Beyond Exposure: Community Violence and Its Impact on Incarcerated Emerging Adults - a Phenomenological Study

Background and Purpose

Community violence exposure (CVE) refers to harm or threats of harm occurring in community settings between individuals who are not intimately related. Prior research links CVE to adverse mental health (i.e., PTSD, anxiety, depression) and behavioral outcomes (i.e., aggression, risk-taking). Emerging adults involved in the criminal legal system are disproportionately exposed to CVE. Existing research focuses on frequency and type of exposure rather than experiences within environmental contexts.

This study aims to (1) examine how incarcerated emerging adults experience and make meaning of CVE, (2) identify emotional and behavioral adaptations to chronic violence, and (3) advance a more contextually grounded conceptualization of CVE.

Methods

This qualitative study used a phenomenological design with in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 13 emerging adult males (ages 18–21) incarcerated in two Florida jails. Participants were purposively selected from a larger trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral intervention study and screened for trauma exposure. Interviews were conducted in person with IRB approval.

Due to jail policy, interviews were not audio recorded and were documented using notetaking and talk-to-text transcription. Nonverbal observations were recorded using a structured checklist. Data were analyzed using an inductive, interpretive process informed by phenomenological principles. Coding was conducted manually by two independent coders who met regularly to resolve discrepancies. Analytic memos supported interpretation and rigor.

Results

The analysis produced the following main themes a) cumulative loss and early exposure to death, b) embodied adaptation to persistent threat, c) premature adultification and d) institutional disconnection. Experiences of violence were intertwined with early exposure and repeated loss, resulting in unresolved grief. Participants described embodied adaptation to persistent threat, including hyperawareness, restricted movement, and behavioral strategies to navigate unsafe environments, often accompanied by emotional numbing, anger, and shutdown. Withdrawal, anger, and fighting were described as responses to violence, reflecting efforts to manage fear of ongoing threats. Participants described premature adultification, assuming adult responsibilities such as communicating deaths to victims’ families. School environments were described as contexts where violence exposure was largely unacknowledged, reinforcing isolation and lack of care.

Conclusions and Implications

Findings illustrate CVE as a socially embedded condition shaping how violence is managed in daily life for the participants. Responses to violence become integrated into social functioning through emotional and behavioral adaptations. Findings emphasize the contextual nature of CVE and the role of institutional environments. Although definitions of CVE often exclude schools, participants identified them as central contexts where violence exposure was unacknowledged, revealing expectations that schools would recognize and respond to their experiences. This suggests school contexts should be incorporated into conceptualization and measurement of CVE, particularly for at-risk youth.

Implications include the need for trauma-informed, developmentally responsive interventions addressing cumulative loss and adaptation to persistent threat. Policy implications include examining school disciplinary practices alongside students’ exposure to violence, as behaviors such as withdrawal, anger, and fighting may reflect responses to chronic violence rather than solely disciplinary issues.