“Cause That’s the Only Skills in School You Need”

Abstract

Revenge goals are correlated with maladjustment, and retaliation is a factor driving youth violence. However, revenge might be an important social tool adolescents use to achieve (self-)justice in environments where institutionalized interventions from authorities such as teachers or police are limited. This qualitative secondary analysis of 50 revenge scenarios from a larger study (N = 358 youth-caregiver dyads) expands one-dimensional knowledge from closed-answer vignettes to the rich real-world experiences of youth (aged 10–16; 30 boys, 20 girls), from an urban community sample. Ten patterns of qualitative differences in cognition and emotion of revenge scenarios emerged and are discussed within the revised model of social information processing (SIP). Importance of reputation, confidence in non-violent solutions, and the influence of intense emotions were among the themes. Gender differences and implications for prevention are discussed.

Pacifists and Revenge-Seekers in Response to Unambiguous Peer Provocation

“…Furthermore, as hypothesized, Revenge-Seekers were found to be more disrespect-sensitive than Pacifists. Perhaps, Revenge-Seekers’ tendency to expect and be vigilant for disrespect from others leads them to retaliate because they fear that they may be more likely to be disrespected (or victimized) in the future if they fail to retaliate or that their “tough” image may be tarnished (Farrell et al, 2010; Jaggi & Kliewer, 2016). In contrast, the fact that Pacifists are less likely to expect disrespect from others suggests that they may be less wary about negative treatment from others and believe that the way to increase the probability that subsequent treatment will be more positive is to treat a provocateur in a non-aggressive manner.…”

What parents don't know: Disclosure and secrecy in a sample of urban adolescents

“…In a recent study with urban African American 6th through 8th grade children living in high-violence neighborhoods, Dinizulu et al (2014) found that especially older youth withheld information about their experiences with violence from their parents for fear of their reactions, and that this non-disclosure was positively associated with both violence exposure and internalizing symptoms, suggesting that youth may not want to disclose exposure to violence to parents for fear of their reactions. Second, the innercity context places considerable importance on reputation, and maintaining "respect" (Farrell et al, 2010;J€ aggi & Kliewer, 2016). Following such a "code of the street," results in more pressure to hide weaknesses and fear, which may extend to parents, such that youth do not let their guard down, even at home (Rich & Grey, 2005).…”

Victimization and Biological Stress Responses in Urban Adolescents: Emotion Regulation as a Moderator

“…Social comparison intensifies during adolescence, and ongoing brain development during this developmental period makes some adolescents especially sensitive to social evaluation and rejection (Somerville 2013). Further, the urban context places considerable importance on reputation and maintaining “respect” (Farrell et al 2010; Jäggi and Kliewer 2015). The extent to which these victimization experiences made youth feel disrespected or feel that their standing in the community was diminished likely contributed to activation of the biological stress response system.…”