ORIGINAL PAPER Experiences of Racial Discrimination & Relation to Violence Perpetration and Gang Involvement among a sample of Urban African American Men Elizabeth Reed Æ J. G. Silverman Æ J. R. Ickovics Æ J. Gupta Æ S. L. Welles Æ M. C. Santana Æ A. Raj Published online: 16 June 2008 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008 Abstract Objective To examine racial discrimination and its relation to violence involvement among a sample of urban African American men. Methods Participants of this cross-sectional study were African American men (N = 703) between the ages of 18 and 65 years, recruited from four urban community health centers and two hospital- based clinics within an urban center in the Northeast. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the relation of reported racial discrimination to recent per- petration of intimate partner violence (IPV), street violence involvement, and gang involvement. Racial discrimination was measured via 7 items assessing everyday and lifetime experiences of racial discrimination. Results In logistic regression models adjusted for age and homelessness, men reporting high levels of discrimination (scores above the sample median) were significantly more likely to report IPV perpetration (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 1.9; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.2–2.9) and street violence involvement (AOR = 1.5; 95% CI: 1.1–2.2) as compared to men reporting lower levels of discrimination. No relation was found between experiencing discrimination and gang involvement. Conclusions Findings showcase the potential relevance of racial discrimination to efforts focused on reducing racial disparities related to violence. Keywords Racial discrimination Á Neighborhood violence Á Intimate partner violence Á African American Men Introduction The high prevalence of racial discrimination reported by African American men in the US has been well-documented [1–5], and growing research showcases significant relations between racial discrimination experiences and negative physical and mental health related outcomes [6–9]. To date, however, much of the existing work on racial discrimina- tion and health with African American communities has primarily focused on chronic health conditions; less is known about how experiences of racial discrimination may influence health behaviors within this population. One arena of health behavior that is of tremendous con- cern within African American communities is violence involvement. African American men are disproportionately represented among those involved in and affected by neighborhood and non-intimate forms of violence [10, 11]. Additionally, while intimate partner violence (IPV) exists across all racial/ethnic groups, evidence indicates that African American women are overrepresented among vic- tims of IPV and IPV-related homicide [12–14], with the The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. E. Reed (&) Á J. R. Ickovics Á J. Gupta Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University School of Public Health, 135 College Street, Suite 200, New Haven, CT 06510, USA e-mail: elizabeth.reed@yale.edu E. Reed Á J. G. Silverman Á J. Gupta Department for Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard University School of Public Health, Boston, MAUSA S. L. Welles Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Drexel University School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA M. C. Santana Á A. Raj Social Behavioral Sciences Department, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA 123 J Immigrant Minority Health (2010) 12:319–326 DOI 10.1007/s10903-008-9159-x