Abstract
From examinations of the literature on the influence that exposure to violence and coping strategies have on delinquent behavior and emotional outcomes, this study addresses the association between violent victimization and the moderating effects of coping strategies among 500 African-American adolescents who exhibit both externalizing behaviors such as delinquency and internalizing symptoms, including anxiety and depression. The investigation examines the development of the aforementioned adjustment problems in response to victimization, and the findings indicate a relationship between the specific indices of victimization, including peer violence, and the symptomatology and coping mechanisms utilized by the youth in this study. Suggestions for future research in this area are discussed.
Highlights
A review of the literature suggests that violent victimization in communities and schools remains a stressor paramount among children and adolescents, gravely influencing their healthy developmental outcomes
The article focused on the risk factors that peer victimization creates with regard to aggression, delinquency, and drug use, and the results showed a stronger relation in physical victimization among boys, while interpersonal victimization experiences were related to high stages of physical and relational aggression among both boys and girls
Consistent with previous explorations of gender differences and problem behaviors, the results in Table 1 show that males are more likely to display externalizing symptoms such as delinquent behavior, the results showed no support for females displaying internalizing symptoms such as anxiety and depression, which is inconsistent with previous studies
Summary
A review of the literature suggests that violent victimization in communities and schools remains a stressor paramount among children and adolescents, gravely influencing their healthy developmental outcomes. Several research studies have explored the relationship between victimization, including peer violence, and both behavioral consequences and emotional adjustment. With regard to exposure to violence, many youths are the primary witnesses to criminal activity in disadvantaged settings, while peer violence and other forms of direct victimization remain prevalent primarily among those between the ages of 12–18 [4]. While it is widely known that African-American youths in these violent communities are at an increased risk for both internalizing and externalizing symptomatology, less is revealed about the level at which coping may serve as a buffer or mitigate the effects of levels of victimization in particular. Studies that have pointed toward the impact of direct and indirect victimization tend to include specific types of victimization as indicators of direct exposure, while fewer analyses have examined variations in coping strategies among the rates and type of violent victimization as part of a composite variable [5,6,7]
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