David A. Wolfe

Predicting Abuse in Adolescent Dating Relationships Over 1 Year: The Role of Child Maltreatment and Trauma

Three mediators of the relationship between childhood maltreatment and dating violence perpetration during midadolescence (i.e., trauma-related symptoms, attitudes justifying dating violence, and empathy and self-efficacy in dating relationships) were tested over 1 year with a sample of students from 10 high schools (N = 1,317). Trauma-related symptoms had a significant cross-time effect on predicting incidents of dating violence for both boys and girls. Attitudes and empathy and self-efficacy did not predict dating violence over time, although they were correlated with such behavior at both time points. Child maltreatment is a distal risk factor for adolescent dating violence, and trauma-related symptoms act as a significant mediator of this relationship. The importance of longitudinal methodology that separates correlates from predictors is discussed.

Distinguishing between Poor/Dysfunctional Parenting and Child Emotional Maltreatment.

OBJECTIVEnThis paper was intended to distinguish between poor parenting and child emotional maltreatment (CEM), to inform child welfare and public health policymakers of the need for differentiated responses.nnnMETHODSnScientific literature was integrated with current practice and assumptions relating to poor/dysfunctional parenting and child emotional maltreatment, with a primary focus on the parent-child relationship context (rather than abnormal parent behavior alone). Numerous factors that impinge on the distinction between these acts were considered, such as the childs age, the frequency, and severity of behavior shown by caregivers, cultural norms, and parental beliefs and goals in childrearing.nnnRESULTSnThe literature on child emotional maltreatment has advanced beyond the descriptive phase of scientific understanding, and principles and practical criteria for distinguishing such behavior from poor parenting are presented.nnnCONCLUSIONSnRecommendations focus on practical guidelines for assessing risk and activating appropriate prevention and intervention: (1) parental actions and relative risk of harm to the child are both important ingredients in defining and distinguishing child emotional maltreatment from other forms of poor parenting; (2) poor parenting methods fall along a broad continuum and fit within a population health mandate aimed at reducing incidence of all forms of negative parenting methods; (3) child emotional maltreatment can be defined categorically based on qualitatively more extreme and potentially more harmful behaviors (than poor parenting), which requires a focused intervention response. Additional recommendations for training, research, and community-based public health initiatives are presented.

Alternatives to Violence: Empowering Youth To Develop Healthy Relationships.

A Call for Action Violence in the Lives of Children, Youth and Families Responding to Violence Establishing a Commitment to Violence Prevention Approaching Solutions Youth as Resources A Developmental Model of Relationship Violence and Abuse Applying the Principles Core Ingredients of Successful Prevention Programs The Youth Relationships Project

Identity development as a buffer of adolescent risk behaviors in the context of peer group pressure and control.

We examined identity development as a moderator of the relation between peer group pressure and control and adolescents engagement in risk behaviors. Participants (n=1070; M(age)=15.45 years) completed a self-report measure of identity exploration, the degree to which they have explored a variety of self-relevant values, beliefs and goals, and identity commitment, the degree to which they have secured a personal identity. Participants further reported on their frequency of risk behaviors (substance use and general deviancy) and experienced peer group pressure and control. Results confirmed that identity commitment was a buffer of substance use and identity exploration was a buffer of general deviancy in more pressuring peer groups. In more controlling peer groups, teens with greater identity commitment engaged in less risk behavior than teens with low-identity commitment. Thus, identity development may be a suitable target to deter negative effects of peer pressure in high-risk adolescents.

Understanding the association between maltreatment history and adolescent risk behavior by examining popularity motivations and peer group control

The purpose of the present study was to examine how peer group processes of pressure and control and individual motivations for popularity would add to, and moderate the relationship between, childhood maltreatment and risky behavior in adolescence. A total of 1558 youth (804 girls) from three high schools in Ontario, Canada (M agexa0=xa015.02xa0years, SDxa0=xa0.86) reported on their alcohol use, delinquent behavior, childhood experiences of physical and emotional maltreatment and neglect, peer group processes involving control and individual popularity motivations. Regression analyses showed that, beyond the significant contributions of childhood maltreatment, peer group control predicted risky alcohol use and delinquent behavior. Peer group control and popularity motivations exacerbated the negative effect of physical maltreatment on delinquent behavior. Boys’ experiences of peer group control were more strongly linked to alcohol use and delinquent behavior than girls’. These results suggest that there is a significant window of opportunity during adolescence where the peer group context can exacerbate or buffer childhood experiences.

Abuse and Violence in Adolescent Girls' Dating Relationships

Conceptualization of adolescent gender-based violence has been caught at the crossroads of the childhood peer aggression literature and the adult domestic violence literature. On the one hand, child peer aggression research recognizes female-perpetrated violence and “female types’’ of violence (Craig & Pepler, 1997; Olweus, 1991); on the other hand, the adult intimate relationship violence literature emphasizes a male-to-female, powerand control-based violence (Dobash & Dobash, 1992). In all likelihood, adolescent dating violence falls somewhere in the middle. Despite the unique opportunities offered by the study of this “in between’’ period, there has historically been a lack of attention to research on adolescent dating relationships (Brown, Feiring, & Furman, 1999). Until recently, research in this area was curtailed by the notion that adolescent romantic relationships are somehow not authentic or not to be taken seriously. However, even with greater recognition of the developmental importance of adolescent dating, numerous logistical factors continue to impede research. For example, adolescent dating relationships are short-term (compared with adults’) and their context and nature can change rapidly. As well, generational changes in adolescent subculture affect both the terminology of dating (e.g., “going out,’’ “seeing someone,’’ “hooking up’’) and the patterns of dating (e.g., in groups vs. dyads). Finally, public health concerns about teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections have pushed the study of adolescent sexual behavior