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We investigated the relationships among chronic violence exposure, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity, hopelessness, substance use, and perpetuation of violence to facilitate the development of trauma-related interventions for residents of Newark, NJ. A convenience sample of Newark residents (N = 153) was recruited from community centers during various events in 2016–2017. Anonymous, self-report survey measures included a PTSD screen (PCL-C), Beck's Hopelessness Scale, the CAGE questionnaire, and a CDC Health Behavior Scale. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlations, Chi square analyses, logistic, and linear regressions were used for analysis. Thirty percent (95% CI [22.7, 37.4]) of our sample screened positive for PTSD. Drug and alcohol use, fighting, and hopelessness were related to severity of PTSD symptoms (p < 0.05). Female gender, CAGE scores, and hopelessness predicted the severity of PTSD symptoms (R2 = 0.354, p < 0.05). Our data has informed the development of a resilience support group currently in the pilot stage for community members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the findings from a prospective study of heterosexual HIV transmission in stable New Jersey couples who are serodiscordant for HIV and in which the uninfected partner is at risk solely from heterosexual contact. The subjects of the study were 131couples. Demographic variables evaluated during the study included education level, current employment status, ethnic background and place of birth, household income, positive partner's source of infection, number of children and age of woman's youngest child. This study report describes couples' sexual behavior before and after knowledge of infective risk and examines associations of behavior with clinical and demographic characteristics. It was observed that HIV serodiscordant couples' habitual sexual practices, drug and alcohol use, and measure of psychological distress may predict difficulty in adopting and maintaining safe sex and an understanding of common risky sexual behavior patterns and characteristic correlates of risk taking may prove useful for counseling individuals at risk and theft infected partners and may contribute to the development of effective public health messages targeted to eliminate unsafe sexual contact.

Background: Our goal was to determine the risk factors that most correlated with mood disorder diagnoses in children in a low-income, urban community., Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 174 patients age 6 to 18 who were seen between November 2016 and July 2017 at the University Hospital Psychiatric Pediatric Emergency Services in Newark, New Jersey, United States., Results: Bivariate and multivariate analyses revealed that increasing age, female sex, exposure to trauma, and family history of psychiatric illness were significantly associated with mood disorders in our sample., Conclusions: The correlation of mood disorders with trauma and family psychiatric history is of particular significance in our sample. In low-income cities with high crime rates and a lack of positive influences, children often have difficulty obtaining the skills to cope with trauma in a healthy manner. Also, the paucity of resources in these communities prevents family members from getting the mental health treatment that they need, further inhibiting children in these families from developing healthy habits. Mental health treatment must be targeted towards entire families and not just in children with mood disorders in order to most effectively improve the mental health outcomes of those who grow up in these communities.