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. 2021 Jul:90:53-65.
doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2021.06.003. Epub 2021 Jun 15.

The influence of exposure to violence on adolescents' physical aggression: The protective influence of peers

Jasmine N Coleman  1 , Albert D Farrell  2
Affiliations

The influence of exposure to violence on adolescents' physical aggression: The protective influence of peers

Jasmine N Coleman et al. J Adolesc. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

Introduction: This study examined the degree to which peers can serve as a protective factor to mitigate the negative effects of exposure to violence (i.e., victimization, witnessing violence) on adolescents' physical aggression. Four specific dimensions of peer influence were examined - friends' support for nonviolence, friends' support for fighting, peer pressure for fighting, and friends' delinquent behavior.

Methods: Analyses were conducted on four waves of data collected every 3 months (i.e., fall, winter, spring, summer) from a predominantly African-American (78%) sample of 2575 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders attending three public middle schools in the United States. The sample was 52% female, with a mean age of 12.3 years (SD = 1.00).

Results: Findings for relations with victimization differed by sex. For boys, low levels of friends' delinquent behavior attenuated the relation between victimization and changes in physical aggression across all three waves. The protective effect of low levels of peer pressure for fighting was only evident in the winter for boys, whereas the protective effect of friends' support for nonviolence was only evident in the summer. For girls, high levels of friends' support for nonviolence attenuated the relation between victimization in the winter and changes in physical aggression in the spring. In contrast, none of the peer factors moderated the relation between witnessing violence and physical aggression.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that prevention and interventions that increase positive peer influences and decrease negative peer influences may benefit adolescents by reducing risks associated with victimization.

Keywords: Adolescence; Community violence; Exposure to violence; Peer influence; Physical aggression.

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Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
One-Sided Path Model Representing Each Peer Variable as a Moderator of Relations Between Exposure to Violence and Subsequent Changes in Physical Aggression Note. Exposure variables, peer variable, and interaction terms were regressed on the covariates, but were otherwise treated as exogenous variables (i.e., they were allowed to correlate with each other across all waves, and with the physical aggression intercept and deviation scores at the current and prior waves).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Moderating Effect of Peer Pressure for Fighting on the Relation Between Victimization and Physical Aggression Across Specific Waves for (a) Boys and (b) Girls Note. Plots represent adolescents at high and low levels of peer pressure for fighting (1 SD above or below the mean).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Moderating Effect of Friends’ Delinquent Behavior on the Relation Between Victimization in the Fall and Changes in Physical Aggression in the Winter for Boys Note. Plots represent adolescents at high and low levels of friends’ delinquent behavior (1 SD above or below the mean). Effects were constrained across waves.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Moderating Effect of Friends’ Support for Nonviolence on the Relation Between Victimization and Physical Aggression Across Specific Waves for (a) Boys and (b) Girls Note. Plots represent adolescents at high and low levels of friends’ support for nonviolence (1 SD above or below the mean).
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