Adolescent Exposure to Violence and Adult Violent Victimization and Offending

Abstract

Research on the effects of child abuse and of childhood and adolescent exposure to domestic violence or community violence has generally, with some exceptions, found them to be related to subsequent negative behavioral outcomes, such as crime, delinquency, and substance abuse. This study uses longitudinal self-report data from the National Youth Survey Family Study to investigate how being physically abused by parents, witnessing violence between parents, and exposure to violence in the neighborhood are related to violent victimization and offending in middle adulthood, controlling for prior involvement in the outcome behaviors in adolescence. Physical abuse and witnessing parental violence appear to have little direct impact on adult violent offending and victimization net of the impact of adolescent violent victimization more generally; but adolescent exposure to neighborhood violence does appear to be predictive of adult violent victimization and offending for female respondents.

Adolescent Exposure to Violence and Adult Anxiety, Depression, and PTSD

“…Second, note that while there was support for AEV as a predictor only for females (the significant relationship of consistent reports of witnessing parental violence to depression), it was specifically AEV and not adolescent general violent victimization that was (limitedly) predictive of the adult mental health outcomes. This is in contrast to results for other outcomes, for example, adult physical violence victimization and offending, for which adolescent general violent victimization was significant as a predictor (along with neighborhood violence) of adult violence victimization and offending for females (Franzese, Menard, Weiss, & Covey, 2016). These contrasting findings reinforce the suggestion from past research that different forms of exposure to violence may have different impacts on different adult outcomes.…”

“…AEV is used here, as shown in the studies by Covey, Menard, and Franzese (2013), Eitle and Turner (2002), Finkelhor, Turner, Ormrod, and Hamby (2009), and Menard, Weiss, Franzese, and Covey (2014), as a general term encompassing direct physical abuse, witnessing parental violence, and perceptions of neighborhood violence, as different and specific forms of the broader concept of exposure to violence. We expand on Covey et al (2013), Franzese, Menard, Weiss, and Covey (2016), and other past research that have used this same definition of AEV and this same data set, by examining the impact of AEV on outcomes not previously studied for this line of research, specifically the mental health problems of anxiety, depression, and PTSD.…”

Trauma, Race, and Risk for Violent Felony Arrests Among Florida Juvenile Offenders

“…In a sample of sexual offenders, Levenson and Socia (2016) found that child sexual abuse and emotional neglect in the childhood home were significant predictors of a higher number of sex crime arrests. Exposure to violence, in the home and elsewhere, is a well-documented cause of violent behavior (Cuevas, Finkelhor, Shattuck, Turner, & Hamby, 2013; Franzese, Menard, Weiss, & Covey, 2016; Herrera & McCloskey, 2001; Jonson-Reid, 1998). Community crime and violence is consistently linked to juvenile delinquency and violent behavior (Bernat, Oakes, Pettingell, & Resnick, 2012; Chen, Voisin, & Jacobson, 2016; Flannery, Singer, & Wester, 2003; Resnick, Ireland, & Borowsky, 2004; Stewart & Simons, 2006).…”

Violence Determinant on Teenagers in Yogyakarta

“…Teenagers who experience violence in the family system are more likely to abuse their peers and can increase violence in adulthood (Xia, Li and Liu, 2018). Teenagers who have witnessed violence committed by parents are predicted to have a direct impact on violence and victimization when they are adults (Franzese et al, 2017).…”