P3.139: The Nuanced Role of Future Orientation: Understanding How Future Orientation Shapes Mental Health Outcomes Among Youth Exposed to Community Violence

Background: Community violence, defined as public physical violence, disproportionately affects youth living in neighborhoods impacted by structural inequities and increases the risk for poor mental health. Future orientation, how youth perceive and plan for their future, can serve as a protective factor for mental health in the context of violence exposure. Through community-partnered research, we examined relationships between exposure to violence, future orientation, and mental health outcomes.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey among youth ages 13-19 captured past 30-day experiences with violence, mental health symptoms, and future orientation. Logistic regression models assessed the relationships between violence experiences, future orientation, and mental health outcomes. All models were adjusted for sex.

Results: A total of 157 youth completed the survey (Mage = 14.6 years, 57% female). Most youth identified as Black or African American (73%), and 87% reported experiencing at least one form of violence in the past 30-days: 84% witnessing violence, 66% violence victimization, and 62% violence perpetration. Mental health symptoms in the past two weeks were common, with 39% of youth reporting mild-severe symptoms of anxiety, 52% reporting mild-severe symptoms of depression, and 47% reporting mild-severe symptoms of PTS. On average, 32% of youth reported high levels of future orientation. All exposures to violence were associated with greater odds for anxiety, depression, and PTS symptoms (p < 0.05). When stratified by future orientation status, youth who reported high levels of future orientation had greater odds of anxiety, depression, and PTS symptoms across all exposures to violence (p < 0.05) compared to youth who reported lower levels of future orientation (Table 1). Future orientation significantly amplified the effect of violence victimization on all mental health outcomes (p < 0.05) and itself significantly contributed to the model (p < 0.05). Predictive margins visualized the interaction effects between violence victimization and future orientation impacting mental health outcomes (Figure 1A-C). Furthermore, future orientation significantly amplified the effect of violence perpetration on anxiety and depression outcomes (p < 0.05), but did not significantly amplify the effect of violence perpetration on PTS symptoms.

Conclusion: Exposure to violence significantly impacts young people by increasing their risk for anxiety, depression, or PTS symptoms. High levels of future orientation among youth suggest a positive future outlook and a strong drive for goal setting. However, youth who reported higher levels of future orientation were significantly impacted by anxiety, depression, and PTS symptoms after experiencing violence compared to youth who did not report high levels of future orientation. Therefore, the relationship between future orientation and mental health may be nuanced among youth in the context of community violence exposure. Translating this work into action, ongoing community-engaged scholarship is imperative to developing public health interventions that foster resilience and long-term well-being among youth living in communities impacted by violence.