Familial Influences on Dating Violence Victimization Among Latino Youth

Despite theoretical and empirical evidence suggesting that the family environment plays a central role in Latino youth development, relatively little is known about how family processes influence dating violence victimization among Latino adolescents. To address this gap in the literature, we used data from 210 Latino parents and their 13- to 15-year-old adolescents to examine associations between several different family processes, including both parenting practices (parent monitoring, parent–adolescent communication) and aspects of the family relational climate (family cohesion, family conflict, acculturation conflict) and psychological, physical, and sexual dating violence victimization. Consistent with expectations, lower levels of family cohesion and higher levels of family and acculturation conflict were associated with risk for dating violence victimization, although associations varied depending on victimization type. In contrast, neither parental monitoring nor parent–adolescent communication was significantly associated with any type of dating violence victimization. In addition, we found that parent, but not teen, Anglo-American acculturation was associated with higher dating violence victimization risk. Findings suggest that family-based dating abuse prevention programs for Latino youth should seek to increase family cohesion and decrease family conflict, including acculturation-based conflict.     

First time gun carrying and the primary prevention of youth gun violence for African American youth living in extreme poverty

First time gun carrying is specified as a logical starting point for the primary prevention of youth gun violence, which is also consistent with the public health approach to the prevention of firearm injuries for at risk African American youth. However, it is difficult to disentangle youth gun violence from other aspects of violence that are concentrated in high poverty settings. Insights from developmental life-course criminology (DLC) are used to: (1) categorize first time gun carrying as a critical inflection point in the development of youth violence; and (2) categorize exposure to violence in the community as a developmental pathway for first time gun carrying for youth attempting to prevent and/or deter future violent victimization. The ecological-transactional model of community violence provides a more nuanced breakdown of the impact of exposure to violence in the community on first time gun carrying given the embeddedness of contexts that shape child and adolescent development in high poverty settings. Finally, several areas for future research are outlined that include a need to better integrate gun carrying into existing theories as well as future longitudinal studies of high risk African American youth.     

Examining the Prevalence and Predictors of Injury From Adolescent Dating Violence

Medical needs of youth who experience dating violence are not well understood because of limited past research examining the prevalence and predictors of injuries and medical help seeking. To address these gaps, the current study described the prevalence and predictors of injuries from dating violence from grades 8 through 12 in a large sample of youth. Results indicate that one third to one half of youth who experienced any physical and/or sexual dating violence also sustained an injury. Prevalence of injury was highest in the 8th grade and was significantly higher for females than for males across grades 8 through 11. Youth who experienced greater amounts of violent victimization in their relationships (physical, sexual, and psychological) were at the highest risk for injury. Results also suggest that victims at highest risk for injury are girls, White youth, those experiencing multiple types of violence, and those who also engage in perpetration. Given the high prevalence of injury among youth who report dating violence, healthcare professionals may be in a unique position to screen and counsel youth about dating violence. Because the highest prevalence of injury occurred before high school, prevention programs should start early and selected prevention may be used for youth at highest risk for injury.     

Psychosocial factors associated with reports of physical dating violence among U.S. adolescent females

The present study, based upon the national 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey of U.S. high school students, provides the most current and representative data on dating violence among adolescent females (N = 7,179). The dependent variable was physical dating violence. The independent variables included four dimensions: violence, suicide, substance use, and sexual risk behavior. Unadjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), were examined followed by multivariate logistic regression analyses, which included all significant independent variables from the bivariate analyses. Adjusted OR and 95% CI were computed to assess the significance of the relationships. In terms of prevalence, 10.3% of female adolescents reported experiencing physical dating violence. Black girls (OR = 1.47) and girls who reported sad/hopeless feelings (OR = 1.42) considered suicide (OR = 1.55), engaged in physical fighting (OR = 2.17), had recent sexual partners (OR = 2.10), or had unprotected sexual intercourse (OR = 1.70) were more likely to report physical dating violence. These findings suggest dating violence against adolescent females is widespread and associated with a host of other risk factors that deserve further attention through longitudinal research and intervention efforts.     

Psychosocial factors associated with adolescent boys' reports of dating violence

The prevalence of dating violence, as well as its association with psychosocial factors, was examined among a nationally representative sample of 9th- through 12th-grade U.S. boys (N = 7,434) who completed the 1999 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The dependent variable was physical dating violence; the independent variables were violence, suicide, substance use, and sexual risk behavior. Unadjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were examined. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine all significant independent variables from the univariate models. Adjusted OR and 95% CI were examined to assess the significance of these relationships. In terms of prevalence, 9.13% of the boys reported physical dating violence. Boys who reported sad/hopeless feelings (OR = 1.68), had attempted suicide (OR = 2.22), reported fighting (OR = 1.81), had multiple sex partners (OR = 3.53), and reported nonuse of condoms (OR = 1.66) were more likely to report physical dating violence. These findings indicate that physical dating violence among adolescent boys may be a more serious problem than has previously been recognized. It was concluded that intervention programs should include a focus on boys as not only perpetrators but also recipients of dating violence.     

Risk and Protective Factors that Distinguish Adolescents Who Attempt Suicide from Those Who Only Consider Suicide in the Past Year

Data from the 2010 Minnesota Student Survey was analyzed to identify risk and protective factors that distinguished adolescents across three groups: no suicidality, suicidal ideation only, and suicide attempt. The population‐based sample included 70,022 students in grades 9 and 12. Hopelessness and depressive symptoms emerged as important risk factors to distinguish youth who reported suicidal ideation or behavior from those without a history of suicidality. However, these factors were not as important in differentiating adolescents who attempted suicidal from those who considered suicide but did not act on their thoughts. Instead, for both genders, self‐injury represented the most important factor to distinguish these youth. Other risk factors that differentiated the latter groups, but not the former groups, for males were dating violence victimization and cigarette smoking, and for females was a same‐sex sexual experience. Running away from home also seemed to increase the risk of a suicide attempt among youth in this study. Parent connectedness and academic achievement emerged as important protective factors to differentiate all the groups, yet neighborhood safety appeared to protect against the transition from suicidal thoughts to behavior. Findings from this study suggest risk and protective factors practitioners should target in clinical assessments and intervention programs to help prevent suicidal behavior among youth at greatest risk.     

Linkages between violence-associated attitudes and psychological,physical, and sexual dating abuse perpetration and victimization among male and female adolescents

Attitudes about violence and sex in dating relationships were related to psychological, physical, and sexual teen dating abuse perpetration and victimization. Data from Wave 4 of the national, randomly selected, Growing up with Media cohort (n = 876 adolescents aged 14-19 years), collected in 2011, were analyzed. Dating youth perceived more peer pressure to have sex and were more accepting of sex in brief or nonmarital relationships than pre-dating youth. Boys had higher levels of rape-supportive attitudes than girls. Among dating youth, the relative odds of involvement in teen dating abuse as a perpetrator or a victim were generally associated with greater acceptance of relationship violence, perceived peer pressure to have sex, and acceptance of sex in brief and/or nonmarital relationships. Rape-supportive attitudes were not significantly associated with any type of teen dating abuse involvement. Programs aimed at preventing dating abuse might benefit from targeting attitudes associated with sexual activity as well as relationship violence.     

Evolutionary perspective on indirect victimization in adolescence: the role of attractiveness, dating and sexual behavior

We studied indirect victimization from an evolutionary perspective by examining links between this type of victimization and several indicators of attractiveness (past sexual behavior, dating frequency and physical appearance). Two thousand three hundred and nineteen (56% female) students (ages 13-18) from a region of southern Ontario, Canada, completed self-report measures of indirect victimization, physical appearance, dating frequency, recent sexual behavior (number of partners in previous month) and past sexual behavior (number of lifetime partners minus number of partners in previous month) as well as indexes of depression, aggression and attachment security, which were used to control for psychosocial maladjustment. Consistent with an evolutionary framework, physical appearance interacted significantly with gender, wherein attractive females were at greater risk for indirect victimization, whereas for males physical attractiveness was a protective factor, reducing risk of victimization. Physical appearance also interacted with grade, being inversely related to indirect victimization for younger adolescents and having a nonsignificant association with victimization for older youth. Finally, recent sexual behavior was associated with increased risk of indirect victimization for older adolescents only, which we discussed with regard to peer perceptions of promiscuity and short-term mating strategies. These findings have important implications for the development of interventions designed to reduce peer victimization, in that victims of indirect aggression may represent a rather broad, heterogeneous group, including attractive individuals with no obvious signs of maladjustment.     

Dating Violence Victimization and Unprotected Sex Acts Among Adolescents in Mental Health Treatment

The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between dating violence victimization and unprotected sex acts among youth in mental health treatment. Sexually-active adolescents (n?=?261; ages 13–18) enrolled in mental health treatment completed an audio-assisted computerized self-interview (ACASI) to assess recent dating violence victimization, unprotected sex acts, depression symptoms, and recent alcohol use. Path analysis revealed that dating violence victimization was related to unprotected sex acts both directly and indirectly via its association with depression and condom use self-efficacy. These findings suggest that in order to reduce HIV-related risk behaviors among dating violence victims, treatment providers should consider depressive symptomatology and associated affect around sexual situations.     

Gender Differences in the Relations among Patriarchal Beliefs,Parenting, and Teen Relationship Violence in Mexican Adolescents

Teen relationship violence is a global phenomenon associated with adverse outcomes. As in other countries, teen relationship violence is of concern in Mexico. However, few studies have examined the risk and protective factors of teen relationship violence among Mexican adolescents. This study examined whether patriarchal beliefs and exposure to authoritarian parenting among Mexican adolescents are associated with perpetration and victimization of physical and verbal-emotional teen relationship violence. Two hundred and four students (15–18 years old) from Monterrey, Mexico, completed questionnaires. Hierarchical regression analyses controlling for age revealed that among girls, authoritarian parenting was associated with physical and verbal-emotional victimization and verbal-emotional violence perpetration. Among boys, higher endorsement of patriarchal beliefs was associated with lower reports of physical perpetration and physical victimization.     

Prevalence of dating violence and victimization: regional and gender differences

This report examines (1) the prevalence of dating violence victimization from a national sample of rural adolescents and (2) patterns by gender and region. Analyses are based on 20,274 adolescents who reported violence victimization using the Community Drug and Alcohol Survey. The relationship of dating violence with gender and region was assessed with HLM5 using Bernoulli's logistic regression. Approximately 16% of adolescents reported being a victim of dating violence. Females reported higher incidence of victimization than males. Dating violence is more prevalent in the South. While it is important to address the underlying values in society that may contribute to dating violence, it is equally productive to include regional and cultural values.     

Risk profiles of adolescent girls who were victims of dating violence

The prevalence of dating violence, as well as its relationship to potential risk factors, was examined among a nationally representative sample of 9th-through 12th-grade U.S. females (N = 7,824) who completed the 1999 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The dependent variable was physical dating violence; the independent variables were violence, suicide, substance use, and sexual risk behavior. Unadjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals were examined, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the most significant risk factors. It was found that nearly one in ten of the adolescent girls reported dating violence. Twelfth-grade girls had the highest prevalence of dating violence. Girls who were victims of dating violence were more likely to be involved in other violent behaviors, to report extreme sadness and suicidal actions, to use illicit substances, and to engage in risky sexual behavior. Multivariate analysis revealed that dating violence was associated with sad/hopeless feelings (OR = 2.13), binge drinking (OR = 1.96), cocaine or inhalant use (OR = 2.90), multiple sex partners (OR = 2.38), nonuse of condoms (OR = 1.53), and ethnicity, specifically being Black (OR = 2.32) or Hispanic (OR = 1.82). These findings provide further evidence that there is a clustering of risk factors among certain adolescents, specifically girls who experience dating violence.     

Adolescent Conflict as a Developmental Process in the Prospective Pathway from Exposure to Interparental Violence to Dating Violence

Within a developmental psychopathology framework, the current study examined adolescent conflict (age 16) with families, best friends, and dating partners as mediators in the prospective pathway from exposure to interparental violence (EIPV) in early childhood (0–64 months) to dating violence perpetration and victimization in early adulthood (age 23). Adolescent conflict was predicted to partially mediate EIPV and dating violence with significant direct paths from EIPV to dating violence, given the extant literature on the salience of early childhood EIPV for later maladjustment. Participants (N?=?182; 99 males, 83 females; 67 % Caucasian, 11 % African-American, 18 % other, 4 % unreported) were drawn from a larger prospective study of high-risk mothers (aged 12–34 years) that followed their children from birth through adulthood. EIPV and adolescent conflict were rated from interviews with mothers and participants, and dating violence (physical perpetration and victimization) was assessed with the Conflict Tactics Scale. Path analyses showed that EIPV in early childhood (a) directly predicted dating violence perpetration in early adulthood and (b) predicted conflict with best friends, which in turn predicted dating violence perpetration. Although mediation of best friend conflict was not evident, indirect effects of EIPV to dating violence were found through externalizing behaviors in adolescence and life stress in early adulthood. Findings highlight that conflict with best friends is affected by EIPV and predicts dating violence, suggesting that it may be a promising target for relationship-based interventions for youth with EIPV histories. Furthermore, deleterious early experiences and contemporaneous risk factors are salient predictors of dating violence.     

Patterns of Adolescent Aggression and Victimization: Sex Differences and Correlates

This study identified heterogeneous patterns of peer and dating aggression and victimization among boys and girls and examined their relation to risk and protective correlates. Girls (n = 1648) and boys (n = 1420) in grades 8–10 completed surveys assessing 14 indicators of violence involvement. Latent class analyses indicated a four-class solution, though a test of measurement invariance indicated the nature of the classes differed by sex. Among boys and girls, three classes emerged: Uninvolved (45% of girls, 61% of boys), Peer Aggressor-Victims (23% of girls, 21% of boys), and Cross-Context Aggressor-Victims (CCAV) (12% of girls, 5% of boys). Those in the Peer Aggressor-Victims class were likely to report involvement in peer aggression only; however, girls in this class were likely to be involved only in moderate violence, whereas boys were likely to be involved in moderate and severe violence. Those in the CCAV class were likely to report involvement in all forms of violence except sexual and controlling aggression, which was likely only among boys. Among girls, but not boys, a Verbal Dating Aggressor-Victims class (21% of girls) emerged that was characterized by involvement in occasional verbal dating aggression only. Among boys, but not girls, a Cross-Context Physical Victims class (13% of boys) emerged that was characterized by being only a victim of moderate physical peer and dating violence. Unique and shared risk and protective factors distinguished class membership for girls and boys. Findings suggest the pathways leading to violence may differ by sex and result in different patterns of violence involvement.     

Psychological Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization: Trajectories From Middle to High School

Despite evidence documenting the negative consequences, psychological dating violence occurs frequently in adolescent dating relationships. No information exists on the trajectories that adolescents follow and their association to nonphysical peer violence. The sample comprised 624 randomly selected 6th graders. In yearly surveys from 6th through 12th grade, 550 of the 624 students reported dating at least twice during the 3 months prior to completing the survey. These students responded to questions about frequency of engagement in psychological dating violence perpetration and victimization. We used Proc TRAJ to identify developmental trajectories of behavior over time and generalized estimating equation models to examine the associations of the trajectories and peer aggression. Adolescents followed three distinct developmental trajectories related to psychological dating violence victimization and perpetration: low, increasing, and high. Based on the joint probabilities of victimization and perpetration, we identified four predominant groups: low victimization/low perpetration (LVLP; 36%), increasing victimization/increasing perpetration (40%), high victimization/high perpetration (HVHP; 15%), and increasing victimization/low perpetration (IVLP; 7%). The LVLP had significantly more boys and White students; the HVHP group had an even gender distribution and more African‐American students. For all groups, peer aggression decreased from Grade 6 to 12; students in the HVHP group reported the highest peer aggression, and students in the LVLP reported the lowest peer aggression. Findings suggest a strong, reciprocal relationship in the developmental trajectories of adolescents who experience and perpetrate psychological dating violence. Those highly engaged in these behaviors were also more likely to be violent toward peers. Aggr. Behav. 38:510‐520, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Patterns and correlates of gun ownership among nonmetropolitan and rural middle school students

Examined prevalence of gun ownership and the links among gun ownership, reasons for gun ownership, and antisocial behavior in a sample of nonmetropolitan and rural middle school students. Participants completed the Questionnaire for Students (Olweus, 1995) and included 6,263 students from 36 elementary and middle schools, of whom most were African American (range = 46%-95% per school). Reasons for gun ownership were strongly associated with rates of antisocial behavior. Youths who owned guns for sporting reasons reported rates of antisocial behavior that were only slightly higher than those reported by youths who did not own guns. Youths who owned guns to gain respect or to frighten others reported extremely high rates of antisocial behavior. These high-risk adolescent gun owners were likely to come from families of high-risk gun owners, associate with friends who were high-risk gun owners, and engage in high rates of bullying behavior. Findings suggest that effective violence prevention programs must target high-risk youths, address risk factors that go beyond individual settings, and address a comprehensive array of risk factors.     

Adolescent Violence: The Protective Effects of Youth Assets

The authors explored adolescent physical fighting and weapon carrying, using in‐home interviews with 1,098 middle/high school students and their parents. Logistic regression analyses examined the relationship between youth assets and the risk behaviors while controlling for demographic information. Both demographic factors and assets were associated with no physical fighting, and 6 of 9 assets were linked to not carrying a weapon. These findings indicate that certain assets may protect youth from physical fighting and carrying a weapon.     

Fear as a Mediator for the Relationship Between Child Sexual Abuse and Victimization of Relationship Violence

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been identified as a predictor for dating violence victimization; however, the mechanism for this relationship is unexplored. The current study examined whether fearful dating experiences may help explain the relationship between CSA and dating violence victimization. Participants (N =?327 college women) completed self-report measures of CSA, fearful dating experiences, and dating violence. In a mediational model test, CSA was found to be positively associated with fear in dating relationships and with dating violence victimization, fear was associated with dating violence victimization, and the effect of CSA on dating violence victimization scores was reduced after controlling for fear. A Sobel's test showed that fear partially mediated the relationship between CSA and current dating violence victimization.     

Dating Violence Victimization,Dispositional Aggression,and Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury among Psychiatrically Hospitalized Male and Female Adolescents

The objective of the current study was to characterize the association between dating violence victimization and dispositional aggression in predicting nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) among psychiatrically hospitalized male and female adolescents. One hundred fifty‐five adolescents (ages 13–17) and their parents completed the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School‐Age Children clinical interview to assess NSSI and child abuse; adolescents completed self‐report measures of aggression and dating violence victimization (verbal, physical, and sexual). Dating violence victimization and NSSI were found to be highly prevalent among both males and females in this psychiatric inpatient sample. Two moderational models were supported, wherein dating violence was associated with NSSI in the context of elevated trait anger in males and indirect aggression in females. Findings suggest that helping victims of dating violence acquire skills to address certain forms of dispositional aggression may attenuate NSSI.     

A Cluster Analytic Investigation of Victimization Among High School Students

ABSTRACT

Victimization experiences of 504 racially diverse high school students were evaluated. Questionnaires assessed sexual harassment victimization, psychological and physical abuse in dating relationships, peer victimization, childhood sexual abuse, school belonging, and psychological functioning. Results showed that 70% of students had been sexually harassed by peers during the past year, 40% had experienced physical dating violence, 66% had been victimized by emotional abuse in dating relationships, and 54% had been bullied. A cluster analysis of victimization measures revealed heterogeneity in victimization experiences; five distinct groups of students emerged. Individuals who had experienced multiple forms of victimization tended to have lower psychological well-being and a diminished sense of school belonging. Results are discussed in terms of implications for clinical and school interventions.