Early Childhood Predictors of Teen Dating Violence Involvement at Age 17

Abstract

The distal relationship between risk factors in childhood and subsequent dating violence in late adolescence has not often been explored using longitudinal data. This study aims to shed light on the problem of dating violence by examining children’s backgrounds at age 7 and the link to the future involvement in dating violence at age 17 using the first and seventh waves of the Zurich Project on the Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood (z-proso, n = 644). The sample consists of 644 multiethnic adolescents (57.14% female, M = 17.47, SD = 0.37), mainly Swiss-born (90%), though more than half of their parents (60%) were born in another country. A latent class analysis was applied to identify three different profiles (a) zero (or minimal) involvement in teen dating violence, (b) perpetrators/victims of controlling behaviors, and (c) perpetrators/victims of controlling behaviors and of physical violence. Participants who were corporally punished and/or victims of bullying at age 7 were significantly more likely to belong to the controlling and physical violence profile than children in the non-violent class. These results suggest a certain chronicity of the effects of violent experiences in early childhood on the patterns of romantic relationships at 17 years old.

Predictors of Criminal Involvement by Teenagers Living in Informal Settlement in Nairobi, Kenya: A Case Study of Kibera Slum

“…Patoari (2020) associated poor educational opportunities for teenagers as a source of their increased desperation because they do not see any way out of the poverty that characterizes their lives at home with their families. This particular socio-economic disadvantage incentivizes criminal behaviour since the teenager finds it one of the quickest financial solutions to escape poverty (Pereda et al, 2022). Uche & Okemini (2022) observed that teenagers who miss out on school or spend more time at home than school are highly susceptive to negative influences in their neighbourhood and are often compelled to join gangs for social and economic survival.…”

“…Another key socio-economic factor that is associated with teenage delinquency is family dysfunction. This is characterized by poor or inconsistent parental discipline (Khan, 2016;Pereda et al, 2022), insufficient parental or guardian supervision (Khan, 2016;Tiwari et al, 2023), and maternal rejection (Patoari, 2020). According to Javed et al (2012), family dysfunction is also characterized by parental criminality, which in turn inspires teenagers to engage in criminal behaviour.…”

“…Peer pressure is a major social factor that has influenced teenagers to engage in criminal activities. Teenagers from economically disadvantaged families or communities are influenced by their peers to engage in criminal behaviour, which is often prevalent in their communities (Knaappila et al, 2019;Pereda et al, 2022). They, therefore, participate in drug and substance abuse and gang activities by fitting in with what their peers consider 'cool' (Mwangangi, 2019).…”

“…The impressionable minds of teenagers make them susceptible to such exposures as they may consider the toughness of criminals in the neighbourhood to be the best behaviour to emulate as a way of attracting the approval and admiration of their peers (Jacobs et al, 2020). The daily social and economic pressures that residents in informal settlements encounter make it increasingly difficult to develop robust support systems that cater to teenagers' welfare (Haylock et al, 2020;Jacobs et al, 2020;Pereda et al, 2022). This becomes a challenge, particularly for teenagers who require mental health services and substance abuse treatment and, therefore, become increasingly susceptible to delinquency since they may consider criminality as a way of coping with their issues (Pereda et al, 2022).…”

“…Crime is a complex and multifaceted issue caused by multiple factors (Haylock et al, 2020;Knaappila et al, 2019;Pereda et al, 2022). According to Duran-Bonavila et al (2017), one of the fundamental aspects of criminology involves understanding the complex web of factors that push individuals to adopt criminogenic behaviour.…”