Patterns of aggressive behavior and peer victimization from childhood to early adolescence: a latent class analysis.

The developmental period characterized by the transition from childhood and elementary school to early adolescence and middle school has been associated with increases in aggressive behavior and peer victimization. Few longitudinal studies, however, have examined the stability of aggression and victimization during this critical transition. This study uses latent class analysis (LCA) to examine patterns of aggressive behavior and victimization during the transition to middle school among urban, public school students (N = 458; Girls = 53%; Latino/a = 53%; M age at t1 = 10.2 years). Independent LCA models were conducted using self-reported data assessing subjects' involvement in aggressive conduct and victimization during the spring semesters of grades four, five, and six. Elementary school students in the fourth grade initially belonged to one of four groups identified as aggressor, victim, aggressor-victim, and uninvolved latent classes. Contrary to prior research, membership in these classes changed significantly by the time students completed their first year of middle school with most youth participating in episodes of aggression and victimization during the transition. Six common paths that describe patterns of aggressive behavior and victimization from the last two years of elementary school to the first year of middle school were found. Findings are discussed in the context of social dominance theory and prior research that has found greater stability in aggression and victimization among early adolescents.

A Systematic Review of the Association between Poverty and Biomarkers of Toxic Stress.

Purpose: Toxic stress has been identified as a key mechanism by which poverty impacts health and empirical evidence on the relationship between poverty and biological markers of toxic stress is accumulating. This study synthesizes the empirical evidence of the relationship between poverty and biomarkers of toxic stress. Method: We conduct a systematic literature review using PRISMA guidelines to assess the relationship between poverty and toxic stress. A total of 56 articles are included in the review assessing 63 poverty and toxic stress relationships. Results: Seventeen of 30 reviewed relationships showed a statistically significant relationship between our measures of poverty and biomarker outcomes. Additionally, 12 of the remaining 13 studies demonstrated partially statistically significant relationship between our poverty measures and biomarker outcomes. Conclusion: Findings demonstrate evidence of the relationship between poverty and toxic stress. Consistently, poverty was related to biological stress and neighborhood poverty was related to physical stress outcomes.

The effect of neighborhood on crime and safety: a review of the evidence.

There is a growing, multidisciplinary body of evidence on the effects that neighborhoods have on family outcomes. This evidence is important for social workers as we work with clients and communities from a person-in-environment perspective. In this article the authors present findings from a systematic, integrative review of neighborhood effects specifically for crime and safety. Thirty-seven research studies using random samples from urban, U.S. areas between 2002 and 2008 are reviewed. Findings suggest socio-demographic characteristics of neighborhoods and neighborhood processes are both predictive of crime and safety. Further, some neighborhood conditions may affect crime and safety in unexpected ways. Implications for social work practice, neighborhood interventions, and evidence-based practice are discussed.