Confronting misconceptions of public housing communities: A qualitative report of community-informed narratives by community members and partners.

Objectives were (a) to understand a community-informed narrative, as told by community members (CMs) and community partners (CPs), about the strengths, experiences, and perspectives of public housing communities; and (b) to analyze similarities and differences between CMs' and CPs' experiences and perspectives. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 22 CMs of public housing (ages 26-58, 100% female caregivers, 96% Black, 4% multiethnic) and 43 CPs (ages 28-78, 67.4% female, 81.4% Black and African American). Four themes were derived from the CM and CP interviews: (1) counters to public narratives, (2) disinvestment begets disinvestment, (3) community conditions should be better, and (4) community cohesion and connection. Findings from this study present community-centered narratives and experiences that were counter to stereotyped public narratives and could influence public perceptions and behavior to inform policy changes related to improving living conditions and supporting CMs in public and low-income housing communities.

Ecological promotive and protective factors deterring gun carriage for young adults living in communities with high rates of community violence.

This study identified promotive and protective factors that lessened the likelihood of handgun carriage in a sample of 141 predominantly Black (97%) young adults (ages 18-22) living in high burden communities experiencing elevated rates of violence. Participants completed surveys assessing overall risk and protective factors for violence across ecological contexts (e.g., individual/peer, family, school, and community). A series of regression and moderation analyses were conducted to ascertain direct (promotive) and indirect (protective) relations between factors across the ecological model and likelihood of gun carriage. Results indicated that (1) consistent with previous studies, both witnessing violence and violence victimization were significant risk factors for handgun carriage, (2) ethnic identity was a significant promotive factor related to a lower likelihood of handgun carriage, and (3) lack of family conflict, student status, and community assets were significant protective factors where higher levels of these factors attenuated the relation between exposure to community violence and likelihood of gun carriage. This is one of the first strengths-based studies examining factors that may mitigate the likelihood of gun carriage for young adults in high risk contexts. Our findings suggest that gun violence prevention efforts for high burden communities should support young adults by strengthening factors across the ecological model (e.g., individual, family, school, and community).

Beliefs as Mediators of Relations Between Exposure to Violence and Physical Aggression During Early Adolescence.

This study examined beliefs about aggression and self-efficacy for nonviolent responses as mediators of longitudinal relations between exposure to violence and physical aggression. Participants were a predominantly African American (79%) sample of 2,705 early adolescents from three middle schools within urban neighborhoods with high rates of violence. Participants completed measures across four waves (fall, winter, spring, and summer) within a school year. Beliefs supporting proactive aggression, beliefs against fighting, and self-efficacy for nonviolence partially mediated relations between witnessing violence and physical aggression. Indirect effects for beliefs supporting proactive aggression and self-efficacy were maintained after controlling for victimization and negative life events. Beliefs supporting proactive aggression mediated the effects of violent victimization on physical aggression, but these effects were not significant after controlling for witnessing violence and negative life events. The findings underscore the importance of examining the unique pathways from witnessing community violence versus violent victimization to physical aggression.

Evaluation of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program in US Urban Middle Schools Using a Multiple Baseline Experimental Design.

We evaluated the impact of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) in an 8-year study in urban middle schools that served primarily African American students living in low-income areas. Participants included 2755 students and 242 teachers. We evaluated the OBPP with a multiple-baseline experimental design where the order and intervention start time was randomly assigned for each school. We assessed the frequency of bullying behaviors and experiences including physical, relational, and verbal aggression and victimization using teacher ratings of student behavior and student-reported data, as well as cyber aggression and victimization and school climate measures using student-reported data. For teacher ratings of student behavior, we found significant main effects across all subtypes of aggression and victimization, with some variability in the timing of effects. The pattern of findings showed delayed intervention effects for boys and a weaker impact of the OBPP on 6th graders. We found main effects for student-reported cyber aggression and victimization, relational aggression, and a composite of physical, verbal, and relational victimization. Decreases in victimization emerged in the 1st or 2nd year of intervention, and reductions in aggression emerged during the 3rd year. Across all findings, once intervention effects emerged, they remained significant in subsequent intervention years. The OBPP resulted in significant decreases in student- and teacher-reported aggression and victimization. However, this intervention had limited impact on general areas of school climate including teacher support, positive peer interactions, and school safety. Overall, the findings offer important prevention and research implications.

"Hurt people hurt people": Relations between adverse experiences and patterns of cyber and in-person aggression and victimization among urban adolescents.

This study identified subgroups of adolescents with distinct patterns of involvement with overt and relational in-person and cyber aggression and victimization. We also assessed subgroup similarities and differences in exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), exposure to community violence, and trauma symptoms. Using latent class analysis, we identified three subgroups among 265 adolescents (Mage = 14.3 years; 57% female; 96% African American) residing in three urban high-burden communities that included youth who reported: (a) combined (cyber and in-person) aggression and victimization (17%), (b) in-person aggression and victimization (51%), and (c) adolescents with limited involvement (32%). Youth in the combined aggressive-victims subgroup had the highest probability of endorsing exposure to community violence, trauma symptoms, and a higher number of ACEs overall as well as higher rates of both verbal and physical abuse compared to the other subgroups. Our results indicated that the adolescents who reported the highest frequencies of aggressive behavior were also the most victimized and traumatized. These findings provide context to aggressive behavior among adolescents living in high-burden, urban communities and underscore the need for trauma-informed prevention interventions.

Patterns of Parental Messages Supporting Fighting and Nonviolence Among Urban Middle School Students.

The purpose of this study was to identify subgroups of adolescents with distinct perceptions of parental messages supporting fighting and nonviolence. Latent class analysis identified four subgroups among 2,619 urban middle school students (90% African American; 52% female): messages supporting fighting (32%), messages supporting nonviolence (29%), mixed messages (23%), and no messages (16%). We found significant differences across subgroups in their frequency of physical aggression and peer victimization and beliefs about the use of aggressive and nonviolent responses to peer provocation. Beliefs significantly mediated the relation between parental messages subgroups and both aggression and victimization. Findings illustrate the heterogeneity in the messages urban adolescents perceive from their parents, as well as relations with adolescents' beliefs and behavior.

The relation between body image perceptions, parental messages, and depressive symptoms among Latinx college students.

OBJECTIVES: This study examines the role of parental messages about body image in relation to body image dissatisfaction (BID) and depressive symptoms among Latinx college students. We assessed negative and positive messages about body image from mothers and fathers to examine the indirect effect of BID in explaining links from parental communication to depressive symptoms. METHOD: The sample included 198 Latinx college students in the southeastern United States (age range 18-25, 70% female). We used four mediation models, whereby parental comments were modeled to affect depressive symptoms through BID. RESULTS: Results indicated that although there was no direct effect between parental messages and depressive symptoms, both negative maternal and paternal comments had indirect effects on depressive symptoms via BID. CONCLUSIONS: Parental messages about body image have significant implications for understanding the etiology of BID and concomitant depressive symptoms among Latinx college students. The findings highlight the important role of parental communication in Latinx student health and the need for future studies to better understand Latinx college students' interpretations of their parents' positive and negative comments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Bidirectional Relations between Witnessing Violence, Victimization, Life Events, and Physical Aggression among Adolescents in Urban Schools.

Although there is empirical evidence supporting associations between exposure to violence and engaging in physically aggressive behavior during adolescence, there is limited longitudinal research to determine the extent to which exposure to violence is a cause or a consequence of physical aggression, and most studies have not addressed the influence of other negative life events experienced by adolescents. This study examined bidirectional relations between physical aggression, two forms of exposure to violence-witnessing violence and victimization, and other negative life events. Participants were a sample of 2568 adolescents attending three urban public middle schools who completed measures of each construct every 3 months during middle school. Their mean age was 12.76 (SD = 0.98); 52% were female. The majority were African American (89%); 17% were Hispanic or Latino/a. Cross-lagged regression analyses across four waves of data collected within the same grade revealed bidirectional relations between witnessing violence and physical aggression, and between witnessing violence and negative life events. Although physical aggression predicted subsequent changes in victimization, victimization predicted changes in physical aggression only when witnessing violence was not taken into account. Findings were consistent across sex and grades. Overall, these findings highlight the need for interventions that break the connection between exposure to violence and aggression during adolescence.

Longitudinal relations between emotional awareness and expression, emotion regulation, and peer victimization among urban adolescents.

INTRODUCTION: There are potential long-term psychosocial effects of experiencing peer victimization during adolescence, including: internalizing symptoms, externalizing behaviors, and risks behaviors such as substance use. While social-emotional theories of development note associations between deficits in emotion competencies and peer victimization in childhood, these associations are less established among adolescent samples. Identifying which inadequacies in emotional competence place particular adolescents at risk for peer victimization may provide insight into the developmental pathways leading to unfavorable outcomes. METHODS: The current study examined the relation between emotional competence and overt peer victimization among adolescents. Adolescents living in a mid-sized urban city in the southeastern region of the United States (N = 357; Mage = 12.14 years, 92% African American) reported their emotional awareness and reluctance to express emotion at baseline. Two years later, adolescents reported their regulation of anger and caregivers reported on adolescents' global emotion regulation. Adolescents also reported on occurrences of overt peer victimization during the previous 30 days at baseline and during the two-year follow up. RESULTS: Our hypothesized model fit the data adequately. Greater emotion awareness was associated with higher scores on caregiver-rated emotion regulation and adolescent-rated anger regulation two years later, and in turn, lower frequencies of overt victimization by peers. Further, greater expressive reluctance was associated with greater anger regulation, and in turn, lower frequencies of overt victimization by peers. Patterns of associations did not vary by sex or age. CONCLUSIONS: The present study extends models of social-emotional development and peer interactions into the development age stage of adolescence.

Longitudinal relations between beliefs supporting aggression and externalizing outcomes: Indirect effects of anger dysregulation and callous-unemotional traits.

Aggression is prevalent in early- to mid-adolescence and is associated with physical health and psychosocial adjustment difficulties. This underscores the need to identify risk processes that lead to externalizing outcomes. This study examined the extent to which the effects of three dimensions of beliefs supporting aggression on physical aggression and externalizing behavior are mediated by anger dysregulation and callous-unemotional (CU) traits. Three waves of data were collected from a primarily African American (77%) sample of 265 middle school students between the ages of 11 and 15 (52% were female). We found evidence supporting mediation such that the effects of beliefs supporting instrumental aggression and beliefs that fighting is sometimes necessary at Wave 1 on student-reported physical aggression at Wave 3 were mediated by CU traits at Wave 2, and relations between beliefs supporting reactive aggression at Wave 1 and teacher-report of student frequencies of physical aggression and externalizing behavior at Wave 3 were mediated by anger dysregulation at Wave 2. Our findings demonstrated the importance of distinguishing between dimensions of beliefs supporting aggression, as differential paths emerged between specific beliefs, CU traits and anger dysregulation, and externalizing outcomes. These findings have important clinical implications, as they suggest that specific dimensions of beliefs supporting aggression could be targeted based on whether an individual is at risk for behavior patterns characterizing CU traits or anger dysregulation.

The Family Context and Adolescent Dating Violence: A Latent Class Analysis of Family Relationships and Parenting Behaviors.

Adolescent dating violence is a persistent public health concern, impacting many youths during their initial and formative relationships during middle school. Despite theoretical and empirical studies highlighting the essential role of family relationship dynamics and parenting practices in relation to youth violence, substantially less research has focused on associations between these factors and rates of adolescent dating violence. The current study examined aspects of the family context in relation to dating violence outcomes among a racially and ethnically diverse sample of middle school students from economically disadvantaged communities, a group of adolescents at a high risk for exposure to risk factors for dating violence. Participants included 495 adolescents (66% male; 63% African American). Data were collected at the beginning of sixth grade and three subsequent spring waves through eighth grade. The current study identified patterns of family factors using a latent class analysis and examined these classes in relation to dating violence and dating violence norms. Three classes emerged: a positive family context with mixed messages about parental support for fighting and nonviolence (42%), an average family context with consistent parental support for nonviolent responses to conflict (24%), and a poor family context with parental support for fighting (34%). The classes with average and positive family contexts showed the lowest levels of dating violence and dating violence norms. These findings support the development and integration of family context factors into adolescent dating violence prevention programs, especially within high-burden contexts where families may be more likely to endorse mixed messages about how to handle conflict and youth may be at a higher risk for dating violence outcomes.

Victimization, Aggression, and Other Problem Behaviors: Trajectories of Change Within and Across Middle School Grades.

This study examined trajectories of victimization and problem behaviors within and across three grades of middle school. Participants were 2,166 adolescents from three urban middle schools in the United States who completed measures of victimization, physical and relational aggression, substance use, and delinquent behavior. Latent curve analyses modeled changes in each construct across 12 waves collected every 3 months. In each case, the best-fitting model required separate linear slopes to represent changes within each grade and a factor representing decreases in the summers. Positive cross-construct correlations were found for intercepts, linear slopes, and measures within waves. The findings suggest strong associations among victimization and problem behaviors, and individual differences in their patterns of change both within and across grades.

Evaluation of the Olweus Bully Prevention Program in an Urban School System in the USA.

This study evaluated the Olweus Bully Prevention Program (OBPP) in urban middle schools serving a mostly African American student population. Participants were 1791 students from three communities with high rates of crime and poverty. We evaluated the impact of the OBPP using a multiple-baseline experimental design in which we randomized the order and timing of intervention activities across three schools. We assessed the frequency of violence and victimization using self-report and teachers' ratings of students collected every 3 months over 5 years. Initiation of the OBPP was associated with reductions in teachers' ratings of students' frequency of aggression, with effects emerging in different years of implementation for different forms of aggression. Whereas reductions in teachers' ratings of students' verbal and relational aggression and victimization were evident during the second implementation year, reductions in physical aggression did not appear until the third year. Effects were consistent across gender and schools, with variability across grades for relational and verbal aggression and victimization. In contrast, there were no intervention effects on students' reports of their behavior. Positive outcomes for teachers', but not students' ratings, suggest the intervention's effects may have been limited to the school context. Variation in when effects emerged across outcomes suggests that changes in physical aggression may require more sustained intervention efforts. The intervention was also associated with increases in teachers' concerns about school safety problems, which may indicate that teachers were more attuned to recognizing problem behaviors following exposure to the OBPP.

Dating violence perpetration and perceived parental support for fighting and nonviolent responses to conflict: An autoregressive cross-lagged model.

INTRODUCTION: The current study examined longitudinal and bidirectional relationships between adolescent perceptions of parental support for fighting and nonviolent responses to conflict and dating violence perpetration. These relationships were examined among a sample of predominately African American youth from an economically disadvantaged urban neighborhood in the United States, a group of adolescents who may be at a high risk for dating violence and for receiving a mixture of parental support for how to respond in conflict situations. METHOD: Participants were 1014 early adolescents (51% female, 91% African American) who were currently dating or had been recently dating. Adolescents completed measures on their perceptions of parental support for fighting and nonviolent responses to conflict, as well as dating violence perpetration. RESULTS: Using an autoregressive cross-lagged path analysis across four time points, perceptions of parental support for fighting were inversely associated with changes in perceived parental support for nonviolent responses to conflict, but not with changes in dating violence over time. However, perceived parental support for nonviolent responses to conflict were inversely associated with changes in dating violence perpetration over time. CONCLUSIONS: Although parents in high-burden communities may give a mixture of messages about how to handle conflict, encouraging parents to provide messages supporting nonviolent responses to conflict may protect youth from perpetrating violence within their dating relationships. These findings inform future research directions and dating violence prevention programs.

Patterns of Change in Adolescent Dating Victimization and Aggression During Middle School.

Although mounting evidence suggests dating victimization and aggression begin in early adolescence, little work has examined the pattern of these behaviors across this age. This longitudinal study examined trajectories of dating victimization and aggression across middle school using 12 waves of data. A sample of early adolescents (N = 1369, 52.3% girls; 83% African American; 15% Hispanic or Latino) residing in an urban, economically disadvantaged area participated in this study. Youth completed measures of dating victimization and aggression quarterly across the 3 years of middle school. Although results indicated a general trend of increasing dating victimization and aggression across middle school, variation existed for boys and girls. Specifically, girls showed increasing patterns of both, whereas boys remained relatively stable across time. Dating victimization and aggression were also highly correlated across time. These findings support the implementation and refinement of prevention programming aimed at preventing and reducing dating aggression and victimization in middle school.

Longitudinal Associations Between Maternal Solicitation, Perceived Maternal Acceptance, Adolescent Self-Disclosure, and Adolescent Externalizing Behaviors.

The current study examined prospective associations between maternal solicitation and acceptance, adolescent self-disclosure, and adolescent externalizing behaviors. Participants included 357 urban adolescents (46% male; 92% African American) and their maternal caregivers. Participants provided data annually (three waves across 2-year time frame). Results of a three-wave longitudinal path model demonstrated that adolescent self-disclosure was related to higher rates of maternal solicitation and lower frequencies of externalizing behaviors. Maternal solicitation was associated with higher rates of maternal acceptance. Maternal acceptance was positively associated with adolescent self-disclosure and indirectly associated with lower frequencies of adolescent externalizing behaviors via higher levels of adolescent self-disclosure. Associations did not differ by sex or age. Understanding factors that contribute to adolescent self-disclosure and maternal acceptance are important, as they appear to have protective influences on externalizing behaviors.

Longitudinal Relations between Beliefs Supporting Aggression,Anger Regulation, and Dating Aggression among Early Adolescents.

Dating aggression occurs frequently in early to mid-adolescence and has negative repercussions for psychosocial adjustment and physical health. The patterns of behavior learned during this developmental timeframe may persist in future dating relationships, underscoring the need to identify risk factors for this outcome. The current study examined longitudinal relations between beliefs supporting aggression, anger regulation, and dating aggression. Participants were 176 middle school students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade (50 % female; 82 % African American). No direct effects were found between beliefs supporting reactive or proactive aggression and dating aggression. Beliefs supporting reactive aggression predicted increased rates of anger dysregulation, and beliefs supporting proactive aggression led to subsequent increases in anger inhibition. Anger dysregulation and inhibition were associated with higher frequencies of dating aggression. An indirect effect was found for the relation between beliefs supporting reactive aggression and dating aggression via anger dysregulation. Another indirect effect emerged for the relation between beliefs supporting proactive aggression and dating aggression through anger inhibition. The study's findings suggested that beliefs supporting proactive and reactive aggression were differentially related to emotion regulation processes, and identified anger dysregulation and inhibition as risk factors for dating aggression among adolescents.

Measurement of Dating Aggression During Middle School: Structure, Measurement Invariance, and Distinction From General Aggression.

Two studies examined the factor structure of a modified version of the Safe Dates dating aggression scale and evaluated whether dating aggression is distinct from general aggression during early adolescence. Analyses were conducted on a derivation sample of 3,894 adolescents from 37 schools (Study 1) and an independent cross-validation sample of 938 middle school youth (Study 2). Categorical confirmatory factor analyses supported a two-factor model (perpetration and victimization) over models differentiating psychological and physical forms of aggression. The model was invariant across time, sex, grade, and season. Study 2 also supported dating aggression as distinct from general aggression. Results supported measuring dating aggression perpetration and victimization as latent constructs represented by ordered categorical indicators that capture item severity and frequency.