The Longitudinal Effects of Violence Exposure on Delinquency and Academic Outcomes for African-American Youth

There are millions of violent crimes reported each year in communities across the United States, disproportionately affecting ethnic minority and low-income communities. Violence exposure has harmful effects on residents and significant implications for adolescent development. Youth who are exposed to violence are at greater risk for problem behaviors and experiences, including delinquency and low academic performance (Baskin & Sommers, 2014; Patton, Wooley, & Hong, 2012). Many of the consequences of violence exposure impact trajectories of adolescent development and can be observed well into adulthood. However, some youth overcome the challenges associated with violence exposure and successfully transition into adulthood. Resilience theory and the protective factors model provide a lens to examine how positive social environmental influences may lessen the impact of contextual risk factors and promote desirable outcomes for youth exposed to violence (Fergus & Zimmerman, 2005; Lösel & Farrington, 2012). In this study, I used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the role of perceptions of neighborhood connectedness and school belonging as protective factors for the effects of violence exposure on delinquency, criminal involvement, academic behavioral engagement and educational attainment over time, for a sample of African-American youth. It was hypothesized that connectedness to one’s neighborhood and sense of belonging to school would moderate the mediational associations among violence exposure, adolescent adjustment measures (i.e., delinquency and academic behavioral engagement) and adult outcomes, demonstrating a protective effect for the influence of violence exposure on developmental outcomes for youth. EFFECTS OF VIOLENCE EXPOSURE ON YOUTH OUTCOMES 2 E The findings indicated that the model was a good fit for the data. More violence exposure significantly predicted more delinquency; violence exposure did not predict academic behavioral engagement, however. More delinquency predicted lower academic behavioral engagement, and school belonging predicted less delinquency. The mediational hypotheses were not supported, and the results showed that neighborhood connectedness and school belonging did not have protective effects for the influence of violence exposure on the adolescent adjustment variables. Instead, neighborhood connectedness significantly predicted more delinquency and did not significantly predict academic behavioral engagement. The results highlight important considerations about neighborhood effects on youth risk behaviors and developmental outcomes. This study contributes to the literature on ecological risk and protective factors for adolescent delinquency and academic engagement. The findings can inform the development of community and school-based interventions to promote positive development for African-American adolescents exposed to violence. EFFECTS OF VIOLENCE EXPOSURE ON YOUTH OUTCOMES 3 E The Roles of Neighborhood Connectedness and School Sense of Belonging as Protective Factors for Youth Exposed to Violence Community violence is a common occurrence in the United States (U.S.) and a significant public health concern. According to the most recent national survey of crime and violence, there were over 4.5 million violent crimes (i.e., simple and aggravated assault, violent crime involving weapons, and violent crime involving injury) reported to U.S. law enforcement in 2014 (U.S. Department of Justice, 2015). Violent crimes have a significant effect on communities, impacting the sense of safety for residents. The highest rates of violence are reported in urban, low-income communities, making youth and families living in low-income communities more likely to be affected by the consequences of violence. The experience of ongoing violence in communities creates a sense of fear, and ultimately trauma, for residents within the community, stemming from the ever-present threat of personal harm or the loss of friends or loved ones. For individuals and families who live in communities with high rates of crime and violence, the threat of violence exposure is a constant concern. Violence exposure refers to an individual being a victim of violence, witnessing violence, or hearing about violent acts taking place within their community (Cooley, Turner, & Beidel, 1995). Exposure to violence may include experiencing or witnessing the use of guns, knives, and other weapons (Osofsky, 1995). Community violence is defined as violence that occurs outside of the home (Wright, Austin, Booth, & Kliewer, 2016) but in close proximity to the home. Community violence occurs most often in spaces that are open to the public (e.g., streets, businesses, local parks, recreational centers). Adolescents are more likely than adults to experience violence outside of the home (Finkelhor, 2008), making the implications of community violence especially important for EFFECTS OF VIOLENCE EXPOSURE ON YOUTH OUTCOMES 4 E understanding youth development in the contexts of communities with high rates of crime and violence. There is a wealth of evidence that violence exposure impedes positive youth development and developmental outcomes. African-American and Latina/o youth living in urban neighborhoods are disproportionally exposed to and affected by violence, which makes these populations particularly vulnerable to the effects of violence exposure in the U.S. (Zimmerman & Messner, 2013). In communities afflicted by violence, spaces that are usually available for youth to connect with others, such as parks and community centers, are no longer deemed safe. Violence exposure not only impacts youths’ experiences in their neighborhoods, but it also influences their schooling experiences. In neighborhoods with high rates of violence, students are more likely to experience violence in school (Patton, Woolley, & Hong, 2012). Violence in communities impacts multiple contexts (i.e., home, community, school) and thus has significant implications for adolescents, whose developmental processes are undoubtedly impacted and potentially interrupted by experiences of violence. Violence Exposure and Adolescent Development Adolescence is a period of significant developmental transitions for youth. While youth are experiencing many physical and psychological changes that are a part of normal development, they are particularly vulnerable to problem behaviors, which can affect them in multiple settings, including their homes, schools and communities (Voisin, Patel, Hong, Takahashi, & Gaylord-Harden, 2016). The community environment has a significant influence on developmental trajectories for adolescents. In addition to building relationships within their communities, individuals often learn some of their earliest social skills (e.g., conflict resolution, relationship building) while interacting with other youth and adults in their neighborhoods; EFFECTS OF VIOLENCE EXPOSURE ON YOUTH OUTCOMES 5 E therefore, the nature of social interactions and social norms in communities impact adolescent development. Community violence has been identified as a risk factor for negative developmental outcomes for youth (e.g., low academic achievement, juvenile justice system involvement; Patton et al., 2012; Baskin & Sommers, 2014). Adolescents who are exposed to multiple environmental risk factors (e.g., poverty, violence) are at greater risk for negative developmental outcomes than those who experience fewer risk factors (Evans, Li, & Whipple, 2013). Individuals who are exposed to violence during childhood can experience physical and psychological harm with effects that can be experienced well into adulthood (Cuevas, Finkelhor, Shattuck, Turner, & Hamby, 2013). Violence exposure can cause temporary psychological distress for some individuals, while others may experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other long-term mental health conditions after direct or indirect experiences violence (Osofsky, 1995). For adolescents, violence exposure has been associated with poorer mental health outcomes and behavioral maladjustment (Voisin et al., 2016). Violence exposure and delinquency. A concern about adolescent violence exposure is its impact on risk behaviors, including substance use, aggression, and violence. Youth who are exposed to violence in communities are more likely to exhibit antisocial behaviors (Slattery & Meyers, 2014). There also is evidence that adolescents who are exposed to violence are more likely to engage in violence themselves. When youth experience chronic exposure to community violence, they can become desensitized to violence (Davis, Ammons, Dahl, & Kliewer, 2015), which may increase the likelihood that youth themselves will engage in violent acts. This poses significant problems for adolescents who live in neighborhoods with high rates of crime and violence. Experiencing higher levels of violence victimization and resulting mental health EFFECTS OF VIOLENCE EXPOSURE ON YOUTH OUTCOMES 6 E symptoms may increase risk for engaging in delinquent behaviors (Cuevas et al., 2013). In a cross-sectional study examining violent victimization and delinquency among a nationally representative and ethnically diverse sample of adolescents, victims of delinquent acts were more likely to engage in delinquent behaviors than those who had not been victimized (Cuevas et al., 2013). Similarly, in a cross-sectional study of the effects of violence exposure on urban, AfricanAmerican youth, McGee (2014) found that exposure to community violence was related to greater self-reported delinquency. In addition to influencing delinquency, violence exposure impacts the severity of delinquent acts among youth. In a cross-sectional examination of racially/ethnically and socioeconomically diverse adolescents, Chen, Voisin, and Jacobson (2013) found that participants who experienced community violence engaged in more severe/violent delinquent acts than peers who had n