Exposure to Community Violence and Violence Perpetration: The Protective Effects of Family Functioning

Abstract

Although research has found that urban youth are exposed to excessive levels of community violence, few studies have focused on the factors that alter the risk of exposure to violence or the processes through which youth who are exposed to community violence do better or worse. This study investigates the risk of exposure to community violence and its relation to violence perpetration among a sample of 263 African American and Latino male youth living in inner-city neighborhoods. The study also examines the role that family functioning plays in moderating the risk. The study finds that youth from struggling families--those that consistently used poor parenting practices and had low levels of emotional cohesion--were more likely to be exposed to community violence. It also finds a relation between exposure to violence and later violence perpetration. However, youth exposed to high levels of community violence but living in families that functioned well across multiple dimensions of parenting and family relationship characteristics perpetrated less violence than similarly exposed youth from less well-functioning families.

Maternal Attachment Buffers the Association Between Exposure to Violence and Youth Attitudes About Aggression

“…Thus, having a close and supportive relationship with a caregiver appears to interrupt or reduce the tendency for children who witness violence in the community to develop beliefs that aggressing against others is justifiable, suggesting a "protective effect," and these less aggressive attitudes decrease engaging in aggressive behaviors. These results are consistent with previous studies supporting the quality of the mother-child relationship as a protective factor for youth exposed to community violence and suggest a mechanism by which the protective effect occurs (Gorman-Smith et al, 2004;Skopp et al, 2007). Secure parent-child relationships provide an alternative to violent interactions witnessed in the community, and the working models that arise from a secure attachment relationship may counteract the effects of witnessing violence outside of the home on children's beliefs about the acceptability or justifiability of aggressive behavior and on their aggressive behaviors.…”

“…less likely to perpetrate violence than adolescents from families lower in these attributes (Gorman-Smith et al, 2004). These studies show that a supportive family can buffer the effects of violence exposure on aggressive behaviors but do not shed light on the mechanism underlying this protective process.…”

“…Several studies have shown that parent-child and family relationships buffer the effects of different forms of violence on child functioning (e.g., Benhorin & McMahon, 2008;Collishaw et al, 2007;Gorman-Smith, Henry, & Tolan, 2004;Li, Nussbaum, & Richards, 2007;Sousa et al, 2011). For example, Skopp, McDonald, Jouriles, and Rosenfield (2007) found that intimate partner violence was positively related to externalizing behaviors when mothers were low in warmth, but not at higher levels of maternal warmth, and adolescents exposed to community violence whose families were higher in emotional cohesion, structure, and effective parenting practices were (Routledge) and permission has been granted for this version to appear in e-Publications@Marquette.…”

School-Based Mindfulness Instruction: An RCT

“…As an example, it is estimated that 50% to 96% of urban youth directly witness violence within their community. 1 The significant, recurrent, and chronic nature of these stressors may overwhelm the capacity to cope acutely and chronically, 2 which is required for healthy development and positive trajectories. Any or all of these forms of stress may contribute to the state of toxic stress in which an individual's ability to manage or cope with stress is overwhelmed on an ongoing basis.…”

Descripción y análisis de la calidad de los programas para el tratamiento de la conducta antisocial en la ciudad de Huelva

“…Estas consecuencias concomitantes complican aún más el trabajo con este colectivo de jóvenes. Existen investigaciones desarrolladas con adolescentes que crecen en entornos familiares en riesgo que muestran los problemas de adaptación personal de este colectivo (Gorman-Smith, Henry, & Tolan, 2004;Lorence, 2013). Concretamente, Jiménez (2009) obtuvo que es tres veces más probable que un adolescente que ha crecido en una familia de Servicios Sociales muestre problemas de adaptación en relación a su grupo de iguales.…”