René Olate

The protective effects of religious coping and spirituality on delinquency: Results among high-risk and gang-involved Salvadoran youth

While research conducted in Western nations suggests that religiosity and spirituality protect against delinquent behavior, few studies have examined these relationships in developing world contexts. Using a community sample of 290 high-risk and gang-involved adolescents (11-17 years) and young adults (18-25 years) in San Salvador, El Salvador, structural equation modeling and logistic regression are used to examine the relationships between religious coping, spirituality, social developmental factors, and delinquency. Results suggest that spirituality and, to a lesser extent, religious coping, protect Salvadoran youth at risk for involvement in delinquent behavior. The relationship between spirituality and delinquency was completely mediated by social developmental factors as no direct association was identified between spirituality and delinquency. Spirituality and religious coping are both relevant protective factors among Salvadoran youth; however, spirituality is more consistently protective against delinquency in terms of its relationship to social developmental mediating factors and its direct associations to particular delinquent behaviors.

Correlates of Handgun Carrying Among Adolescents in the United States

Weapon-related violence, especially the use of handguns, among adolescents is a serious public health concern. Using public-use data file from the adolescent sample (N = 17,842) in the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), this study examines the behavioral, parental involvement, and prevention correlates of handgun carrying. Overall, 3.1% of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 reported carrying a handgun in the past year. Results from a series of logistic regression models indicated that males, selling and using illicit drugs, were robustly associated with an increased probability of handgun carrying among adolescents. Furthermore, youth who carry handguns were significantly less likely to report a parent being involved in their lives and were significantly more likely to have encountered violence and drug prevention programming compared with youth who did not carry handguns. Implications of these results for prevention and policy are discussed.

Predictors of violence and delinquency among high risk youth and youth gang members in San Salvador, El Salvador

Low future orientation, low empathy, educational difficulty, school expulsion, delinquent peers, gang membership, and low social support were found to be significant risk factors for violence and delinquency among a sample (N = 174) of high risk youth and youth gang members in San Salvador, El Salvador.

Religious coping, spirituality, and substance use and abuse among youth in high-risk communities in San Salvador, El Salvador.

Little is known about the relationship between religious coping, spirituality, and substance use in developing nations such as El Salvador. Collected in 2011, the sample consists of 290 high-risk and gang-involved adolescents (11–17 years) and young adults (18–25 years) in San Salvador, El Salvador. Structural equation modeling and logistic regression are employed to examine the associations between the Measure of Religious Coping (RCOPE), the Intrinsic Spirituality Scale, and substance use and abuse. Results suggest that spirituality and, to a far lesser degree, religious coping may serve to protect for substance use and abuse among this high-risk population of Salvadoran youth.

Assessing Empathy in Salvadoran High-Risk and Gang-Involved Adolescents and Young Adults A Spanish Validation of the Basic Empathy Scale

Empathy is considered a key construct in the empirical study of high-risk adolescent and young adult delinquency, crime, and violence. This study examined the psychometric properties and criterion-related validity of a Spanish adaptation of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES), which is an important measure designed to capture both affective and cognitive empathy that has been validated in multiple languages but not in Spanish. The study’s sample consisted of 208 high-risk and gang-involved adolescents and young adults in the Greater San Salvador Metropolitan Area. The original BES was reduced from its 20-item design to a more culturally appropriate 7-item design. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis and criterion-related validity analysis indicate that the adapted BES is a valid and reliable multidimensional measure of empathy for high-risk Salvadoran adolescents and young adults. Consistent with previous findings, females reported lower levels of empathy than males and delinquent/violent respondents reported lower levels of empathy than their nonoffender counterparts.

A Cross-National Comparison of Externalizing Behaviors among High-Risk Youth and Youth Gang Members in Metropolitan Boston, Massachusetts, and San Salvador, El Salvador

Abstract Youth interventions often focus on high-risk youth; however, little is known about the similarities and differences of these youth cross-nationally. This study examines externalizing behaviors of youth in Boston (n = 374) and San Salvador (n = 208) and compares several domains. Results reveal significant differences between populations; Salvadoran youth exhibited higher rates of violence and delinquency, marijuana use, and unprotected sex. Similarities were found for school attendance and school dropout levels, employment, alcohol use, and sexual activity. Findings indicate that youth gang members may face a higher intensity of externalizing risk behaviors. These findings have implications for interventions and policies.

Substance Use, Violence, and HIV Risk Behavior in El Salvador and the United States: Cross-National Profiles of the SAVA Syndemic

Abstract Studies examining the SAVA Syndemic—that is, the synergistic links between substance use, violence, and HIV risk behavior—have rarely been conducted cross-nationally. Using samples of high-risk youth in San Salvador, El Salvador (n = 237) and western Pennsylvania, United States (n = 253), latent class analysis is employed to identify behavioral subgroups of youth. Subgroups of “SAVA Youth” characterized by universally elevated levels of substance use, violence, and HIV risk behavior were identified in both El Salvador (20%) and the United States (42%). Membership in these behaviorally severe subgroups was associated with extremely high levels of severe violence exposure.

Preventing Violence among Gang-Involved and High-Risk Youth in El Salvador: The Role of School Motivation and Self-Control

El Salvador, as a country of the Northern Triangle, exhibits significantly higher rates of crime and delinquency than the rest of the Latin American countries (World Bank 2011). Mass media portray transnational youth gangs in marginalized communities in Central American nations, such as El Salvador, as one of the main factors responsible for the high levels of violence. Few studies have empirically studied active youth gang members and high-risk youth in these contexts. Among the studies that have accessed active youth gang members, the focus has been on problem behaviors and risk factors analyses; little is known about what variables appear to serve as protective factors for these youth. Based on a cross-sectional sample of high-risk youth and youth gang members (n = 184) between the ages of 13 and 25 living in 10 urban communities in San Salvador, this study used linear regression modeling to analyze protective factors for three outcome variables: aggression, violence, and delinquency. Results reveal that self-control and school motivation act as important protective factors across the three domains, while school behavior is a protective factor of aggression and delinquency. Implications for community-based prevention and harm reduction policies are discussed.

Preliminary findings on the links between violence, crime, and HIV risk among young adults with substance use disorders in El Salvador

Abstract The links between substance use and violence, crime, and HIV risk behavior have been well-documented among individuals in developed nations. However, it remains uncertain how, and to what degree, such behaviors are related in the severe socio-environmental context of marginalized communities in developing nations like El Salvador. Using data from a sample of young adult men (n = 177; ages 18–26) residing in marginalized communities in San Salvador, El Salvador (June–November 2011), we conducted Chi-square tests of association and two group mean comparison tests to examine the bivariate associations between substance use disorders (SUDs) and violence, crime, and HIV risk behavior. Results indicate that individuals meeting criteria for SUDs are approximately two to three times more likely than those not meeting criteria to report recent involvement in all violent and criminal outcomes examined in this study. Particularly robust effects were identified in terms of carrying a hidden weapon (χ2 = 26.98, p < 0.001, φ = 0.390) and attacking someone with a weapon or with the idea of seriously hurting/killing them (χ2 = 17.80, p < 0.001, φ = 0.317). Overall, findings suggest that SUDs are strongly associated with violence, crime, and HIV risk behavior within El Salvador’s marginalized communities.

Cross-national study of risky sexual behavior among gang-involved youth in metropolitan Boston and San Salvador, El Salvador

Although conformity to peer norms poses significant risks for adolescent sexual behavior, information is limited on types of gang-related activities that predict risky sexual behavior among gang-involved youth. Using data from Boston (n = 375) and San Salvador (n = 207), we compared the two groups on key characteristics and assessed factors associated with risky sexual behaviors. Number of arrests and aggression predicted number of sexual partners in Boston and San Salvador samples, while delinquency, arrests and age predicted pregnancy outcomes. Medium to large effect-size differences were noted in future orientation, delinquency and gang-involvement attitudes. Gang-involvement and risky sexual behavior were associated in this sample. Salvadoran youth differed significantly from those in Boston on key gang-related characteristics, rendering them even more vulnerable.