Table 1. Baseline characteristics of 397 participants including sociodemographics, asthma severity, and exposure to violence.

Demographics
Age (years)*	47 ± 14
Female	291 (73%)
Race **
Black/African American	277 (70%)
White	75 (19%)
Other***	9 (2%)
No response or declined to answer	36 (9%)
Ethnicity: Hispanic/Latino	28 (7%)
Household income
< $30,000/year	262 (66%)
$30,000 - $49,999/year	49 (12%)
$50,000 to $99,999	52 (13%)
$100,000 or more	19 (5%)
No response or declined to answer	15 (4%)
High school graduate	325 (82%)
Asthma severity at baseline
FEV1 (percent predicted)*	66 ± 19
# with at least one ED visit for asthma in past year	222 (56%)
# with at least one hospitalization for asthma in past year	133 (34%)
Asthma-related quality of life 3*	4.0 ± 1.4
Total witnessing violence in the last 6 months†	91 (23%)
A fight in which a weapon was used	50
A violent argument between neighbors	43
A gang fight	11
A sexual assault or rape	2
A robbery or mugging	21
Other††	33
CES-D¶	17.5 ± 11.5
MOS Social Support¶¶	72.6 ± 22.2

^*mean ± sd

^**Some participants checked off more than one race category

^***Other = American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

^†39 subjects witnessed at least 2 types of violence

^††Subjects witnessed murders (7 subjects), shootings (15 subjects), vandalism of cars (2 subjects), domestic violence (2 subjects), and drug-related violence (1 subject).

^¶Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, range 0 – 60, with scores ≥ 16 suggestive of depressive symptoms or general distress.

^¶¶Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey, scale 0-100, with higher score more support.