Aggression among high-risk African American young adolescents: Impact of relational proximity to perpetrators of violence.

Abstract

Objective: Recurring exposure to violence fosters the notion that violence is normal and can achieve a desired goal, therefore enhancing the likelihood that youth will engage in aggressive behavior themselves. Research suggests that direct victimization or witnessing of violence perpetrated by a known person should increase youths’ willingness to model such aggression, but very few studies simultaneously examine the unique contributions of multiple sources of perpetration. The current study examines the relative contributions of violence perpetrated by family, friends, and strangers toward the endorsement of normative beliefs about aggression and retaliation and subsequent aggressive behavior in a sample of high-risk, urban youth. It was hypothesized that this relation would be stronger amid closer relationships. Method: Cross-sectional and longitudinal path analyses were conducted using a sample of 240 African American seventh grade students from low-income, urban communities (59% female; M = 11.65 years), who completed surveys in seventh and eighth grades. Results: Family-perpetrated victimization positively predicted general beliefs supportive of aggression, whereas witnessing family- and stranger-perpetrated violence positively predicted beliefs supportive of retaliation. Contrary to expectations, higher levels of friend- and family-perpetrated victimization negatively predicted beliefs supportive of retaliation. Both types of beliefs were positively related to aggressive behavior cross-sectionally but not longitudinally. Conclusions: Results suggest that experiencing violence in closer relationships may be most important in acquiring harmful beliefs about aggression, with the family being the main context of development. Clinicians serving high-risk youth should assess violence frequency, type, and relationship to perpetrators, while utilizing a systems-approach to treatment and policy.

The Juxtaposition of Revenge and Forgiveness in Peer Conflict Experiences of Youth Exposed to Violence

“…), as well as violence that they had experienced indirectly (3 items; e.g., Have you ever been told that someone you knew had been killed?). Past research provides evidence of the validity of this measure in predicting retaliatory beliefs, including in a Colombian context (Dusing et al, 2018;Posada, 2012).…”

Beliefs as Mediators of Relations Between Exposure to Violence and Physical Aggression During Early Adolescence

“…For example, adolescents may hold beliefs that fighting is sometimes necessary that are shaped by other contextual factors (e.g., early family environment, parental messages about fighting, affiliation with deviant peers) so that by the time they enter middle school, exposure to violence no longer has a strong influence on these beliefs. Dusing et al (2019) found that witnessing violence was positively associated with subsequent retaliatory beliefs, but only when the witnessed violence involved family members (not friends or strangers) suggesting the personal relevance of the violence witnessed may also matter in shaping beliefs. Taken together, it seems that witnessing violence only influences some beliefs about aggression, underscoring the importance of differentiating between specific beliefs and exploring more details about the nature of the violence exposure in future studies.…”