Howard, Randall Me'chele2018-06-082018-06-082018-05http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12087/20A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Forensic PsychologyThe state of communities in which African-American males live may be a crucial contributor to the inflated measures of criminality in urban areas. Crime and mortality rates are a serious epidemic among African-American men in the United States. After thoroughly examining the effects of historical trauma and social disorganization theory, the results acknowledged that the effects of historical trauma point out why there is a high rate of criminality, including homicides within urban areas. The effects of historical trauma include neighborhood disadvantage, environmental instability, low socioeconomic status, academic underachievement, and lack of parental monitoring. This study exhausts the existing literature that has established the evidence that historical trauma and social disorganization explains various crimes within disadvantaged neighborhoods. These findings add essential awareness, construct understanding, and assist with creating prevention and intervention models that will effectively address the issues of mortality and criminality within this population.en-USPsychologyCriminologyThesis