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

2021 ◽  
pp. 027243162110367
Author(s):  
Albert D. Farrell ◽  
Sarah Pittman ◽  
Amie F. Bettencourt ◽  
Krista R. Mehari ◽  
Courtney Dunn ◽  
...  

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 2705 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.

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-456
Author(s):  
Mohammad Abbasi ◽  
Ezatollah Ghadampour ◽  
Mohammad Hojati ◽  
Abas Senobar

Introducción: Este estudio analiza el papel de la resistencia y el optimismo en los eventos negativos de la vida y la autoeficacia de afrontamiento en 228 estudiantes universitarios de primer año de la Universidad de Lorestan (Irán). El objetivo del estudio era doble: (1) analizar las asociaciones entre resistencia, optimismo, eventos de vida negativos y autoeficacia de afrontamiento; y (2) determinar si la resistencia y el optimismo moderan la relación entre los eventos negativos de la vida y la autoeficacia de afrontamiento. Método: Este estudio correlacional descriptivo se realizó en el año escolar 2016-17. En este estudio, al principio seleccionamos 228 estudiantes. Luego, los estudiantes completaron el Cuestionario de Eventos de la Vida Adolescente (ALEQ), la Prueba de Orientación de la Vida revisada (LOT-R), la Escala de Resistencia de Kobasa y la Escala de Autoeficacia (CSE). Se utilizaron análisis jerárquicos de regresión lineal para examinar el papel moderador de la resistencia y el optimismo. Resultados: Los resultados revelan que existe una relación significativa entre resistencia, optimismo, eventos vitales negativos y autoeficacia de afrontamiento. La resistencia y el optimismo también fueron moderadores en la relación entre los eventos negativos de la vida y la autoeficacia de afrontamiento. Conclusión: Los hallazgos respaldaron la hipótesis de que niveles más altos de resistencia y optimismo se asociarían con niveles más altos de autoeficacia de afrontamiento, y que niveles más bajos de resistencia y optimismo se asociarían con niveles más bajos de autoeficacia de afrontamiento. Finalmente, nuestros resultados implican que la resistencia y el optimismo son un moderador importante de los eventos negativos de la vida del estudiante sobre la autoeficacia de afrontamiento. Introduction. This study analyzes the role of Hardiness and optimism on negative life events and coping self-efficacy in 228 first-year undergraduate students from lorestan university (iran). The aim of the study was two-fold: (1) to analyze the associations between Hardiness, optimism, negative life events and coping self-efficacy; and (2) to determine whether Hardiness and optimism moderates the relationship between negative life events and coping self-efficacy. Method. This descriptive correlational study was conducted in the school year of 2016-17. In this study, at first we selected 228 students. Then the students completed the Adolescent Life Events Questionnaire (ALEQ), Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R), Kobasa's Hardiness Scale, and Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (CSE). Hierarchical linear regression analyses were used to examine the moderating role of Hardiness and optimism. Results. Results reveal that there is a significant Relationship between Hardiness, optimism, negative life events and coping self-efficacy. Hardiness and optimism was also a moderator in the relationship between negative life events and coping self-efficacy. Conclusion. The findings supported the hypothesis that higher levels of Hardiness and optimism would be associated with higher levels of Coping Self-Efficacy, and that lower levels of Hardiness and optimism would be associated with lower levels of Coping Self-Efficacy. Finally, our results imply that Hardiness and optimism is an important moderator of student’s negative life events on Coping Self-Efficacy.


2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (7) ◽  
pp. 1485-1498 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. ten Have ◽  
R. de Graaf ◽  
J. van Weeghel ◽  
S. van Dorsselaer

BackgroundFew studies have been published on the association between mental disorders and violence based on general population studies. Here we focus on different types of violence, adjusting for violent victimization and taking account of the limitations of previous population studies.MethodData were used from the first two waves of the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study-2 (NEMESIS-2), a nationally representative face-to-face survey of the general population aged 18–64 years (n = 6646). Violence was differentiated into physical and psychological violence against intimate partner(s), children or any person(s) in general. DSM-IV diagnoses were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview Version 3.0 (CIDI 3.0).ResultsPsychological violence occurs considerably more frequently than physical violence, but both showed almost identical associations with mental disorders. After adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, most of the main categories of common mental disorders were associated with violence. The strongest associations were found for externalizing disorders (substance use, impulse-control, antisocial personality disorder). After additional adjustment for violent victimization, negative life events and social support, most diagnostic correlates lost their significance whereas substance use (in particular alcohol) disorders were still associated with most types of violence.ConclusionsThe increased risk of violent offending among people with common mental disorders, other than substance use disorders, can be attributed to factors other than their mental illness.


Author(s):  
Heleen J. Janssen ◽  
Dietrich Oberwittler ◽  
Goeran Koeber

Abstract Objectives We examined the effects of victimization on several aspects of well-being in a longitudinal study of a general population sample. Previous research has often been inconclusive, as it was largely based on cross-sectional data and prone to problems of unobserved heterogeneity and selection bias. We examined both between-person differences and within-person changes in well-being in relation to property and violent victimization. We investigated psychological and behavioral dimensions of well-being, controlling for and comparing with the effects of other negative life events. Methods We used data from a two-wave panel survey of 2928 respondents aged 25–89 nested in 140 neighborhoods in two large German cities. We applied random-effects modeling to separate between-person from within-person effects. Results The within-person detrimental effects of victimization were considerably smaller than between-person effects, which reflected preexisting, time-stable factors that distinguish individuals who have experienced victimization from individuals who have not. Detrimental effects concerned fear of crime, generalized trust, and neighborhood satisfaction, but did not extend to emotional well-being or life satisfaction, in contrast to other negative life events. We found empirical support both for adaptation (‘recovery’) effects as well as for anticipation effects. Violent victimization had stronger effects than property victimization, and victimization near the home had stronger effects than victimization elsewhere. Conclusion The findings indicate that violent victimization has palpable detrimental effects on security perceptions, trust and neighborhood satisfaction—but not on emotional well-being and life satisfaction—and that individuals largely recover from the victimization within 18 months.


1997 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 263-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Owen R. Lightsey

Following recommendations to include multiple predictors within a single study, this prospective study tested whether generalized self-efficacy (GSE), positive thoughts, optimism, and self-mastery may act as stress buffers. The Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale, the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire- Positive, the Life Orientation Test, the Self-Mastery Scale, the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire, the Life Experiences Survey, and the Beck Depression Inventory were administered to 69 undergraduate volunteers twice over 5 weeks. The GSE x negative life events interaction accounted for unique variance in future dysphoria, indicating that, for greater preexisting GSE, negative life events were less associated with dysphoria. This finding suggests that GSE may act as a stress buffer: When exposed to stressors, persons with higher GSE may become less dysphoric than persons with lower GSE. Additionally, for higher self-mastery, negative life events had a stronger relationship with future dysphoria. This suggests that self-mastery may in some circumstances act as a stress exacerbator: When exposed to stressors, persons with higher self-mastery appear to become more dysphoric than persons with lower self-mastery.


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