Individual and Family Predictors of the Perpetration of Dating Violence and Victimization in Late Adolescence

Teen dating violence is a crime of national concern with approximately one-fourth of adolescents reporting victimization of physical, psychological, or sexual dating violence each year. The present study examined how aggressive family dynamics in both childhood and early adolescence predicted the perpetration of dating violence and victimization in late adolescence. Children (n = 401, 43 % female) were followed from kindergarten entry to the age of 18 years. Early adolescent aggressive-oppositional problems at home and aggressive-oppositional problems at school each made unique predictions to the emergence of dating violence in late adolescence. The results suggest that aggressive family dynamics during childhood and early adolescence influence the development of dating violence primarily by fostering a child’s oppositional-aggressive responding style initially in the home, which is then generalized to other contexts. Although this study is limited by weaknesses detailed in the discussion, the contribution of longitudinal evidence including parent, teacher, and adolescent reports from both boys and girls, a dual-emphasis on the prediction of perpetration and victimization, as well as an analysis of both relations between variables and person-oriented group comparisons combine to make a unique contribution to the growing literature on adolescent partner violence.     

The Impact of Collective Efficacy on Risks for Adolescents’ Perpetration of Dating Violence

Given prevalence rates and negative consequences that adolescents’ perpetration of dating violence may have on an individual’s well-being and future relationships, it is imperative to explore factors that may increase or reduce its occurrence. Thus, we aimed to identify how multiple contextual risk factors (individual, family, schools, and neighborhoods) were related to adolescents’ perpetration of dating violence over a 6 year period. Then, we assessed how neighborhood collective efficacy, an important predictor of urban youths’ well-being, buffered the relationship between each of the risk factors and adolescents’ perpetration of dating violence. Three waves of data from the Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study were used (N = 765; Ages 16–20 at Wave 3). The sample is 53 % female, 42 % African-American, and 53 % Hispanic. For the total sample, drug and alcohol use, low parental monitoring, academic difficulties, and involvement with antisocial peers were significant early risk factors for perpetration of dating violence in late adolescence. Risk factors also varied by adolescents’ race and sex. Finally, perceived neighborhood collective efficacy buffered the relationship between early academic difficulties and later perpetration of dating violence for Hispanic males. These results imply that multiple systems should be addressed in dating violence prevention programs.     

Childhood Predictors and Mid-Adolescent Correlates of Developmental Trajectories of Alcohol Use among Male and Female Youth

The identification of salient risk factors for alcohol consumption among male and female adolescents is an important topic not only for etiology research but also for designing effective gender-specific alcohol prevention programs for young people. This study examined the extent to which problematic alcohol use trajectories from ages 14 to 18 among male and female youth were related to childhood predictors assessed at age 9 (i.e., impulsivity, academic self-confidence, social problems with peers), socio-demographic variables, and mid-adolescent correlates [i.e., parental use, body mass index (BMI), risky peer context, conduct problems at school, parent–child relationship, somatic complaints]. Data analysis was based on a representative German longitudinal study (1986–1995, n = 1,619, 55 % female). Using growth mixture modeling methodology, associations of childhood predictors and mid-adolescent correlates to distinctive trajectories of alcohol use were examined for males and females separately. For males, a problematic consumption trajectory was associated with poor relationships to parents in adolescence and small community size. For females, low impulsivity during childhood, high BMI, and contact with deviant peers during adolescence predicted problematic as compared to normative alcohol use trajectories. Additionally, high parental alcohol use, low parental educational background, and conduct problems at school during adolescence were common predictors of a problematic alcohol use trajectory in both genders. The results provide insights regarding differences in the gender-typical development of adolescent alcohol use as well as stress the need of gender-specific intervention components along with universal prevention strategies against problematic consumption trajectories.     

Personality Traits, Interpersonal Identity, and Relationship Stability: Longitudinal Linkages in Late Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Adolescence and young adulthood are characterized by important changes in personality, changes toward a more stable identity, and the establishment of intimate relationships. We examined the role of personality traits in establishing intimate relationships, the interplay between personality traits and interpersonal identity processes during these relationships, and the role of interpersonal identity processes and personality traits in the dissolution thereof. For this purpose, we used longitudinal data on 424 female college students (mean age at T1 = 18.6 years; Sample 1) and 390 late adolescents drawn from a community sample (56.7 % female; mean age at T1 = 19.7 years; Sample 2). Especially highly extraverted individuals were likely to become involved in a relationship. Neuroticism was associated negatively, and Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were associated positively with a stronger sense of interpersonal identity within intimate relationships. Finally, the importance of interpersonal identity processes was underscored by the fact that these processes, and not so much personality traits, predicted relational breakups. Overall, the present study provides important insights into the role of personality and identity in the initiation, maintenance, and dissolution of intimate relationships in late adolescence and young adulthood.     

Trajectories of Physical Dating Violence from Middle to High School: Association with Relationship Quality and Acceptability of Aggression

Although research on dating violence is growing, little is known about the distinct developmental trajectories of dating violence during adolescence. The current study identifies trajectories of physical dating violence victimization and perpetration that boys and girls follow from sixth to twelfth grade, examines the overlap of these trajectories, and characterizes them by perceptions of a caring dating relationship and acceptability of dating aggression. The sample consisted of randomly selected sixth graders from nine schools in Northeast Georgia (n = 588; 52 % boys; 49 % White, 36 % African American, 12 % Latino) who completed yearly surveys from Grades 6–12. We used latent class mixture modeling to identify the trajectories and generalized estimating equations models to examine the acceptability of dating aggression by dating violence trajectories. Participants followed two trajectories of dating violence victimization (boys: low and high; girls: low and increasing) and two of perpetration (boys and girls: low and increasing). When examining the joint trajectories of victimization and perpetration, a similar proportion of boys (62 %) and girls (65 %) were in the low victimization and low perpetration group and reported the lowest acceptance of dating aggression. The same proportion of boys and girls (27 %) were in the high/increasing victimization and perpetration group, and reported the highest acceptance of dating aggression. However, acceptance of dating aggression decreased from Grade 6–12 for all groups, even for those whose trajectory of dating violence increased. Victimization and perpetration were associated with reporting a less caring dating relationship. Results highlight the importance of focusing prevention efforts early for adolescents who follow this increasing probability of physical dating violence.     

Exposure to Violence Predicting Cortisol Response During Adolescence and Early Adulthood: Understanding Moderating Factors

Previous research on the association between violence and biological stress regulation has been largely cross-sectional, and has also focused on childhood. Using longitudinal data from a low-income, high-risk, predominantly African-American sample (n = 266; 57 % female), we tested hypotheses about the influence of cumulative exposure to violence during adolescence and early adulthood on cortisol responses in early adulthood. We found that cumulative exposure to violence predicted an attenuated cortisol response. Further, we tested whether sex, mothers’ support, or fathers’ support moderated the effect of exposure to violence on cortisol responses. We found that the effect of cumulative exposure to violence on cortisol was modified by sex; specifically, males exposed to violence exhibited a more attenuated response pattern. In addition, the effect of cumulative exposure to violence on cortisol was moderated by the presence of fathers’ support during adolescence. The findings contribute to a better understanding of how cumulative exposure to violence influences biological outcomes, emphasizing the need to understand sex and parental support as moderators of risk.     

Youths’ Substance Use and Changes in Parental Knowledge-Related Behaviors During Middle School: A Person-Oriented Approach

Parental knowledge is a key protective factor for youths’ risky behavior. Little is known about how longitudinal combinations of knowledge-related behaviors are associated with youths’ substance use. This longitudinal study uses Latent Transition Analysis to identify latent patterns of parental knowledge-related behaviors occurring in mother-youth dyads during middle school and to investigate how changes in knowledge-related patterns are associated with youths’ substance use in Grade 6 and the initiation of substance use from Grade 6 to 8. Using a sample of 536 rural dyads (53 % female, 84 % White), we assessed mother and youths’ reports of parental knowledge, active parental monitoring efforts, youth disclosure, and parent-youth communication to identify six latent patterns of knowledge-related behaviors: High Monitors, Low Monitors, Communication-Focused, Supervision-Focused, Maternal Over-Estimators, and Youth Over-Estimators. Fifty percent or more of dyads in the High Monitors, Communication-Focused and Youth Over-Estimators were in the same status in both 6th and 8th grade: 98 % of Low Monitors in Grade 6 were also in this status in Grade 8. The initiation of alcohol, smoking, and marijuana was associated significantly with transitions between patterns of knowledge-related behaviors. The initiation of alcohol and smoking were associated with increased odds of transitions into the Low Monitors from the Communication-Focused, Supervision-Focused, and Maternal Over-Estimators. However, the initiation of substance use was associated with decreased odds of transitions from the High Monitors to the Low Monitors and with increased odds of transitions from High Monitors to Supervision-Focused. The discussion focuses on the value of using a person-oriented dyadic approach with multiple reporters to study changes in knowledge-related behaviors over the middle school period.     

On the thin line between connection and separation: The individuation process,from cognitive and object-relations perspectives,in kibbutz adolescents

The study explores the individuation process among kibbutz children and adolescents. Individuation is defined as developmental process of separation of the self from one's family. The process encompasses intrapsychic and interpersonal changes leading to an autonomous self within relational contexts. The major objective of the study is to examine the relationship between the socialcognitive perspective and the object relation school of psychoanalytic theory of the individuation process, in a communal life. Mazor's individuation interview of 1985, Levine et al.'sSeparation-Individuation Test of Adolescence (SITA) of 1986, Urist's The Mutuality of Autonomy Scale of 1977, and Coonerty's The Separation-Individuation Theme Scale of 1986 were administered to four age groups (N=60): late childhood (9–10 years), early adolescence (13–14 years), midadolescence (16–17), and late adolescence (20–22 years). From the social-cognitive perspective, four individuation levels were defined as age increased. Results confirmed that older subjects construe self and self-other relationships on a higher level of the individuation sequence than younger ones. From the psychoanalytic perspective, results partly confirmed the hypothesis that adolescents exhibit the second individuation process. Accordingly on the SITA a significant increase of engulfment-anxiety was higher in early adolescence and subsequent age groups than in late childhood. Findings on the two Rorschach's scales point to a common pattern: In late childhood there is a lower level of differentiation between self and object representation and the themes are more primitive than in older age groups. At early adolescence there is a significant constriction of psychic expression through defensive as well as shallow responses. In middle adolescence, psychic expression becomes richer revealing differentiation of the self and ambivalence between merging and separatedness in object relations. These features also characterize the late adolescence group. Findings indicate that the social-cognitive aspect of the individuation process proceeds faster than the intrapsychic and unconscious aspects.Received Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Research interests include the cognitive-psychodynamic aspects of parent-child relationships through adolescence and adulthood. To whom correspondence should be addressed.Received M.A. degree from Tel Aviv University.Training Psychoanalyst. Received Ph.D. from L'Univ. de Paris, Sorbonne.     

Relationships Between Level and Change in Family,School, and Peer Factors During Two Periods of Adolescence and Problem Behavior at Age 19

While prior research has examined family, school, and peer factors as potential predictors of problem behavior, less attention has been given to studying when these factors are most predictive of problems and if and when changes in these factors signal risk. Using annual data on a community sample of 1,040 individuals (47% female; 81% White), this study models growth in risk and protective factors during two developmental periods (Grades 5–8 and Grades 9–12) in order to predict substance misuse and crime at age 19. For protective factors of positive relationships with family and positive bonds to school, both the levels of these factors at Grade 5 and change between Grade 5 and Grade 8 predicted substance misuse and crime in early adulthood. Higher likelihoods of both forms of problem behavior also were predicted by increases in the risk factor of exposure to negative peers between 5th and 8th grade. In the late adolescent period, levels at 9th grade of all risk and protective factors examined predicted both substance misuse and crime. Also, increases in exposure to negative peers in late adolescence predicted greater likelihoods of both forms of problem behavior, while greater risk of substance misuse was predicted by decreases in school bonding and academic achievement, and greater risk of crime was predicted by worsening relationships with family. The results add to prior research by indicating that in addition to the level, change in risk and protective factors during these two stages of development can be signals of risk and are promising targets for intervention.     

Interrelations of Behavioral, Emotional, and Cognitive School Engagement in High School Students

School engagement, or the extent to which students are involved in, attached and committed to the academic and social activities in school, plays a prominent role in preventing academic failure, promoting competence, and influencing a wide range of adolescent outcomes. Although the multidimensional nature of school engagement is well-recognized, how the three purported parts of the construct work together is largely unknown. By using data from the longitudinal, 4-H study of Positive Youth Development, involving a sample of 1,029 adolescents (67.7 % female; mean age at Grade 9 = 14.92 years; 74.4 % of participants were European American, 5.2 % were Latino/a, 7.3 % were African American), the current study examined the interrelationships of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive aspects of school engagement over three years in adolescence (Grades 9–11). We used autoregressive lagged effects models to assess the relationships among the three engagement constructs. Results indicated that behavioral and emotional engagement were related bidirectionally (each variable was a basis and an outcome of the other). In addition, behavioral engagement influenced cognitive engagement (but the reverse of this relation was not found). Implications for future research are discussed.     

Understanding Adolescent and Family Influences on Intimate Partner Psychological Violence During Emerging Adulthood and Adulthood

The intergenerational transmission of violence directed toward intimate partners has been documented for the past three decades. Overall, the literature shows that violence in the family of origin leads to violence in the family of destination. However, this predominately cross–sectional or retrospective literature is limited by self–selection, endogeneity, and reporter biases as it has not been able to assess how individual and family behaviors simultaneously experienced during adolescence influence intimate partner violence throughout adulthood. The present study used data from the Iowa Youth and Families Project (IYFP; N = 392; 52 % Female), a multi–method, multi–trait prospective approach, to overcome this limitation. We focused on psychological intimate partner violence in both emerging adulthood (19–23 years) and adulthood (27–31 years), and include self and partner ratings of violence as well as observational data in a sample of rural non-Hispanic white families. Controlling for a host of individual risk factors as well as interparental psychological violence from adolescence (14–15 years), the results show that exposure to parent–to–child psychological violence during adolescence is a key predictor of intimate partner violence throughout adulthood. In addition, negative emotionality and the number of sexual partners in adolescence predicted intimate partner violence in both emerging adulthood and adulthood. Exposure to family stress was associated positively with intimate partner violence in adulthood but not in emerging adulthood, whereas academic difficulties were found to increase violence in emerging adulthood only. Unlike previous research, results did not support a direct effect of interparental psychological violence on psychological violence in the next generation. Gender differences were found only in emerging adulthood. Implications of these findings are discussed in light of the current literature and future directions.     

Family Financial Stress and Adolescent Sexual Risk-Taking: The Role of Self-Regulation

The ability to control one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors is known as self-regulation. Family stress and low adolescent self-regulation have been linked with increased engagement in risky sexual behaviors, which peak in late adolescence and early adulthood. The purpose of this study was to assess whether adolescent self-regulation, measured by parent and adolescent self-report and respiratory sinus arrhythmia, mediates or moderates the relationship between family financial stress and risky sexual behaviors. We assessed these relationships in a 4-year longitudinal sample of 450 adolescents (52 % female; 70 % white) and their parents using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that high family financial stress predicts engagement in risky sexual behaviors as mediated, but not moderated, by adolescent self-regulation. The results suggest that adolescent self-regulatory capacities are a mechanism through which proximal external forces influence adolescent risk-taking. Promoting adolescent self-regulation, especially in the face of external stressors, may be an important method to reduce risk-taking behaviors as adolescents transition to adulthood.     

“Role Magnets”? An Empirical Investigation of Popularity Trajectories for Life-Course Persistent Individuals During Adolescence

Recent scholarship has focused on the role of social status in peer groups to explain the fact that delinquency is disproportionately committed during adolescence. Yet, the precise mechanism linking adolescence, social status, and antisocial behavior is not well understood. Dual-taxonomy postulates a testable mechanism that links the sudden increase in risky behavior among adolescents to the social magnetism of a small group of persistently antisocial individuals, referred to here as the “role magnet” hypothesis. Using semi-parametric group-based trajectory modeling and growth-curve modeling, this study provides the first test of this hypothesis by examining physical violence and popularity trajectories for 1,845 male respondents age 11–32 from a nationally representative sample (54 % non-Hispanic White; 21 % non-Hispanic African American; 17 % Hispanic; 8 % Asian). Individuals assigned to a “chronic violence” trajectory group showed consistently lower average levels of popularity from 11 to 19. But, these same individuals experienced increases in popularity during early adolescence and subsequent declines in late adolescence. These findings are linked to current research examining social status as a mechanism generating antisocial behavior during adolescence and the consequences of delayed entry into adult roles.     

Substance Use as a Longitudinal Predictor of the Perpetration of Teen Dating Violence

The prevention of teen dating violence is a major public health priority. However, the dearth of longitudinal studies makes it difficult to develop programs that effectively target salient risk factors. Using a school-based sample of ethnically diverse adolescents, this longitudinal study examined whether substance use (alcohol, marijuana, and hard drugs) and exposure to parental violence predicted the perpetration of physical dating violence over time. 1,042 9th and 10th grade high schools students were recruited and assessed in the spring of 2010, and 93 % of the original sample completed the 1-year follow-up in the spring of 2011. Participants who had begun dating at the initial assessment and who self-identified as African American (n = 263; 32 %), Caucasian (n = 272; 33 %), or Hispanic (n = 293; 35 %) were included in the current analyses (n = 828; 55 % female). Slightly more than half of the adolescents who perpetrated dating violence at baseline reported past year dating violence at follow-up, relative to only 11 % of adolescents who did not report perpetrating dating violence at baseline. Structural equation modeling revealed that the use of alcohol and hard drugs at baseline predicted the future perpetration of physical dating violence, even after accounting for the effects of baseline dating violence and exposure to interparental violence. Despite differences in the prevalence of key variables between males and females, the longitudinal associations did not vary by gender. With respect to race, exposure to mother-to-father violence predicted the perpetration of dating violence among Caucasian adolescents. Findings from the current study indicate that targeting substance use, and potentially youth from violent households, may be viable approaches to preventing the perpetration of teen dating violence.     

The Longitudinal Relationship Between Peer Violence and Popularity and Delinquency in Adolescent Boys: Examining Effects by Family Functioning

Mapping the relationship of peer influences and parental/family characteristics on delinquency can help expand the understanding of findings that show an interdependence between peer and family predictors. This study explored the longitudinal relationship between two characteristics of peer relationships (violence and perceived popularity) with subsequent individual delinquency and the moderating role of family characteristics (cohesion and parental monitoring) using data from the Chicago Youth Development Study. Participants were 364 inner-city residing adolescent boys (54 % African American; 40 % Hispanic). After controlling for the effects of age and ethnicity, peer violence is positively related to boys’ delinquency. The effect of popularity depends on parental monitoring, such that the relationship between popularity and delinquency is positive when parental monitoring is low, but there is no relationship when parental monitoring is high. Furthermore, parental monitoring contributes to the relationship between peer violence and delinquency such that there is a stronger relationship when parental monitoring is low. Additionally, there is a stronger relationship between peer violence and delinquency for boys from high cohesive families. Findings point to the value of attention to multiple aspects of peer and family relationships in explaining and intervening in the risk for delinquency. Furthermore, findings indicate the importance of family-focused interventions in preventing delinquency.     

Satisfaction with body image for early adolescent females: The impact of pubertal timing within different school environments

During adolescence dramatic physical changes take place which the individual must incorporate into his or her evolving body image. The impact of different school environments on this incorporation process is explored using data on 225 White females from a longitudinal study. Differences in physical characteristics between early, middle, and late developers were assessed each year. The effects of pubertal timing on satisfaction with body image dimensions and self-esteem were then explored for sixth- and seventh-graders within different school environments. Reference group theory was used to examine three alternative hypotheses. Early versus late onset of menarche had different effects on certain aspects of satisfaction with body image, depending on the school environment. Results support the strength of the cultural ideal of thinness for women, but no other hypothesis had consistent support. The findings indicated the need to consider a multiplicity of factors in relation to specific body image dimensions.This study has been funded by NIMH grant R01 MH-30739 and a grant from the William T. Grant Foundation. In addition, the work of the second author has been supported by a Research Development Award from the National Institute of Mental Health, #2 K02 MH-41688.Received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Current research interests include stress and coping in adolescence, the role of social relationships in problem behavior, and the effects of different school contexts.Received her Ph.D. from Columbia University. Research interests include the social and psychological effects of puberty and sex differences in adolescence.Received M. A. in clinical child psychology from Ohio State University. Main interests are developmental aspects of body-image and research on personality disorders.     

Linkages Over Time Between Adolescents' Relationships with Parents and Friends

This 5-wave longitudinal study examines linkages over time between adolescents’ perceptions of relationships with parents and friends with respect to support, negative interaction, and power. A total of 575 early adolescents (54.1% boys) and 337 middle adolescents (43.3% boys) participated. Path analyses mainly showed bidirectional associations between adolescents’ perceptions of parent–adolescent relationships and friendships with a predominantly stronger influence from parent–adolescent relationships to friendships than vice versa in early to middle adolescence and an equal mutual influence in middle to late adolescence. The findings support the theoretical ideas that perceptions of relationships with parents generalize to perceptions of relationships with friends and that relationship skills and principles of adolescent friendships generalize to relationships with parents. Furthermore, the results indicate that the influence of parents decreases, whereas the influence of friends increases, and that both social worlds become equally important and overlapping towards late adolescence.     

How Much Does School Matter? An Examination of Adolescent Dating Violence Perpetration

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to identify how school factors were related to perpetration of dating violence among adolescents; and (2) to assess how these factors may reduce or exacerbate the relationship between parental domestic violence and adolescents’ perpetration of dating violence, while accounting for individual and family characteristics from early adolescence. Three waves of data from the Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study were used (N = 765; Ages 16–20 at Wave 3). Lagged Ordinary Least Squares multiple regression techniques were utilized to examine the link between perpetration of dating violence and school factors. Results are presented separately by adolescents’ sex and ethnicity-by-sex. Early involvement with antisocial peers and an increase in involvement with antisocial peers over time were linked to perpetration of dating violence for males, females, African-American females, and Hispanic males. Lack of school safety and academic difficulties during early adolescence exacerbated the impact of parental domestic violence exposure for African-American males and Hispanic males, respectively. Early school involvement, surprisingly, exacerbated this impact for Hispanic females. Implications for the prevention of perpetration of dating violence are explored.

School-Based Extracurricular Activity Involvement and Adolescent Self-Esteem: A Growth-Curve Analysis

Research on adolescent self-esteem indicates that adolescence is a time in which individuals experience important changes in their physical, cognitive, and social identities. Prior research suggests that there is a positive relationship between an adolescent??s participation in structured extracurricular activities and well-being in a variety of domains, and some research indicates that these relationships may be dependent on the type of activities in which adolescents participate. Building on previous research, a growth-curve analysis was utilized to examine self-esteem trajectories from adolescence (age 14) to young adulthood (age 26). Using 3 waves of data from National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 5,399; 47.8% male), the analysis estimated a hierarchical growth-curve model emphasizing the effects of age and type of school-based extracurricular activity portfolio, including sports and school clubs, on self-esteem. The results indicated that age had a linear relationship with self-esteem over time. Changes in both the initial level of self-esteem and the growth of self-esteem over time were significantly influenced by the type of extracurricular activity portfolio. The findings were consistent across race and sex. The results support the utility of examining the longitudinal impact of portfolio type on well-being outcomes.