The effect of direct and indirect exposure to violence on youth survival expectations.
J Adolesc Health
; 55(6): 817-22, 2014 Dec.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25204591
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
Research finds that adolescents gravely overestimate their risk of death and that these pessimistic attitudes correlate with risky behaviors undermining health and well-being; however, it remains unclear why adolescents have negative expectations about their survival. Because youth are most likely to be exposed to violence (as victims and/or witnesses), perhaps these experiences are key in undermining expectations about the future. We explored the effect of direct and indirect exposures to violence-across various contexts-on adolescents' survival expectations.METHODS:
Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we tested the effect of violent experiences individual direct and vicarious violence, familial and relational violence, school violence, and community violence on adolescents' expectations of surviving to 35 years of age.RESULTS:
Victims of childhood physical abuse were less likely to expect to survive to 35 years of age. Although not significant at the conventional p < .05 level, violent victimization (being jumped, cut/stabbed, shot, or threatened with a weapon) and intimate partner violence were marginally associated with decreased survival expectations (p < .10). School and community violence undermined expectations at the bivariate level, but became nonsignificant after adjustments for individual demographic characteristics.CONCLUSIONS:
Violent victimization in childhood and adolescence is a public health issue with both immediate and long-term consequences. Violence exposure severely compromises individuals' optimism about the future and places them at risk for behaviors that can further undermine well-being. Practitioners should be mindful of diminished survival expectations as a less overt consequence of exposure to violence.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Violência
/
Atitude Frente a Morte
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adolescent
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Adolesc Health
Assunto da revista:
PEDIATRIA
Ano de publicação:
2014
Tipo de documento:
Article