The Role of Parent–Adolescent Communication Among Youth Exposed to Neighborhood Violence in Rural Mexico

Abstract

This study examines the potential moderating effects of mother– and father–adolescent communication on the relations between community violence exposure (i.e., witnessing violence and personal victimization), neighborhood-based sexual harassment, and adolescents’ depressive and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. The sample included 200 poor, rural adolescents ( Mage = 14.93, SD = 1.40), the majority of whom were girls (58%) from two public schools in the State of Mexico, Mexico. Multiple hierarchical regressions indicated high rates of exposure to neighborhood violence, as well as positive associations between violence exposure and adolescents’ psychological outcomes. Mother– and father–adolescent communication each separately functioned as distinct protective factors, weakening the associations between violence exposure and adolescents’ psychological outcomes. Implications for research and practice are discussed.