Cultural models of popularity, stress, social support, and violence among African American U.S. teens living in a high-poverty community

The ways in which teenagers understand their social environments can be important for social service providers to understand. A cognitive anthropological approach grounded in cultural consensus theory was used to investigate teenagers and social and health service providers in a pilot study in East Cleveland, Ohio (N = 28). The qualitative method of free listing was used to determine the cultural models of popularity, stress, social support, and causes of violence. Teens were also surveyed to examine their levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. Consensus was tested and not found in the domains. Teens were found to have above-average rates of stress and anxiety. A greater understanding of the sources of stress and causes of violence is described, along with the clinical, policy, and research implications of this study.