factors that contribute to early and risky sexual activity among urban African American youth. As an important limitation, it should be noted that in this sample, the urban African American youth experienced a higher level of adversity than the urban European American youth on a number of dimensions, including higher rates of family and community poverty, greater exposure to neighborhood violence and disadvantaged schools. Hence, in this context, race may be a proxy for a host of contextual factors that increase risk and reduce opportunities for resilience.
