COMMUNITY‐LEVEL VICTIMIZATION AND AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IN AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE ADOLESCENTS: A PROFILE ANALYSIS

Abstract

Community victimization is associated with elevated rates of aggression in African American male adolescents; however, existing research provides little information about the within‐group variability for victimization and aggression. Through cluster analysis, the current study identified three distinct profiles of community victimization and aggressive behavior in 223 African American male adolescents (mean age = 15.15, standard deviation = 1.05). The aggressive victims group reported high victimization and moderately high aggression. The aggressive nonvictims group reported low victimization, but moderately high aggression. The nonaggressive nonvictims group reported below‐average rates of victimization and aggression. The aggressive victims and aggressive nonvictims reported more maladaptive outcomes. The results highlight the importance of using person‐based analyses to understand within‐group variability in African American male adolescents. Identifying subtypes of youth has implications for violence interventions by providing information about who is most affected by community victimization and the patterns of associated emotional and behavioral problems that should be targeted in interventions.