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This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2004.044560v1 95/5/816    most recent Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (9) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Rich, J. A. Articles by Grey, C. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Rich, J. A. Articles by Grey, C. M. Related Collections Injury/Emergency Care/Violence African Americans/Blacks Men's Health Qualitative Research Drugs Urban Health

John A. Rich, MD, MPH and Courtney M. Grey, BS

John A. Rich is with the Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, and the Boston Public Health Commission, Boston, Mass. Courtney M. Grey is with the Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to John A. Rich, MD, MPH, 1010 Massachusetts Ave, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02118 (email: jrich{at}bu.edu).

Recurrent interpersonal violence is a major cause of death and disability among young Black men. Quantitative studies have uncovered factors associated with reinjury, but little is known about how these factors work together.

We interviewed young Black male victims to understand their experience of violence. Qualitative analysis of their narratives revealed how their struggle to reestablish safety shaped their response to injury. Aspects of the "code of the street" (including the need for respect) and lack of faith in the police combined with traumatic stress and substance use to accentuate their sense of vulnerability. Victims then reacted to protect themselves in ways that could increase their risk of reinjury.

We describe a model with implications for reducing rates of recurrent violent injuries.

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