University of Edinburgh, UK.
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
J Interpers Violence. 2024 Aug;39(15-16):3591-3618. doi: 10.1177/08862605241233273. Epub 2024 Feb 26.
South African adolescents experience a high prevalence of violence victimization alongside the health and economic burdens of HIV/AIDS and poverty. Polyvictimization is a useful theory and framework that allows for a nuanced understanding of lived adolescent experience patterns. Polyvictimization examinations are further enriched by person-centered analytical approaches. This study used latent class analysis to differentiate a sample of South African adolescents from highly deprived communities by their polyvictimization profiles and contextual violence risk and protective factors. Adolescents were sampled twice (2010/2011; 2011/2012), and data reflected their lifetime (sexual abuse) or recent (all other forms of assessed abuse/violence) violence victimizations, as well as individual, household, and community characteristics. Model fit indices supported a seven-class model with adolescents in high, moderate, and low polyvictimization classes. Adolescents in the high polyvictimization classes experienced a heavy burden of poverty and multiple forms of violence across contexts and were distinguished by HIV/AIDS and disability. Adolescents in the low polyvictimization class experienced relatively little violence, despite living in violent communities, and low household and individual burdens of HIV/AIDS and disability. Findings emphasize the importance of considering adolescent violence through a contextually sensitive polyvictimization lens to understand the complex web of violence that adolescents experience. This work supports previous research in low-resource South African settings highlighting the interconnected nature of violence, poverty, disability, and HIV/AIDS. Future research should explore these complex violence patterns and their effects, while program and policy actions must target and prevent adolescent violence especially for those impacted by poverty, disability, and HIV/AIDS.
南非青少年在遭受艾滋病毒/艾滋病和贫困带来的健康和经济负担的同时,还经历着很高的暴力受害率。多受害化是一种有用的理论和框架,可以细致地了解青少年的生活经历模式。对多受害化的检查可以通过以个人为中心的分析方法进一步丰富。本研究使用潜在类别分析,根据多受害化概况以及背景中的暴力风险和保护因素,对来自高度贫困社区的南非青少年样本进行区分。青少年在 2010/2011 年和 2011/2012 年进行了两次抽样,数据反映了他们一生中(性虐待)或最近(评估的所有其他形式的虐待/暴力)的暴力受害情况,以及个人、家庭和社区特征。模型拟合指数支持具有高、中、低多受害化类别的七类模型。高多受害化类别的青少年在多个背景中经历了严重的贫困和多种形式的暴力,其特点是艾滋病毒/艾滋病和残疾。低多受害化类别的青少年生活在暴力社区中,但经历的暴力相对较少,且艾滋病毒/艾滋病和残疾给家庭和个人带来的负担较低。研究结果强调了通过对青少年暴力进行敏感的多受害化视角来理解青少年所经历的复杂暴力网络的重要性。这项工作支持了先前在资源匮乏的南非背景下进行的研究,强调了暴力、贫困、残疾和艾滋病毒/艾滋病之间的相互关联性质。未来的研究应该探讨这些复杂的暴力模式及其影响,而方案和政策行动必须针对和预防青少年暴力,特别是针对那些受贫困、残疾和艾滋病毒/艾滋病影响的青少年。