Krista R. Mehari

The Impact of Victimization and Witnessing Violence on Physical Aggression Among High‐Risk Adolescents

Relations among witnessing violence, victimization, and physical aggression were investigated within a high-risk sample of 1,156 sixth graders. Longitudinal, multilevel analyses were conducted on two waves of data from two cohorts of students in 37 schools from four communities. The sample was 65% male and 67% African American. Neighborhood concentrated disadvantage, witnessing violence, victimization, and physical aggression were strongly and positively correlated at the school level. Contrary to hypothesis, exposure to violence did not mediate the effects of neighborhood concentrated disadvantage on changes in physical aggression. As expected, witnessing violence and physical aggression had bidirectional longitudinal effects on each other at the student level. In contrast, there were no cross-variable relations between changes in violent victimization and aggression over time.

Identification of patterns of dating aggression and victimization among urban early adolescents and their relations to mental health symptoms.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify patterns of dating aggression and victimization in urban early adolescents and their relations to mental health symptoms. Method: Participants were students in 3 urban public middle schools who reported having a boyfriend or girlfriend in the past 3 months (n = 938). The sample (M = 13.3 years old) was 52% female, 73% African American, 15% multiracial, 4% White, and 8% other races; 13% were also Hispanic or Latino. Participants reported their frequency of experiencing and perpetrating 10 dating aggression behaviors. Results: Latent class analysis identified typologies of dating aggression and victimization. The best fitting model was a 5-class model that classified youth as uninvolved (54.6%), victims (8.3%), aggressors (9.7%), psychologically aggressive victims (22.0%), and aggressive victims (5.4%). Groups also differed on measures of trauma-related distress and problem behaviors, specifically physical aggression, even after consideration of exposure to community violence. Conclusions: These findings suggest that subtypes of dating aggression exist in middle school that are characterized by differing levels and types of involvement and relations to mental health symptoms. These results support the need for prevention and intervention programs focusing on early adolescent dating aggression, particularly to also prevent trauma-related distress and problem behaviors.

Dimensions of Peer Influences and Their Relationship to Adolescents’ Aggression, Other Problem Behaviors and Prosocial Behavior

Although peers are a major influence during adolescence, the relative importance of specific mechanisms of peer influence on the development of problem behavior is not well understood. This study investigated five domains of peer influence and their relationships to adolescents’ problem and prosocial behaviors. Self-report and teacher ratings were obtained for 1787 (53 % female) urban middle school students. Peer pressure for fighting and friends’ delinquent behavior were uniquely associated with aggression, drug use and delinquent behavior. Friends’ prosocial behavior was uniquely associated with prosocial behavior. Friends’ support for fighting and friends’ support for nonviolence were not as clearly related to behavior. Findings were generally consistent across gender. This study highlights the importance of studying multiple aspects of peer influences on adolescents’ behavior.

Participants' Perceptions of a Violence Prevention Curriculum for Middle School Students: Was It Relevant and Useful?

School-based youth violence prevention programs, particularly those focused on middle school students, have generally had limited effects that are often not sustained over time. Although many interventions focus on teaching social–cognitive skills, few studies have explored the extent to which students master these skills, actually use them, and find them effective in dealing with problem situations. This study examined these issues based on interviews with 141 students attending one county and two urban middle schools in classrooms where the Second Step violence prevention program had been implemented. We coded interviews to assess participants’ general reactions to the interventions, use of skills, and effectiveness of skills. We also asked participants to describe outcomes they experienced when they used specific skills taught in the intervention in response to problem situations. Participants had generally positive reactions to the intervention. Their suggestions for improving the intervention primarily concerned improving its relevance. Participants described changes they had made based on the intervention, particularly controlling anger and improving relations with others. Their responses indicated that they sometimes misunderstood or misused specific intervention skills, especially problem solving and empathy. Students’ descriptions of the outcomes they experienced when using intervention skills were not uniformly positive. This was especially true for situations involving peers such as peer pressure and bullying. These results underscore the need for more intensive efforts to ensure that students master intervention skills and are able to use them correctly. In addition, interventions should address the broader social context (e.g., peers, school) to maximize the effectiveness of skills.

Where does cyberbullying fit? A comparison of competing models of adolescent aggression.

Objective: This study examined how cyberbullying fits into a framework of adolescent aggression. It was hypothesized that a dimensional model that considered both form (overt or relational) and media (in-person or electronic) of aggression would best fit the data. Method: Participants were 677 adolescents (ages 11 to 15) from 3 public schools. The sample was 92% Black or African American. Participants completed a self-report measure that assessed their frequency of physical, verbal, and relational aggression and cyberbullying. Results: Contrary to hypothesis, confirmatory factor analyses provided the clearest support for a 3-factor model that conceptualized cyberbullying as a counterpart to overt and relational aggression. A latent class analysis revealed a moderate aggression class and a low aggression class, with neither group distinguishable by cyberbullying behaviors. A comparison of the 3-factor model and the 2-class solution indicated that a dimensional model provided the best fit. Conclusions: Researchers have generally assumed that cyberbullying is a new form of aggression, a counterpart to overt and relational aggression, and this conceptualization fits the data quite well. Both media and form are important dimensions of aggression, but there may not be enough variation across types of cyberbullying behaviors to result in differentiation by form.

Correction to: Dimensions of Peer Influences and Their Relationship to Adolescents’ Aggression, Other Problem Behaviors and Prosocial Behavior

Correction to: J Youth Adolescence (2017) 46:1351–1369. 10.1007/s10964-016-0601-4