Objective
Correlations between intergroup violence and youth aggression are often
reported. Yet, longitudinal research is needed to understand the developmental factors
underlying this relation, including between-person differences in within-person change
in aggression through the adolescent years.
Method
Multilevel modeling was used to explore developmental and contextual influences
related to risk for youth aggression using four waves of a prospective, longitudinal
study of adolescent/mother dyad reports (N = 820; 51% female; 10 to 20
years old) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a setting of protracted political conflict.
Results
Experience with sectarian (i.e., intergroup) antisocial behavior predicted
greater youth aggression; however, that effect declined with age and youth were buffered
by a cohesive family environment. The trajectory of aggression (i.e., intercepts and
linear slopes) related to more youth engagement in sectarian antisocial behavior;
however, being female and having a more cohesive family were associated with lower
levels of youth participation in sectarian acts.
Conclusions
The findings are discussed in terms of protective and risk factors for
adolescent aggression, and more specifically, participation in sectarian antisocial
behavior. The paper concludes with clinical and intervention implications which may
decrease youth aggression and the perpetuation of intergroup violence in contexts of
on-going conflict.