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Understanding the link between exposure to violence and aggression in justice-involved adolescents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2018

Tina D. Wall Myers ,
Abigail Salcedo ,
Paul J. Frick ,
James V. Ray ,
Laura C. Thornton ,
Laurence Steinberg  and
Elizabeth Cauffman
Tina D. Wall Myers*
Affiliation:
University of Dayton
Abigail Salcedo
Affiliation:
Baylor College of Medicine
Paul J. Frick
Affiliation:
Louisiana State University Australian Catholic University
James V. Ray
Affiliation:
University of Texas at San Antonio
Laura C. Thornton
Affiliation:
Boys Town National Research Hospital
Laurence Steinberg
Affiliation:
Temple University King Abdulaziz University
Elizabeth Cauffman
Affiliation:
University of California, Irvine
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Tina D. Wall Myers, Department of Psychology, University of Dayton, 300 College Park, Zehler 311, Dayton, OH 45469; E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

The current study advanced research on the link between community violence exposure and aggression by comparing the effects of violence exposure on different functions of aggression and by testing four potential (i.e., callous–unemotional traits, consideration of others, impulse control, and anxiety) mediators of this relationship. Analyses were conducted in an ethnically/racially diverse sample of 1,216 male first-time juvenile offenders (M = 15.30 years, SD = 1.29). Our results indicated that violence exposure had direct effects on both proactive and reactive aggression 18 months later. The predictive link of violence exposure to proactive aggression was no longer significant after controlling for proactive aggression at baseline and the overlap with reactive aggression. In contrast, violence exposure predicted later reactive aggression even after controlling for baseline reactive aggression and the overlap with proactive aggression. Mediation analyses of the association between violence exposure and reactive aggression indicated indirect effects through all potential mediators, but the strongest indirect effect was through impulse control. The findings help to advance knowledge on the consequences of community violence exposure on justice-involved youth.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , May 2018 , pp. 593 - 603
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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