Despite being the most under-reported crime in the U.S., domestic violence calls to the Chicago police totaled nearly 240,000 last year._To understand the causes and identify strategies for prevention, researchers are looking beyond the home and the society. They are seeking answers in the children and in the culture.

Patrick Tolan, PhD, professor in the UIC Psychiatry Department, is currently leading the ChicagoYouth Development Study (CYDS), an eight-year initiative that began in 1991 with more than 600 children from seventeen Chicago public elementary schools._Funded by the National Institute for Child Health Disorders and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the project is intended to identify contributors to the development and maintenance of wellness, despite exposure to stressful events.

Two years ago, an ethnographic component of CYDS was added, involving ten Latino and ten African-American male participants and their romantic partners, to identify predictors of relationship violence. Eight focus groups with a total of ninety-five young men and women from the two ethnic groups were also conducted for breadth._Four graduate students, including Javier Flores and Franklin Gay from the School of Public Health, representing both genders and both ethnic groups, conducted the ethnographic field work and focus groups.

"Data were collected about all aspects of the participants’ lives, as well as on the choices they made which either protected them or exposed them to greater harm," says Elena Quintana, PhD, coordinator of the ethnographic study._ "We learned about their families and their interactions with the community. They told us about their housing conditions, aspirations, job experience, and interpersonal relationships._And we compiled data on their education, sexual activity, drug use, birth control practices, pregnancies, and gang involvement."

The study also looked at the attitude and behavior of urban adolescents, exploring their response to violence in their relationships, families, and communities. Did they leave their homes when they were witnesses to violence?_Did they try to protect the victim?_Have they ever initiated violence?_Have they chosen a violent partner?

"We used ethnographic interviews that are semi-structured, but with specific areas of inquiry, to attempt to understand the subjects’ perspectives on intimate relationships, growing up in the inner city, and violence as a part of life," says Susan C. Scrimshaw, PhD, dean of the School of Public Health, and a renowned anthropologist who is supervising the ethnographic study. "We used a variety of methods to identify and examine themes by risk, gender, ethnicity, and other variables of interest."

While the study is not yet complete, valuable information has already been uncovered. For example, researchers found that poor, urban, high-risk adolescents often perceive the act of insisting on condom use as an admission of infidelity. This could explain the high rate of sexually transmitted diseases in this population. It could also influence the approach used in health education initiatives with regard to safe sex.

"The mix of qualitative and quantitative methods used in this study is quite innovative._ And it’s necessary to help us discover and confirm important ideas about critical influences on development and behavior," says Tolan. "The ultimate goal is to replace speculation and unsubstantiated opinion with a sound understanding of these influences, along with identifying what processes can be promoted to improve the chance for health and wellness among families living in some of our most perilous situations."

Contributed by Marian Lawler