Many young African American males live in urban settings where they are subjected to social and environmental stressors that negatively impact prosocial trajectories, attenuate their developmental course and increase the likelihood for poor social and developmental outcomes. Chronic exposure to certain social and environmental stressors -- sometimes referred to as urban hassles -- has been linked to a range of poor outcomes including but not limited to increased aggression, anxiety, low grade point average, delinquency, depression, and social withdrawal

Given the range of poor outcomes associated with chronic exposure to urban stress, it appears that for some young African American males, such exposure may elicit maladaptive coping responses Hence, for many of these young men, the experience of living in an urban environment presents a set of unique challenges that may have a negative impact on their transition to adulthood. As such, urban stress and its related outcomes are important considerations in the study of ethnic minority male child and adolescent development. Purpose The major aim of this research is to; 1) determine the impact of urban stress on the coping strategies and problem behavior outcomes of study participants, and 2) explore the extent to which certain coping strategies may mediate the relationship between chronic exposure to urban stress and problem behavior outcomes. Methods The proposed research is a purposive sample of African American male youth and young adults between ten and twenty years of age (N= 76). The mean age of the sample is 14 years. Study participants were drawn from geographical areas defined as urban by standard population parameters. A series of regression analyses were used to determine the impact of urban stress on both the coping strategies and problem behaviors outcomes of study participants. Further analyses were conducted to determine if the impact of urban stress on the problem behavior outcomes might be mediated by coping strategies. Findings Findings from this investigation suggest that chronic exposure to urban stress is a significant predictor of coping strategies and problem behaviors. Maladaptive coping combined with urban stress to make a significant addition to the prediction of problem behavior over and above urban stress alone. Adaptive coping, when combined with urban stress did not make a significant contribution to the prediction of problem behavior over and above urban stress alone. Implications The findings from this investigation contribute our knowledge and understanding of the ways in which young African American males cope with chronic exposure to urban stress and may serve as a prospective guide for future research. Increased knowledge and understanding in this area may ultimately lead to the development of culturally competent and contextually relevant prevention and intervention services.