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. 2023 Sep;33(3):986-998.
doi: 10.1111/jora.12852. Epub 2023 Apr 13.

Relations between youths' community violence exposure and their physical aggression: The protective role of adults

Jasmine N Coleman  1 , Krista Mehari  1 , Albert D Farrell  2
Affiliations

Relations between youths' community violence exposure and their physical aggression: The protective role of adults

Jasmine N Coleman et al. J Res Adolesc. 2023 Sep.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether adults moderated the relations between youths' community violence exposure and subsequent physical aggression. Participants were 2575 middle school students (Mage = 12.3, SD = 1.00; 52% female) in the southeastern U.S. who completed surveys collected in the fall, winter, spring, and summer. The sample was predominantly African American (72%). High adult support was associated with weaker relations between exposure to violence in the fall and aggression in the winter among male adolescents. High adult support was related to weaker relations between victimization in the fall and aggression in the winter among female adolescents. Strategies promoting supportive adult relationships may benefit male adolescents by buffering the adverse impact of community violence exposure.

Keywords: adolescence; adult influence; community violence; physical aggression; violence exposure.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
One-Sided Path Model Representing Each Adult Variable as a Moderator of Relations Between Exposure to Violence and Subsequent Changes in Physical Aggression Note. Exposure variables, adult variables, and interaction terms were regressed on the covariates, but were otherwise handled as exogenous variables. They were allowed to correlate with each other across waves, and with the physical aggression deviation and intercept scores at the prior and current waves (not shown to reduce the complexity of the figure).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Moderating Effect of Adult Support on the Relation Between Witnessing Violence in the Fall and Physical Aggression Residual in the Winter for Male Adolescents Note. Plots represent adolescents at high and low levels of adult support (1 SD above or below the mean). The vertical axis represents within-person changes relative to the person-specific mean. The model includes a physical aggression random intercept.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Moderating Effect of Adult Support on the Relation Between Victimization in the Fall and Physical Aggression Residual in the Winter for (a) Male Adolescents and (b) Female Adolescents Note. Plots represent adolescents at high and low levels of adult support (1 SD above or below the mean). The vertical axis represents within-person changes relative to the person-specific mean. The model includes a physical aggression random intercept.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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