Adolescent Violence Research Articles

Individual, Familial, and School Risk Factors Affecting Teen Dating Violence in Early Adolescents: A Longitudinal Path Analysis Model

Background: Teen dating violence (TDV) is a growing issue among adolescents, leading to several negative behavioral and psychological consequences. Most studies have been carried out in North America, whereas few have been conducted in Europe and Italy. Despite the existence of some studies underlying risk factors for TDV, to the best of our knowledge, none of them have tested a comprehensive model that includes several risk factors (and their interplay) for verbal–emotional and physical TDV such as witnessing IPV, involvement in school bullying and victimization, cyberbullying and cybervictimization, deviant behaviors, and violence against teachers. Methods: A short-term longitudinal study involving 235 students aged 10–14 who filled in an online questionnaire twice. Results: The tested path analysis model showed an excellent fit to data, with a different pattern of risk factors affecting youth involvement as perpetrator and victim in physical and verbal–emotional TDV. Differential paths emerged for females and males. Conclusions: This article includes discussions on practical and policy implications for future research, stressing the need to develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of primary prevention programs addressing and managing youth involvement in violent and aggressive behaviors.

Consumo de marihuana y violencia filioparental en adolescentes

Introduction: marijuana use has repercussions among members of the family nucleus; it is related to child-to-parent violence due to the neurological and behavioral effects that it originates in the adolescent, which can trigger violent behavior of sons and daughters towards the father and mother. Objective: to analyze the relationship between marijuana consumption and child-to-parent violence in high school adolescents. Method: correlational study in 318 high school adolescents of both sexes, between 14 and 19 years old. The instruments used were a Sociodemographic File and the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2), programmed on the Microsoft Forms platform. Results: there is a positive relationship between marijuana use and verbal and economic violence towards both parents (p () .05). The Multiple Linear Regression Model, it was significant (p () .05) on the verbal and economic violence towards both parents. Discussion and conclusions: marijuana consumption in adolescence is a risk to the health of adolescents and family parents. It is proposed to design early care strategies in the family core, with emphasis on the prevention of marijuana use or misuse and the different types of child-to-parent violence.

Exploring the effect of early menarche on sexual violence among adolescent girls and young women in southeastern Ghana: a longitudinal mediation analysis

Research from several high-income countries links early menarche with an increased risk for sexual violence. However, the role of early menarche in adolescent girls’ and young women’s sexual violence risk in sub-Saharan Africa, where sexual violence rates are high, is not well understood. The current study explores the association between early menarche and sexual violence in Ghana with secondary analysis of data collected from 700 adolescent girls and young women followed over three years. Logistic regressions were used to assess the cross-sectional association between early menarche and sexual violence. Generalised estimating equations were used to assess whether the association between early menarche and sexual violence persisted over time. Inverse odds weighting was used to test potential mediators of the association between early menarche and sexual violence. Sexual violence was fairly common in the study sample, with 27% reporting having experienced sexual violence at baseline, and approximately 50% at year three. Early menarche was associated with 72% greater odds of having experienced sexual violence at baseline (95% confidence interval: 1.01–2.93). However, the odds ratio attenuated and lost significance over the three-year study period, with a lower risk of sexual violence among girls with early menarche at year three. Neither child marriage nor early sexual initiation significantly mediated the association between early menarche and sexual violence. The findings suggest that early-maturing girls may be particularly vulnerable to sexual violence in early adolescence, thus necessitating prevention interventions around the time of menarche to reduce the risk for sexual violence.

Intention to Overcome Dating Violence Junior High School X in Urban Area The City of Semarang

The Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection of Indonesia in 2022 showed the highest number of violence cases based on education level in Junior High School with 5,945 cases. This study analyzed the intention to overcome dating violence in adolescents at Junior High School X in the urban area of Semarang City. This research is a quantitative study with a cross-sectional design. The population of this study amounted to 484 populations using a purposive sampling technique with a sample of 114 respondents. The data was collected by a self-administered questionnaire and the data was analyzed using a chisquare test. The results showed that perceived vulnerability (64%), perceived seriousness (59.6%), response efficacy (61.4%), self-efficacy (70.2%), and intention (93%) were categorized as high in overcoming violence in a relationship. However, there is no significant relationship between perceived vulnerability (p-value=0.255), perceived seriousness (p-value=0.712), selfefficacy (p-value=0.05), and response efficacy (p-value=0.257) with the intention of overcoming dating violence. The recommendation is to provide education to students about the risks of dating violence.

Risk Factors for Child-to-Parent Violence: A Scoping Review

Abstract Purpose Child-to-parent violence (CPV) is a socially relevant domestic violence due to its exponential prevalence and negative individual, family, and social consequences. This scoping review aimed to analyze the risk variables involved in CPV and establish the relationships between them and the differences in these factors depending on the sex of the victim and the aggressor. Methods Studies from 2012 to 2022 were reviewed through the following databases: Scopus, Web of Science, Dialnet Plus, ERIC, PsycInfo, PsycArticles, Psychology Database and Pubmed. A total of fifty-two studies were included. Results The risk factors found are individual (e.g., aggressor’s personality characteristics), familial (e.g., the parents’ educational style), and social (e.g., peer violence). The study indicates differences in risk variables depending on the sex of the aggressor and the victim, such as the aggressor’s personality characteristics, the influence of child abuse, or dating violence in adolescents. Conclusion Although the studies identified differences in risk factors for CPV depending on sex, further research is required to clarify the contradictory findings. This review has certain limitations, such as the predominance of cross-sectional studies and the focus on research carried out in Spain. Nonetheless, it carries practical implications as it expands our understanding of the risk factors associated with CPV. This knowledge can be utilized to develop educational and clinical prevention programs that take these factors into consideration.

Adolescent Social Networks and Physical Intimate Partner Violence Among Colombian Rural Adolescents

ABSTRACT The current study analyzes individual and social network correlates of adolescent engagement in physical intimate partner violence (IPV) utilizing socio-centric data from a high-school population of 242 adolescents from rural Colombia. We studied self-reported victimization and perpetration for boys and girls. First, we used logistic regression to explore the relationship between adolescents’ IPV engagement and school peers’ IPV engagement, school violence victimization, and social network position, controlling for gender and age (N = 111). Second, we used social network statistical methods to investigate if there were more friendships of similar IPV status to the adolescent than expected by chance in their social networks. Our results show that the proportion of friends perpetrating physical IPV increased the probability of adolescents’ IPV perpetration. Contrarywise, the proportion of friends experiencing IPV victimization decreased with the adolescent’s own victimization. Being a victim (a status significantly more common among boys) was also associated with reporting perpetration for both genders. Furthermore, our results contradicted the social network literature, as we found no preferential ties among perpetrators/victims (e.g. adolescents do not seem to befriend each other by IPV engagement). Our study is unique to the global adolescent IPV literature given the scarcity of research examining physical IPV among adolescents in the context of both girls and boys in the context of their school networks. We also add to the understanding of IPV in the case of the global majority of adolescents with the highest rates of IPV victimization (living in low and middle-income countries).

Disdainful Hookups: a Powerful Social Determinant of Health.

The health consequences of gender violence, a global health and social problem, are increasingly studied. Among its roots, research has identified a coercive dominant discourse imposing the idea that masculinities and relationships marked by abuse and domination are more attractive than egalitarian ones. To prevent the health consequences of gender violence, it is necessary to understand the factors that lead many adolescents to fall into it. This study aims to identify the specific mechanisms by which the coercive dominant discourse manifests in the peer group and its consequences for adolescents. Forty-one 15- and 16-year-old female adolescents from three high schools in Barcelona participated in the study. Eight communicative discussion groups were conducted to deepen on participants' perceptions regarding how peer interactions promote the learning of attraction to violence in sexual-affective relationships. The results show that the participants perceived and experienced different types of coercion to have violent relationships in their peer group interactions. Those interactions fostered the reproduction of the association between sexual-affective attraction and males with aggressive attitudes and behaviors. Many peers coerce others to have disdainful hookups which have very negative health consequences for the victims, including suicidal ideation and committing suicide. Some peer groups become a risk developmental context for female adolescents as far as they foster the coercive dominant discourse, push some young women to engage in violent sporadic relationships, and even harass some others afterwards. This clarifies the importance of peer group-level interventions when addressing the health consequences of gender violence in adolescence.

The Relationship Between Movie Violence and Violent Behavior in Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Population-Based Study in Isfahan, Iran

Background: Violent behavior in adolescents is one of the important public health problems; however, studies on this issue in developing countries are limited. Nowadays, adolescents spend a lot of day-night time watching TV. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between watching violent movies and perpetrating violent behaviors among adolescents. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 2800 adolescents, aged 11 - 18 years, residing in urban and rural areas of Isfahan province were enrolled. This study received a part of a grant No. 188169 dedicated to a project scrutinizing if watching violent movies by adolescents encouraged violent behaviors in the three domains of physical, verbal, and psychological violence. The data were gathered by a valid and reliable questionnaire, and SPSS software was used for data analysis. Results: Violent behaviors were significantly higher among adolescents who watched more violent movies (adjusted OR = 1.6, CI: 1.3 - 2.1). Physical, verbal, and psychological types of violence achieved the adjusted ORs of 1.6 (CI: 1.3 - 2.05), 1.3 (CI: 1.1 - 1.6), and 1.07 (CI = 0.8 - 1.3), respectively. Conclusions: Watching violent movies can noticeably increase the frequency of violent behaviors among adolescents, especially in boys and rural students.

Violence Against Adolescent Girls During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Quantitative Evidence From Rural and Urban Communities in Maharashtra, India

PurposeWhile the “shadow pandemic” of violence against women during the global health crisis caused by COVID-19 is well documented, little is known about its impact on adolescent girls. This study assesses the pandemic's effect on different forms of violence against girls in Maharashtra, India. MethodsAdolescent girls from rural communities and urban slum pockets in Pune and Sangli, Maharashtra, were recruited between February and April 2022. Girls were eligible for participation if they were aged 13–18 years, irrespective of additional characteristics such as school attendance, caste or socioeconomic status. Quantitative data on health-related and socioeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, family violence, and intimate partner violence (IPV; for married/partnered girls) were collected using audio- and computer-assisted self-interview techniques. We estimated a multivariable logistic regression model to assess the pandemic's impact on violence risk. ResultsThree thousand forty-nine adolescent girls were recruited into the study, 251 (8.2%) of whom had been married as children. Two thousand and three (65.7%) girls reported exposure to at least one form of family violence in the preceding year and 405 (71.7%) partnered girls reported incidents of IPV. Domestic violence risk increased significantly in households that suffered greater economic harm (odds ratio = 1.19, 95% confidence interval 1.13–1.26) and negative health consequences (odds ratio = 1.76, 95% confidence interval 1.54–2.02) from the pandemic. Similarly, greater detrimental health and economic impacts were associated with higher IPV risk. DiscussionThe COVID-19 pandemic has substantially increased girls' vulnerability to violence. Preventive measures and concerted, youth-focused policy efforts to extend support services to adolescent violence survivors are urgently needed.

Patterns of alcohol use among middle school students in rural communities: Associations with community violence exposure.

Stress-coping theory posits that exposure to stressors, such as community violence, increases risk for early alcohol initiation. The current study identified patterns of alcohol use in an ethnically diverse sample of early adolescents in rural communities, and examined relations between different forms of exposure to community violence and severity of adolescents' alcohol use patterns. Participants were 5011 middle school students (46.4% non-Hispanic White, 25.5% Latinx, and 13.4% Black; 50% female) living in rural communities in the southeastern United States. Latent class analysis identified subgroups that differed in their patterns of lifetime and past 30-day alcohol use, and subgroup differences in exposure to community violence. Five subgroups were identified: abstainers (56.5%), initiators of wine and beer (12.5%); moderately frequent wine and beer users (10.3%); moderately frequent wine, beer, and liquor users who got drunk (12.0%); and highly frequent wine, beer, and liquor users who got drunk (8.6%). Subgroups differed across sex, grade, and racial-ethnic background. Subgroups characterized by severe alcohol use reported more frequent exposure to community violence and physical victimization, while controlling for nonviolent stressors. Consistent with stress-coping theory, the results indicate that experiencing physical victimization and witnessing community violence robustly relate to adolescents' high-risk alcohol use.

Exposition des enfants à la violence conjugale : troubles mentaux et facteurs de résilience. Étude transversale tunisienne

Conjugal violence is a social problem whose impact extends beyond the couple, to the children who are exposed. ObjectiveTo study the psychological impact of exposure to conjugal violence in children and adolescents in child psychiatry consultation and the factors associated with their capacity for resilience. Patients and methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study on a sample of 30 children and adolescents, aged between 6 and 18 years and exposed to conjugal violence. Patients were recruited from the child psychiatry unit of the Hospital University of HediChaker of Sfax. We conducted clinical interviews to identify the psychological impact of conjugal violence on children. The resilience evaluation was done by self or hetero passation of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM). ResultsChildren and adolescents exposed to conjugal violence suffered from trauma-related disorders and stressors in 40% of cases, mood disorders in 33.3% of cases and externalized disorders in 6.6% of cases. We found that children were more resilient than adolescents in the area of emotional care provided by their parents (12.66±2.02 vs. 9.46±2.69 among adolescents; P=0.001). In contrast, adolescents were significantly more resilient than children in the area of contextual factors including spirituality (6.46±1.4 vs. 4.53±1.06; P=0.000), education (11.13±2.13 vs. 8.4±1.54; P=0.000) and culture (11.13±2.13 vs. 8.4±1.54; P=0.000). The child's education and good mental health for the mother were associated with better resilience in the children. The child's exposure to conjugal violence by being both a witness and a victim was associated with a reduced capacity for resilience. ConclusionExposure to conjugal violence has a significant impact on the mental health of children exposed. The study of resilience and associated factors could thus be useful in order to limit the deleterious repercussions on children and provide them with harmonious development both on the somatic and psychological levels.

Protective factors that promote non-violent relationships in adolescents: Theoretical review

Background. Dating violence is a problem that threatens the health of adolescents and young adults, hence the research bodies have invested years in its understanding and intervention, however, the literature seems to have focused mainly on understanding the factors of risk that increase the vulnerability of the adolescent population, leaving aside situations that provide tools for the prevention of said phenomenon. State of the art. The review shows how the understanding of dating violence has focused mainly on risk contexts, leaving aside the search for and promotion of protective factors. In turn what an ethical/healthy relationship seems to be ignored. Conclusions. The results show that there is little research regarding the protective factors for the perpetration and victimization of dating violence in adolescents, in addition to the fact that the findings framed here focus on factors related mainly to the family, social and individual context.

Peer relationships and aggressive behaviour in adolescents: Moderation by gender and mediation by media violence

We investigated the role of gender and media violence in adolescents’ peer relationship problems and aggressive behaviour. High school students (n = 144) from South-Eastern Nigeria participated in the study. Seventy-two completed an experiment in which they were exposed to media violence, while the other 72 served as attention controls. Following the interventions, the students completed measures of peer relationship problems and aggressive behaviour. Results from Hayes PROCESS Macro for moderated–mediation analyses indicated that peer relationship qualities predicted aggressive behaviour. Media violence exposure mediated the peer influence–aggressive behaviour relationship, such that the relationship was stronger for male participants with greater peer relationship problems. The relationship was weaker for female participants with lesser or no peer relationship problems. These findings are consistent with social learning theory, which proposes that children learn to engage in aggressive behaviour by observing the aggression of others, which could intensify over time.

Cope strategies for victims of sexual violence in adolescents: scoping review

Cope strategies for victims of sexual violence in adolescents: scoping review

Mortality due to interpersonal violence in adolescents and young people in Latin AmericaMortalidade por violência interpessoal entre adolescentes e jovens na América Latina

To estimate the mortality gap due to interpersonal violence in adolescents and young people in 'social territories' made up of 17 Latin American countries, by age and sex for the years 1990 and 2019, based on estimates from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors (GBD) Study, 2019. Ecological epidemiological study of mortality due to interpersonal violence. Countries were divided into three strata according to the social development index (SDI). To estimate the gaps, the Poisson regression model was used, and the odds ratio and its respective 95% confidence interval were calculated. The global burden of mortality due to interpersonal violence showed a significant increase in men in strata 1 and 2, and a decrease in stratum 3; a significant decrease was observed in women in stratum 2. By age group, the burden of interpersonal violence increased in both men and women aged 20 years and older. Interpersonal violence continues to be an important public health problem in Latin America, affecting mainly adolescents and young people in countries with lower socioeconomic development. It is urgent to evaluate the public policies that have been implemented in order to determine the causes that prevent the reduction of current gaps, and to implement plans that act on the social determinants of interpersonal violence and that promote a positive transformation with equity. The GBD report can serve as an important tool in the design, implementation, and monitoring of public policies aimed at preventing interpersonal violence in the Region.

Temporal association of parental corporal punishment with violence in school and cyberbullying among adolescents

Background and objectivePrevious cross-sectional research suggested a link between parental corporal punishment, school violence, and cyberbullying among adolescents. However, their temporal relationships remain unclear. This study used longitudinal panel data to examine the temporal relationships between parental corporal punishment, adolescent school violence against peers and teachers, and cyberbullying perpetration. Participants and settingSeven hundred and two junior high school students from Taiwan participated. MethodsA probability sample and two waves of longitudinal panel data collected a nine-month apart were analyzed. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect students' self-reported information about their experiences of parental corporal punishment, perpetration of school violence against peers and teachers, and cyberbullying. ResultsParental corporal punishment at Time 1 predicted violence against school peers, violence against teachers, and cyberbullying perpetration at Time 2; however, these three behaviors at Time 1 did not predict parental corporal punishment at Time 2. These findings applied to both sex groups, although the effects of parental corporal punishment on violence against teachers were slightly stronger for boys than girls. ConclusionsParental corporal punishment is a predictor rather than an outcome of adolescent school violence against peers and teachers and cyberbullying. Policies and interventions need to target parental corporal punishment to prevent adolescents from engaging in violence against peers and teachers and cyberbullying.

Stress-induced Changes in Autonomic Reactivity Vary with Adolescent Violence Exposure and Resting-state Functional Connectivity

Exposure to violence during childhood can lead to functional changes in brain regions that are important for emotion expression and regulation, which may increase susceptibility to internalizing disorders in adulthood. Specifically, childhood violence exposure can disrupt the functional connectivity among brain regions that include the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus, and amygdala. Together, these regions are important for modulating autonomic responses to stress. However, it is unclear to what extent changes in brain connectivity relate to autonomic stress reactivity and how the relationship between brain connectivity and autonomic responses to stress varies with childhood violence exposure. Thus, the present study examined whether stress-induced changes in autonomic responses (e.g., heart rate, skin conductance level (SCL)) varied with amygdala-, hippocampus-, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)-whole brain resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) as a function of violence exposure. Two hundred and ninety-seven participants completed two resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans prior to (pre-stress) and after (post-stress) a psychosocial stress task. Heart rate and SCL were recorded during each scan. Post-stress heart rate varied negatively with post-stress amygdala-inferior parietal lobule rsFC and positively with post-stress hippocampus-anterior cingulate cortex rsFC among those exposed to high, but not low, levels of violence. Results from the present study suggest that post-stress fronto-limbic and parieto-limbic rsFC modulates heart rate and may underlie differences in the stress response among those exposed to high levels of violence.

The Effect of Social Capital in the Intimate Partner Violence in Adolescents from an Intersectionality Perspective

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a complex social phenomenon widely studied. However, few of these studies consider social capital and intersectionality. Our aim was to describe the effect of social capital in IPV victimisation among secondary students, considering three factors of intersectionality (sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation and migration background) in two cities of Spain in 2019-2020. Methods: We analysed a cross-sectional sample of 640 ever-partnered adolescents aged 13–16 years who had taken part in a programme for positive relationship. The main outcome was lifetime IPV (control, fear, physical or sexual violence). Individual and relational variables (bonding social capital) were used to calculate adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) from multivariate Robust Poisson regression models stratified by sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation and migration background (factors of intersectionality). Results: The highest IPV prevalence (56.25%) was found in lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) adolescents without social activity. LGB orientation was significantly associated with IPV victimisation in adolescents with low-income country (LIC) backgrounds (aPR: 1.93) and in girls (1.53). Finally, a LIC background was a significant determinant of IPV in boys (aPR: 1.76) and in students independently of sexual orientation. Higher social activity showed a protective effect for students with HIC backgrounds and LGB-sexual orientations. A possible protective effect of social support in HIC backgrounds and regardless of sex and sexual orientation must be considered. Conclusions: Social activity is unequally associated with less lifetime IPV. The strong association of migration background and sexual orientation with IPV reinforces the approach to its prevention in adolescents from an intersectionality perspective.

Exposure to Intimate-Partner Violence and Resilience Trajectories of Adolescents: A Two-Wave Longitudinal Latent Transition Analysis.

Despite the serious emotional and social consequences of adolescents' exposure to intimate-partner violence (IPV) and the high prevalence of this exposure, few analyses have focused on person-centered models or considered psychological IPV. Studies that address exposure to violence tend to focus on physical IPV. Therefore, in this study, we examine (across two waves) the trajectories of resilience among adolescents who have witnessed psychological IPV by conducting a latent transition analysis and predicting class membership through socio-demographic and individual-level protective factors. Using a sample of 879 (T1, fall 2020) and 770 (T2, spring 2022) adolescent Swiss students with mean ages of 11.74 (SD = 0.64) and 13.77 (SD = 0.53), we identified four distinct time-invariant resilience classes: comorbid-frustrated, internalizing-frustrated, comorbid-satisfied, and resilient. The classes characterized by some level of psychopathological symptoms and basic psychological-needs frustration were the most stable over time. Furthermore, we found the four typical resilience trajectories: recovery, chronic, delayed, and improving. Gender, socioeconomic background, and protective factors showed a significant prediction of class membership in wave 1, highlighting the importance of increasing sensitivity to psychological-IPV exposure on the one hand, and reinforcing the relevance of prevention in schools regarding the promotion of protective factors on the other.

Sexual violence in early adolescence is associated with subsequent teen pregnancy and parenthood

Being a victim of sexual violence (SV) is associated with risk for teen pregnancy in cross-sectional research. However, longitudinal data are necessary to determine if SV victimization plays a causal role in early pregnancy. To address this gap in research, we test whether experiencing SV victimization in early adolescence is associated with pregnancy and having children by mid-adolescence. The current sample comprised 4594 youth (58% female; 51% Hispanic; 39% Black) attending 44 schools in the southern United States. Self-reported data were collected via audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) when students were in 7th or 8th grade and again approximately 24 months later. Approximately 2.9% of boys and 8.2% of girls reported SV victimization at baseline. At follow-up, 3.4% of boys and 4.0% of girls reported being involved with one or more pregnancies; 1.1% of boys and girls reported having one or more children. Being a victim of SV at baseline was associated with pregnancy and having a child at follow-up for girls. SV was not related to outcomes among boys. The present findings indicate that girls victimized by SV are at risk of becoming pregnant and becoming teen parents. The combined sequelae of SV and teen pregnancy impair health, economic, and social functioning across the lifespan and carry forward into future generations. Future research should explore mechanisms through which victimization confers risk for pregnancy to inform prevention strategies.