Poster Presentation
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
9:00 AM - 9:45 AM
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
2:45 PM - 3:30 PM
Reciprocal relationships between exposure to community violence and adolescent adjustment problems
Tusana Thaweekoon, PhD, RN, Nursing Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| Learning Objective #1: explain the change patterns of reciprocal relationships between exposure to community violence and adolescent adjustment problems. |
| Learning Objective #2: apply the results of this study to develop nursing interventions and prevention programs for adolescents who experienced violence in their communities. |
Although research has found that exposure to community violence related to adolescent psychological and behavioral problems, few studies have focused on the possible bidirectional effects that exposure to community violence would predict adolescent adjustment problems, and conversely, the adjustment problems would predict exposure to community violence in adolescents. The present study examined the reciprocal relationships between exposure to community violence and adolescent adjustment problems (depressive symptoms, self-esteem, violent behavior, delinquency, and substance use), using samples from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), Wave I (1994), II (1995), and III (2001). Latent growth curve analyses revealed that significant reciprocal relationships were partially supported in violent behavior, delinquency, and substance use. Although there were slightly differences in growth parameter estimates, overall, adolescents with high levels of violent behavior, delinquency, and substance use were more likely to be exposed to exposure to violence. In contrast, adolescents with high levels of exposure to community violence were more likely to increase in violent behavior, delinquency, and substance use. Unidirectional effects were found between exposure to community violence and depressive symptoms, and self-esteem that exposure to community violence predicted depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem but not the other ways around. Gender differences were also found across various adjustment outcomes. The effects of some relationships diminished when models examined separately between male and female groups. The findings from this study provided important new evidence regarding the reciprocal process through which exposure to community violence and adolescent adjustment problems appear to be mutually reinforcing over time.