and homophobia, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer (LGBQ+) youth of color are disproportionately affected by HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)/AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and viral hepatitis (VH). Innovative approaches that acknowledge strengths such as ethnic identity need to be examined to understand specific...

Peer mentoring programs have proven to be extremely successful for high school students. Yet, most educational research studies rarely seek to understand the perspectives of peer mentors and the impact peer mentoring can have on their development. Even more limited is the research highlighting the experiences of Black and Hispanic peer mentors who...

Youth of color who have recently been emancipated from foster care are among the most vulnerable group at risk for having poor sexual health outcomes. It is essential for researchers to understand how emancipated foster care youth receive messages about safe sex and HIV/STI prevention in order to tailor health promotion activities for this group. T...

Substance abuse and sexual health research tends to overlook the resiliency skills that Black adolescent girls possess. Using a strengths-based lens, this study examines the role of protective factors: (e.g. ethnic identity, social support, and psychological empowerment) on sexual risk behaviors testing drug use as a mediator among a sample of Blac...

While Black girls have lower rates of drug use, they face worse health and wellbeing consequences associated with drug use. Understanding which strengths-based factors serve as buffers to limit adverse outcomes related to drug use among Black girls is essential for prevention. This study investigated the mediating role of sociopolitical control on...

There is an emerging interest in studying social action and civic engagement as a part of the developmental process. Studies among youth of color indicate that empowerment has been associated with well-being, a critical perspective, and in combating social oppression. These studies also show that civic involvement and awareness of social justice is...

Sociopolitical control (SPC) has been identified as a key element of the intrapersonal component of psychological empowerment. The Sociopolitical Control Scale (SPCS) is a widely used measure and has been modified for use among youth (SPCS-Y). In light of the emerging interest in SPC among youth within community-based research, this study applied i...

Background: Community-based research and prevention scholarship has shown a growing interest in examining the impact of the ecological structure of neighborhoods on community violence. Ecological structures such as higher numbers of alcohol outlets and abandoned/vacant properties in geographically dense, poor, and socially isolated communities are...

Research on Psychological Sense of Community (SOC) among Black girls are limited due to lack of validated measures for this group. Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the first and second-order factor structure of the Brief Sense of Community Scale (BSCS) used to measure Psychological SOC was examined using a sample of Black girls from an urb...

Racial-ethnic minority youth between the ages of 13 and 24 in the USA are disproportionately impacted by HIV. Low HIV knowledge and psychological antecedents such as low perception of risk and low sexual negotiation skills have all been associated with HIV risk behaviors; however, the role of ethnic identity on these factors is unclear in the liter...

Psychological sense of community is defined as feelings of belongingness and a shared belief that community members will meet one another's needs. Psychological sense of community has four dimensions: membership, influence, needs fulfillment, and emotional connection. In this study, multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the fi...

ABSTRACT HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)/AIDs (Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) prevention and research are imperative. Prevention-intervention programming is minimal in lowincome communities of color. Additional research is needed that uncovers points of support and prevention to increase HIV knowledge and awareness and limit new HIV infecti...

For lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) youth of color, the intersection of identifying as both LGBQ and a person of color results in not only managing racial stereotypes, but also heterosexism and genderism. Developing a critical understanding of oppressive social conditions and ways to engage in social action is a form of resistance fo...

Limited research has examined intrapersonal psychological empowerment (PE) among Black girls solely. This study aims to fill a gap in empowerment literature by examining the factor structure of the Sociopolitical Control Scale for Youth (SPCS-Y) among Black girls ( N = 377) between the ages of 14–17 years old. We also examine the association with e...

Social exclusion occurs as a combination of challenges (e.g., unemployment, high poverty, family conflict) that limits life opportunities. Social exclusion has been researched within European contexts, among middle-class families, and from quantitative perspectives. However, research on the topic among urban ethnic minority youth and using qualitat...

The abbreviated Sociopolitical Control Scale for Youth (SPCS-Y) factor structure, used to measure intrapersonal psychological empowerment, was tested among a sample of Hispanic adolescent girls (N = 490). Confirmatory factor analysis and latent class analyses were conducted, and five distinct cluster groups emerged. Multivariate analysis of covaria...

Repeated exposure to violent crime and drug use among youth of color can have negative health and behavioral outcomes. Using a community trauma theoretical framework, this qualitative study examines the lived experiences of Black and Latinx youth living in an under-resourced community with high levels of violent crime. Data were collected through e...

Alcohol outlet density (AOD) and abandoned or vacant properties in under-served urban communities has received increased attention and has been linked to community violence. While previous research has examined the AOD and violent crime association, less research has investigated the relationship between abandoned properties and violent crime. Thos...

Youth of color continue to be disproportionately affected by the consequences of engaging in high rates of daily substance use. Racial-ethnic minority adolescents are often viewed through a deficit lens. There is limited research that examines the strengths of these young people and their communities as a prevention strategy to lower rates of drug...

Objective Through the voices of racially ethnically marginalized adolescents (N = 85), the present study highlights the ways in which youth access drugs and alcohol within their immediate environmental contexts, while simultaneously underscoring youth's sense of individualism in abstaining from substance use—both a cause and consequence of their so...

Queer youth, and specifically queer youth of color (YOC), identified in this study as Hispanic/Latinx and African American/Black youth, disproportionately experience suicidal ideations (SI). The nexus of limited social support and school bullying exacerbates the effect on SI among these youth. Using data from a larger Drug-Free Communities grant in...

Viral hepatitis (VH) knowledge among youth is understudied in the United States. There has been a rise in VH cases in the U.S. in the wake of the opioid epidemic. Innovative approaches to preventing the infection are needed especially in urban communities. This study presents preliminary findings from a community-based HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, an...

Empowerment is a higher order multilevel framework used to evaluate individuals, groups, organizations, and communities as they engage in the practice and execution of the participatory process. The cognitive component of psychological empowerment (PE) has been examined through the Cognitive Empowerment Scale (CES); however, this scale has yet to b...

This study tested and validated the factor structure of the abbreviated Sociopolitical Control Scale for Youth (SPCS-Y) among a sample of urban girls of color. Participants include (N = 830) urban girls of color from a northeastern United States community. Confirmatory Factor analyses (CFA) were conducted using AMOS Structural Equation Modeling Sof...

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect reflective coping, suppressive coping, and reactive coping had on stress and indicators of well-being among Hispanic undergraduate students ( N = 177) from a Hispanic Serving Institution. Findings demonstrate that both reactive and suppressive coping had separate but important moderating effects o...

The purpose of this investigation is to examine heterogeneity and membership with subgroups of cognitive empowerment among youth of color. Within this heterogeneity, this study hopes to identify the relationship each of these subgroups of youth have with conceptually related variables including intrapersonal psychological empowerment, psychological...

We explore the experiences of urban youth of color, as well as perceptions, of feeling disconnected and having an overall negative sense of community (SOC). Drawing on data from 11 focus groups, youth (N = 59) describe their communities and lived experiences. We document several themes put forward through the lens of SOC and community connection th...

We explore the experiences of youth who disconnected from their local high schools and resumed their educations in community-based education (CBE) programs offering high school equivalency instruction. Drawing on focus-group interview narratives (N = 59) where youth describe the ‘second chances’ offered to them, we document supportive, encouraging...

Adolescents of color in urban communities are at high risk for contracting HIV, unlikely to have access to HIV testing services, or any other form of screening services. Using latent class analysis among a sample of African American/Black (48.1%) and Hispanic/Latina(o) (42%) youth (N = 668; Mage = 16.30; 51% female), this study examined the associa...

Psychological empowerment (PE) encompasses key aspects of youth development and civic engagement. Empowerment scholarship has largely focused on the intrapersonal or emotional component of PE, which considers perceptions of control and self‐efficacy, specifically in the sociopolitical sphere. Fewer studies have assessed the interactional or cogniti...

Community-level stress, such as pervasive substance abuse and violence, can yield negative health and mental heath outcomes for youth from disadvantaged communities. Community empowerment is a process whereby community members work together to increase control in their community. This qualitative inquiry analyzed in-depth interviews with adult stak...

Highlights Youth development of a cognitive understanding about social power Measurement of the factor structure of empowerment Advances empowerment theory and measurement with youth

Psychological sense of community (SOC) has been examined minimally among the youth of color, and as a mediating variable, as well as construct implicated in promoting wellness. Using data from a sample of 401 students of color (Mage = 16.55, standard deviation = 1.31; 54.7% female; 57% Hispanic/Latina[o]) from an under-served northeastern US urban...

Using intersectionality theory as a theoretical framework, this qualitative study uncovered the protective factors present among black and Hispanic adolescent girls living in an urban, underresourced neighborhood in the Northeastern United States. The sample used in this study includes eight focus groups that consisted of adolescent females only (N...

A third of Hispanic youth live below the poverty line, making them vulnerable for exposure to gangs, substances, and violence, all of which have been associated with substance use. The aim of the present study was to test the link between these variables, using a multiple mediation model. Results suggest that the relationship between gang exposure...

Despite the broader academic gains experienced by Hispanic students, who represent the largest minority group in the United States, they remain the least educated of all major ethnic groups, and our understanding of their academic needs and strengths remains woefully inadequate. Therefore, this study examined the risk (e.g., sexual risk taking) and...

This study examined how a community coalition, focused on prevention efforts, can aid in bridging resources between community organizations in a resource‐deprived area. We also explored how it may serve as a venue to support significant changes to the community, adults, and youth who live there. Drawing on 18 individual interviews with adult coalit...

Hispanic urban youth experience high levels of violence, access to drugs and alcohol, and limited access to quality educational institutions, as well as a disproportionate use of substances. However, youth exposed to multiple sources of support, such as values related to family centrality (e.g., family cohesion or familismo) and positive social net...

In recent years, collaborative efforts between universities and community‐based coalitions have helped develop prevention–intervention efforts to decrease the prevalence of drug and alcohol use among youth in low‐income, majority–minority urban areas. One theory often employed to understand the efficacy of community member involvement is McMillian...

Neighborhood sense of community (SOC) is a key construct in the community psychology literature. While the research on neighborhood SOC has progressed significantly, there is a need to further validate the Brief Sense of Community Scale (BSCS) among youth. A critical area of scholarship, therefore, is to examine the factor structure of the BSCS amo...

Empowerment is a higher order multilevel framework that is used to understand and evaluate individuals, groups, organizations, and communities as they engage in the practice and execution of the participatory process. The intrapersonal component of psychological empowerment has been examined through sociopolitical control and occupies two dimension...

This study examined adult workers' conceptions of their work with youth in a large, underserved, urban region in the northeastern United States. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 18 youth workers from various organizations, affiliated with a community coalition focused on substance abuse prevention, we explored how adults viewed their role of...

Decades of legislative actions and power imbalances have limited African American/Black and Hispanic/Latina(o) urban youth's perceptions of empowerment and ability to rely upon social and institutional resources. Youth who have access to supportive resourcesn and are connected to their ethnic–racial group perceive themselves as empowered and score...

A disproportionate number of urban youth attend underresourced and segregated schools. While tenets of the American Dream are inculcated in urban youth, a dearth of educational resources is available to help realize this dream. This qualitative study explored the narratives of urban youth (N = 85), many of whom sought to be the exceptions, embracin...

Youth identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ), and more specifically Hispanic youth identifying as LGBTQ, experience suicidal ideation (SI) at disproportionate rates. Furthermore, adolescents identifying as LGBTQ are likely to experience high rates of bullying, depression, and limited social support, increasing SI. Cou...

Few studies have examined the influences of the participatory process in which individuals engage in as they work to improve the quality of lives in their communities. More specifically, our present investigation explored the relationship between various contextual factors that predict citizen participation in substance abuse prevention activities...

Hispanic adolescents represent a disproportionate number of youth living in urban communities. These youth confront significant social problems that may increase their likelihood for substance use. However, youth that have a greater neighborhood sense of community are postulated, through empowerment theory, to be less influenced by negative environ...

Measurement of psychological empowerment among youth has relied on scales that use a Likert-type format, which has been subject to critique. Phrase completion is a technique that has been introduced as an alternative to the Likert-type format. This study tested the application of a phrase completion response option format in a measure of psychologi...

Objective: Prior research has identified multiple factors that influence suicidal ideation (SI) among bullied youth. The effects of school bullying on SI cannot be considered in isolation. In this study, we examined the influence of school bullying on SI, through a constellation of risks, which include depressive and anxiety symptoms, family confli...

This study examined the factors that influence HIV testing among a sample of African American and Hispanic/Latino adolescents (N = 747) living in an economically disadvantaged community in the Northeastern United States. The majority of sexually active participants in our study (77%) have never been tested for HIV. However, youth engaging in risky...

Hispanic urban youth designate a large proportion of adolescents in under-resourced communities who are exposed to gun violence, gang activity, and abandoned homes. Hispanic adolescents are also disproportionately affected by substance use. However, youth who have access to positive social supports, cohesive families are less likely to utilize subs...

Context: Hispanic urban youth represent an overwhelming number of adolescents living in under-resourced communities (Garcia-Reid, Hamme-Peterson, & Reid, 2014). In addition to being under-resourced, many of these communities are plagued by numerous social problems including gun violence, gang activity, and abandoned homes (Ceballo, Ramirez, Hearn,...

This critical qualitative study examines the lived experiences of youth of color (Black and Latino) in an underserved urban community in northern New Jersey. Drawing on 11 focus group interviews we explored how youth navigate their current environments as well as think about their futures. Espousing a belief in self-reliance, individual achievement...

Objective: This case study describes the benefits and challenges of introducing health prevention messages that incorporate new media strategies targeting African American and Hispanic/Latino teens and young adults from Paterson, New Jersey, a disproportionately resource poor, urban, community. Methods: New media platforms were utilized to raise aw...

Sociopolitical control (SPC) has been identified as a critical component of empowerment, resilience and civic development among young people. Sociopolitical control has been assessed according to a two dimensional model: (1) leadership competence and (2) policy control. Very little is known, however, about heterogeneity of perceptions of SPC, how t...

Purpose This study explored the substance abuse and human immunodeficiency virus prevention needs of urban minority adolescents. Design Six 1-hour focus groups. Setting Two high schools and two community-based organizations located in the city of Paterson, New Jersey. Participants The sample included 41 African-American and Latino youth, ranging...

In-depth, qualitative interviewing was employed to describe processes and competencies experienced by family science interns, who practiced in a high-risk ecological context. Twenty interns from a 3-year period were recruited. All had interned on the same federally funded, HIV/substance abuse prevention grant in the same focal city. Within this sam...

Purpose: To assess whether evidence-based prevention protocols could positively influence substance abuse and HIV/AIDS knowledge and reduce sexual risk-taking behaviors among urban minority youth. Design: Pretest-posttest design. Setting: Four urban high schools and five summer camp programs located in the North-eastern United States. Subjects: A t...

This study examined the geographic association between tobacco outlet density and the demographic indicators of median household income and percentage of Hispanic residents in New Jersey. Tobacco outlet density was assessed by examining all tobacco retailers licensed in 2004 in New Jersey, and demographic variables were based on the 2000 United Sta...

This study examined the risk and protective factors associated with internalizing problems among Dominican adolescents (N = 500; 58% female) attending high school (grades 9-12) in a Northeastern, high poverty, urban community. Using a path analysis, this study found that depression and anxiety are complex mental health constructs and there are many...

While a significant portion of Latino immigrant youth are failing to meet their academic potential, many others have been able to acquire the resources needed to excel academically. This study examined social capital assets (i.e., parent and teacher supports) for school engagement and trouble avoidance among a sample of recently arrived, non-U.S. b...

The inextricable link between substance abuse and HIV/AIDS poses a serious public health threat in the United States. Of particular concern has been the detrimental impact that this crisis has wrought on urban centers, where people of color, particularly racial and ethnic minority youth, are disproportionately impacted by this twin epidemic. The U....

Aim: Geographic relationships between tobacco outlet density and demographics were examined at the tract level in New Jersey, a Northeastern US state. Method: Data for 1938 residential census tracts were analyzed. The 2000 TIGER/Line files were used to geocode addresses of licensed tobacco-selling retail outlets. Median income, percent African-Amer...

Studies of relationships between tobacco sales and socio-economic/sociodemographic characteristics are well documented. However, when analysing the data that are collected on geographic areas, the spatial effects are seldom considered, which could lead to potential misleading analytical results. This study addresses this concern by applying the spa...

The Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans—II is one of the most frequently used measures of acculturation, despite lack of validation. This study analyzed the structure of the Marginality Scale of the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans—II using data from a diverse Latino sample of residents. Confirmatory factor analysis of...

The principal rationale for applying geographically weighted regression (GWR) techniques is to investigate the potential spatial non-stationarity of the relationship between the dependent and independent variables-i.e.,that the same stimulus would provoke different responses in different locations. The calibration of GWR employs a geographically we...

Research has pointed to the important role that acculturation plays in understanding a range of physical health behaviors as well as psychological functioning, but only a few studies have attempted to establish reliable and valid measures of African American acculturation. The scale developed by Snowden and Hines (1999) to assess African American a...

Latino youths are facing an educational crisis in this country that is cause for concern. In this article, we present evidence of the pressing need to explore solutions to mitigate educational disparities experienced by this vulnerable and underserved population. School social workers are, by their perspective and training, well suited to seek oppo...

This study identified the predictors of youth violence and violent victimization among a sample of Dominican adolescents (N=155) attending high school in a northeastern urban community. As part of a broader community-based needs assessment, students participated in an evaluation of a substance abuse prevention program funded by the Substance Abuse...

Measures of acculturation intend to encapsulate the psychological, behavioral, and attitudinal changes that transpire when individuals from different cultures have continuous contact with one another. The Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans II (ARSMA-II) is one of the most frequently used measurements of acculturation despite its lack...

The Sociopolitical Control Scale (SPCS) is a widely used measure of the intrapersonal component of psychological empowerment. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were conducted with data from two samples to test the hypothesized structure of the SPCS, the potential effects of method bias on the measure's psychometric properties, and whether a revise...

The use of illicit and licit drugs during pregnancy is a major public health concern that has garnered much medical, governmental, and media attention because of the increased health risks it poses for women and their newborns. To date, however, few studies have examined the antecedents contributing to substance use among pregnant women. In this pa...

This study tested the mediating effects of violence victimization in the relationship between school climate and adolescent drug use. The hypothesized path model fit data collected from a probability sample of urban high school students (N=586) participating in an evaluation of a violence prevention program funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental...

The use of illicit and licit drugs during pregnancy is a major public health concern that has garnered much medical, governmental, and media attention because of the increased health risks it poses for women and their newborns. To date, however, few studies have examined the antecedents contributing to substance use among pregnant women. In this pa...

This study assessed the geographic association between tobacco outlet density and three demographic correlates-income, race, and ethnicity-at the tract level of analysis for one county in the Midwestern United States. Data for residential census tracts in a Midwestern U.S. county were derived from year 2003 licenses for 474 tobacco outlets. Demogra...

The abuse of tobacco products is cause for international concern. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that tobacco use is the fourth most common risk factor for disease worldwide and the second leading cause of death in the world. Although the dangers of smoking have been well publicized in many industrial countries, current smoking patte...

The education of many Latino youth residing in urban communities is often hindered by fear of crime and violence occurring in places where they live and attend school. Addressing these concerns, this study tested a path model predicting school engagement that included neighborhood and school environment variables (e.g., neighborhood youth behavior,...

The education of many Latino youth residing in urban communities is often hindered by fear of crime and violence occurring in places where they live and attend school. Addressing these concerns, this study tested a path model predicting school engagement that included neighborhood and school environment variables (e.g., neighborhood youth behavior,...

The geographic associations between tobacco outlet density, cigarette smoking prevalence, and demographic variables at the county unit of analysis were examined. End of year 2002 data were derived from licenses of 4745 tobacco selling retail outlets in all 99 Iowa counties. The 2000 census and the 2002 Iowa Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Syste...

This study assessed the geographic association between rates of assaultive violence and alcohol-outlet density in Kansas City, Missouri. Data were obtained for sociodemographic factors, alcohol-outlet density, and rates of assaultive violence across 89 inner-city census tracts in Kansas City, Missouri. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated tha...

Empowerment represents a promising intervention target for substance abuse prevention activities. To date, however, there has been a paucity of research examining the role of empowerment processes engaged in by citizens within substance abuse prevention contexts. Addressing this concern, this study tested a path model that included perceptions of p...

To date, a paucity of systematic economic evaluations have been applied to syringe exchange programs. In today's cost-conscious environment, with public health officials contending with restricted HIV prevention budgets, what amount of scarce resources should be allocated toward the operation of SEPs? To address this question, benefit-cost analyses...

Examination of epidemiological patterns suggests that the number of AIDS cases among Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders is increasing at a significant rate, in this paper the authors report the results of an AIDS needs assessment study conducted in a Chinese American community of a major U.S. metropolitan region. Seven hundred and nine Chinese A...