Exposure to Violence in Adolescence and Precocious Role Exits

• NCJ Number: 226373
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 38 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2009 Pages: 269-286
• Author(s): Dana L. Haynie; Richard J. Petts; David Maimon; Alex R. Piquero
• Date Published: March 2009
• Length: 18 pages
• Grant Number(s): 60011856
• Sponsoring Agency: Ohio State University; National Science Foundation; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the developmental consequences of adolescents’ exposure to violence by applying a life-course perspective.

Abstract

The study found that exposure to violence was associated with greater risk for running away from home, dropping out of high school, having a child, attempting suicide, and having contact with the criminal justice system in later adolescence. The study also found that these risks depended on the relational context in which the exposure to violence occurred; risks increased with greater exposure to violence, with risks being highest for youth exposed to both indirect and direct violence in adolescence. Identifying the links between exposure to violence in adolescence and pathways that lead to socioeconomic disadvantage in later life can assist in identifying the pivotal stages in an individual’s life course where policies can be targeted to reduce the cumulative continuity of social disadvantage in specific groups at risk for exposure to violence. This study used three waves of longitudinal data in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a multisurvey, multiwave study of U.S. adolescents, their parents, and their schools. The study involved a sample of 11,949 school-aged adolescents. Exposure to violence was conceptualized as including both direct (experiencing physical victimization) and indirect (witnessing others’ victimization) exposure to violence. Three types of direct exposure to violence were examined: street, intimate partner, and family victimization. The four types of indirect exposure to violence included street, peer, and school violence, as well as exposure to family/friend suicide. The longitudinal design of the study provided an opportunity to explore the determinants of key events and behaviors during the transition to young adulthood. The study controlled for numerous other explanatory factors for youths’ taking adverse developmental pathways. 4 tables and 66 references