Farrell Albert D, Pittman Sarah, Bettencourt Amie F, Mehari Krista R, Dunn Courtney, Sullivan Terri N
Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
J Early Adolesc. 2022 Mar;42(3):297-326. doi: 10.1177/02724316211036747. Epub 2021 Nov 12.
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.
本研究考察了关于攻击行为的信念以及非暴力应对的自我效能感，它们作为接触暴力与身体攻击之间纵向关系的中介变量。参与者主要是来自城市社区暴力发生率高的三所中学的2705名青少年，其中非裔美国人占79%。参与者在一学年内分四波（秋季、冬季、春季和夏季）完成测量。支持主动攻击的信念、反对打架的信念以及非暴力的自我效能感部分中介了目睹暴力与身体攻击之间的关系。在控制了受害经历和负面生活事件后，支持主动攻击的信念和自我效能感的间接效应依然存在。支持主动攻击的信念中介了暴力受害经历对身体攻击的影响，但在控制了目睹暴力和负面生活事件后，这些影响并不显著。研究结果强调了考察从目睹社区暴力与暴力受害经历到身体攻击的独特路径的重要性。
