Community violence victimization and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder: the moderating effects of coping and social support

This study tested the relationship of community violence (CV) victimization to severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and the roles of coping style and perceived social support in moderating that relationship. Three-hundred seventy-two men and women (age 18 to 22 years) self-reported on CV exposure, traumatic experiences, PTSD symptoms, perceived support from family and friends, and coping strategies. Results indicated that high CV victimization, high disengagement coping (i.e., avoidant styles), and low perceived social support from family and friends significantly predicted increased PTSD scores. Significant moderating effects indicated that the relationship between victimization and heightened PTSD severity was stronger at high levels of perceived friend support and disengagement. Thus, the protective function of friend support seemed to break down at increasing levels of victimization, whereas, as expected, avoidant styles of coping increased the risk for negative outcome. Findings are discussed in terms of event controllability, negative social reactions, and coping resources.     

Examining the effects of coping and social support on work and life stress among police officers

This study examined the effects of coping and social support on psychological distress in response to stressful work and life events among police officers. As part of a larger study investigating stress and coping, a sample of 233 police officers employed within a mid-sized northeastern law enforcement organization volunteered for this study. The results of hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that the main effect of life events was related to higher distress. Problem-focused coping resulted in a “reverse buffering effect”; the relationship between work events and distress was associated with higher distress. Seeking social support buffered the relationship between work events and distress, and emotion-focused coping buffered the relationship between life events and distress. The implications for developing and implementing stress management programs for police officers are discussed.     

Experienced and vicarious victimization: Do social support and self-esteem prevent delinquent responses?

This article extended research that views violent victimization as a stressor that may lead to delinquency. Following general strain theory, the analysis considered the mediating role of fearfulness, depression, and anxiety. The analysis also examined whether social support and self-esteem conditioned the relationship between victimization and delinquency. Results indicated that negative emotions did not substantially mediate the effect of victimization on delinquency. Among those with lower levels of both social support and self-esteem, experiencing violent victimization and witnessing victimization led to general delinquency. Victimization was unrelated to general delinquency among those with higher levels of both these resources. Experiencing victimization led to violent delinquency for all groups. Witnessing victimization and perceiving an unsafe neighborhood led to violent delinquency only among those with lower levels of both resources. Additionally, negative emotions and a bad temper led to violent delinquency only for those low in resources. The results suggested that fostering social support networks and self-esteem among adolescents victimized by violence can limit delinquency.     

Contextualizing community violence and its effects: an ecological model of parent-child interdependent coping

This article presents an integrated conceptual framework that contextualizes exposure to community violence and the interpersonal and interdependent processes of parent and child response to community violence. This model posits that parental distress, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, is a significant mediator of child distress symptomatology and behavior problems. The model advances understanding of the impact of community violence in the lives of parents and children through various mechanisms, including social capital. This article underscores the need for a fundamental shift in the study of community violence, in the delivery of mental health services, and in prevention efforts from focusing on the individual child to concentrating on the parent, family, and community-level factors and processes. This article highlights important areas to address in future research, including investigation and specification of the mechanisms and processes by which neighborhoods affect and influence human development outcomes.     

A general strain approach comparing the effects of victimization,social support,and perceived self-efficacy on LGBQ and heterosexual youth suicidality

LGBQ youth are more likely to consider, plan, and/or attempt suicide compared to their heterosexual peers. Evidence from the general population suggests that risky behaviors, like suicide, may be mediated by protective factors, including social support and self-efficacy. Using Agnew’s general strain theory and data from a statewide probability sample, the results of this study suggest that victimization, as a source of strain, is a risk factor for both LGBQ and heterosexual youth suicidality. While social support and self-efficacy reduce the risk of suicidality among heterosexual youth, they are not significant protective factors for LGBQ youth. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.     

The relationship between social support and adolescent dating violence: a comparison across genders

Although much research has focused on the function of social support in adult intimate partner violence, little is known about the role of social support in adolescent dating violence. This study is an exploratory analysis of the independent impact of social support from friends and family on the risk of adolescent dating violence perpetration and victimization among a large sample of youth (n = 970). Approximately, 21% of the sample reported experiencing victimization in a dating relationship whereas 23% indicated perpetrating dating violence. Male youth reported significantly more involvement in dating violence as both perpetrators and victims. Negative binomial regression modeling indicated that increased levels of support from friends was associated with significantly less dating violence perpetration and victimization; however, when gendered models were explored, the protective role of social support was only maintained for female youth. Family support was not significantly related to dating violence in any model. Implications for dating violence curriculum and future research are addressed.     

Risky lifestyles and dating violence: A theoretical test of violent victimization

Research consistently indicates that there are numerous risk factors associated with dating violence. Few studies, however, developed theoretical explanations for the prevalence of dating victimization. In this study victimization theories were tested that suggested risk-taking behaviors (i.e., drug abuse, alcohol abuse, driving under the influence, and sexual promiscuity) mediated the effects of social ties and emotional states on the likelihood of violent victimization in adolescent dating relationships. This model was tested using a representative sample of public high school students in South Carolina. The results confirm theoretical predictions and indicate the effects of social ties on dating victimization occur indirectly, through their antecedent influence on risk taking. These findings, therefore, lend support for a lifestyles theory explanation of violent victimization in adolescent dating relationships. The implications of this research for theory and social policy are discussed.     

Intimate partner violence, social support, and employment in the post-welfare reform era

This prospective study used 3 years of longitudinal data to explore relationships among intimate partner violence (IPV), perceived emotional and material social support, employment stability, and job turnover among current and former female welfare recipients in the immediate post-welfare reform era. Higher levels of current IPV and lower levels of current social support predicted less stable future employment; however, current employment stability did not predict either future IPV or future social support. Current social support did not predict future IPV, and perceived social support did not mediate the relationship between IPV and employment stability during a 3-year period.     

Targets of partner violence: the importance of understanding coping trajectories

Partner violence causes many negative outcomes for the target of the violence. Preventing negative outcomes in part hinges on altogether preventing the violence from occurring. There have been advances in violence prevention that the authors briefly review. However, some of the most notable advances focus on dealing with partner violence once it occurs. We now have a better understanding of different types of violence, and this has led to better interventions for perpetrators. But preventing the negative consequences of partner violence involves more than ending the violence itself; it also involves helping the targets of violence heal. The authors propose that the next decade of research on partner violence should focus on developing precise models of target coping and appropriate interventions for targets. The authors describe key variables that characterize the coping process but highlight limitations in knowledge of how these variables are related. The authors also outline several benefits of focusing on helping targets.     

Informal social support interventions and their role in violence prevention: an agenda for future evaluation

There is increasing interest among policymakers and practitioners in tapping the potential of family, friends, volunteers, peer support groups, and mutual aid organizations to help prevent violence. The popularity of these informal social support (ISS) interventions stems, in part, from their flexibility, responsiveness to individual needs, and perceived low cost. However, there is still limited understanding of whether and how ISS interventions can improve social support, reduce violence, or save money. Furthermore, mobilizing and sustaining ISS interventions appears to be difficult, particularly for families living in high-risk environments. Rigorous and creative evaluations of ISS interventions are needed to inform policy decisions and refine program development and implementation. Focusing on the field of child maltreatment, we describe different kinds of ISS interventions and outline an evaluation agenda that includes core research questions and evaluation challenges and strategies.     

Longitudinal investigation of the relationship among maternal victimization, depressive symptoms, social support, and children's behavior and development

This article is a longitudinal investigation of the relationships between maternal victimization, maternal functioning, and children's behavior and development. Participants include 203 mother-child dyads from a low-income population recruited from pediatric primary care clinics. Data are collected when children are 4 and 8 years of age. Child outcomes are evaluated using maternal, teacher, and child self-report and objective measures of cognitive and academic functioning. Maternal victimization history is associated with maternal depressive symptoms, low levels of maternal social support, child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, and low levels of child socialization. Child behavior problems identified at age 4 are enduring and persist to age 8. The effects of maternal victimization history on both internalizing behavior problems and socialization are mediated by maternal depressive symptoms. The effects of maternal depressive symptoms on externalizing behavior problems, socialization, and anger are mediated by maternal social support. Clinical implications of findings are discussed.     

A comparison of the effects of witnessing community violence and direct victimization among children in Cape Town, South Africa

This study is based on a sample of children from the Cape Town area in South Africa. The study compares the effects of witnessing school or neighborhood violence compared with being victimized in each context on psychological distress. The findings suggest that in the context of the school, victimization has a somewhat stronger effect on distress than witnessing violence. However, in the neighborhood, the opposite was the case. "Unknown locus of control" was also analyzed as a moderating variable. The findings are interpreted in the context of violence in South African society. The study also investigates the overlap between witnessing violence, victimization, and perpetration in the child's school and neighborhood. The vast majority of victims had been witnesses as well as perpetrators. Longitudinal research, which could track involvement in various forms of violence starting at a very early age, is needed to clearly assess the differential impact of each form of violence.     

The measurement of family violence and rape by the redesigned national crime victimization survey

Because of the historical stigma attached to rape and family violence, estimating incidence rates of these victimizations is a difficult task. Research employing diverse methodologies and operational definitions, not surprisingly, has yielded different estimates. After a 10-year redesign project, the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) has drastically changed the way it estimates the incidence of rape and family violence. This new survey methodology was implemented in 100 percent of the NCVS sample in July 1993; estimates based on the new survey will become available in fall 1994. The purpose of this paper is to delineate the evolution of this redesign project and to explicate how rape and domestic violence now are operationalized by the NCVS.     

Young women and gang violence: Gender,street offending,and violent victimization in gangs

Drawing on multiple data sources in St. Louis, this article examines how gendered situational dynamics shape gang violence, including participation in violent offending and experiences of violent victimization. Combining an analysis of in-depth interviews with young women in St. Louis gangs with an examination of homicide reports from the same city, we find that young women, even regular offenders, highlight the significance of gender in shaping and limiting their involvement in serious violence. They use gender both to accomplish their criminal activities and to temper their involvement in gang crime. Consequently their risk for serious physical victimization in gangs is considerably less than young men's. St. Louis homicide data collaborate these qualitative findings. Not only are young women much less likely to be the victims of gang homicide, but the vast majority of female gang homicide victims were not the intended targets of the attack. In contrast, homicide reports suggest that the majority of male gang homicide victims were the intended targets. We suggest that gendered group processes and stratification within gangs are key factors explaining both violent offending and victimization risk in gangs.     

The social context of violent victimization: A study of the delinquent peer effect

Haynie's (2001) work on the structural dimensions of peer networks demonstrated how the characteristics of networks may influence individual delinquent behavior. This study extends the network approach to the prediction of violent victimization. The National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health) is used to examine how the friendship-network characteristics of centrality, density, and popularity affect vulnerability. The findings indicate that central and popular members of dense conventional groups experienced lower levels of violent victimization, while the opposite was true of similarly situated members of delinquent networks. Implications for victimization and research related to the specification of how delinquent peer associations promote vulnerability are discussed.     

A lifetime of intimate partner violence: coping strategies of older women

Little is known about how older women cope in long-term abusive intimate relationships. Understanding their coping strategies may give insight into how to further support their effective coping efforts. Interviews were conducted with 38 women older than age 55 years. Grounded theory analysis demonstrated that women who remained in their abusive relationships employed mainly cognitive (emotion-focused) strategies to find meaning in a situation that was perceived as unchangeable. By reappraising themselves, their spouses, and their relationships they refocused energies in certain roles, set limits with their abusers, and reached out to others (friends, family, and community organizations). Some women appeared to thrive, others merely survived, but all maintained the appearance of conjugal unity.     

The social ecology of sexual victimization against transgender women who are incarcerated: A call for (more) research on modalities of housing and prison violence

President Biden has called for reform of the criminal justice system to ensure fair treatment of people who are transgender who come into contact with the criminal justice system. He has done so in a context in which criminologists, public health researchers, and others, including journalists and advocates, have produced a growing body of research that documents the over criminalization and differential incarceration of people who are transgender as well as the high rates of victimization of transgender women who are incarcerated. Accordingly, this article describes a growing literature on the sexual victimization experienced by transgender women who are incarcerated; focuses analytic attention on the housing contexts in which this kind of discriminatory gendered violence emerges and takes shape; points to some emergent policy responses related to these concerns; and calls for original research that, if conducted, could advance the criminological literature in meaningful ways and set the stage for evidence‐based prison policy and practice related to what is now predictably high rates of violence against transgender women who are incarcerated.     

Poor parenting and antisocial behavior among homeless young adults: links to dating violence perpetration and victimization

Though research has examined risk factors associated with street victimization among homeless young people, little is known about dating violence experiences among this group. Given homeless youths' elevated rates of child maltreatment, it is likely that they are at high risk for dating violence. As such, the current study examined the association between child maltreatment and parental warmth with dating violence perpetration and victimization through substance use and delinquency among a sample of 172 homeless males and females. Results from path analysis revealed that physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect were all significant correlates of both substance use and delinquency, whereas lack of parental warmth was only associated with substance use. Neglect and substance use had direct effects on dating violence and substance use and was found to mediate the relationship between physical abuse and dating violence. Finally, females, older youth, and non-Whites had significantly higher levels of dating violence compared with their counterparts.     

家庭暴力受害经历与青少年犯罪之间的因果关系研究

家庭暴力与青少年犯罪作为共存于家庭和社会的两大问题,两者之间存在着密切的联系。本文以多维的视角,揭示了家庭暴力受害经历与青少年犯罪之间的因果关系,并提出了在干预家庭暴力视野下的青少年犯罪预防策略。