Codevelopment of Delinquency, Alcohol Use, and Aggression Toward Peers and Dates: Multitrajectory Patterns and Predictors.

We aimed to characterize developmental patterns of involvement in alcohol use, delinquency, and interpersonal aggression in a normative sample of adolescents by applying multitrajectory group-based modeling. Using seven waves of data from a cohort sequential study spanning the 6th to 12th grades (n = 2,825; 50% girls), we identified four distinct trajectory groups: low risk (33%), declining peer aggressors (44%), peer and dating aggressors (13%), and multidomain high risk (10%). Across all comparisons, girls were more likely than boys to be members of the peer and dating aggressor group and less likely to be members of the multidomain high-risk group. Moreover, individual (self-control, negative emotionality), family (family violence, parental monitoring), and peer (substance use norms) distinguished class membership.

Consequences of Involvement in Distinct Patterns of Adolescent Peer and Dating Violence.

Typological theoretical perspectives suggest that the consequences of involvement in peer and dating violence may depend on the particular pattern of violent behaviors that youth experience and/or engage in. Yet few studies have examined whether distinct patterns of dating and peer violence involvement differentially predict developmental outcomes. Using two waves of data, the current study examined the prospective associations between distinct patterns of peer and dating aggression and victimization, identified using latent class analysis, and a range of potential developmental outcomes in a general population sample of adolescents in the 8th to 10th grades (n = 3068; 46% female, 58% White, 31% Black, 11% other race/ethnicity). The findings suggest that, compared to youth involved in other patterns of violence, youth involved in peer and dating violence as aggressors and victims are at greatest risk for negative sequelae, although results differed considerably for girls and boys and on the outcome variable and comparison groups being examined.

Developmental Outcomes of Using Physical Violence Against Dates and Peers.

PURPOSE: The negative impact on adolescents of being a victim of violence is well documented, but the impact of being a perpetrator of violence is less well known. Knowing the negative outcomes of being a perpetrator could inform clinical interactions with adolescents, development of violence prevention strategies, and estimates of the societal burden of violence. This longitudinal study examined the effects of physical dating violence (DV) and peer violence (PV) perpetration on internalizing symptoms, relationships with friends and family, academic aspirations and grades, and substance use. METHODS: The four-wave longitudinal study (N = 3,979), conducted in two North Carolina counties over 2½ years, spanned grades 8-12. Generalized linear mixed models were used to examine prospective lagged effects of each type of violence perpetration on each outcome and sex and grade as moderators of effects. RESULTS: Perpetrating DV significantly predicted lower college aspirations and greater likelihood of marijuana use. The effect of DV perpetration on increased family conflict was moderated by school grade; the effect decreased in significance across grades. Perpetrating PV significantly predicted greater likelihood of cigarette and marijuana use. The effects of PV perpetration on increased internalizing symptoms and alcohol intensity and decreased college aspirations were moderated by school grade; effects decreased in significance across grades. Neither type of perpetration predicted changes in number of reciprocated friendships, social status, or academic grades, and no effects varied by sex. CONCLUSIONS: These detrimental outcomes for the perpetrator need to be considered in clinical interactions with adolescents and violence prevention programming.

A longitudinal examination of psychological, behavioral, academic, and relationship consequences of dating abuse victimization among a primarily rural sample of adolescents.

PURPOSE: It is widely held that being victimized by a dating partner during adolescence has negative consequences, yet few longitudinal studies have examined those consequences. This longitudinal study examined the effects of psychological and physical (including sexual) dating abuse victimization on internalizing symptoms, substance use, academic aspirations and grades, and relationships with friends and family. METHODS: This four-wave longitudinal study (N = 3,328), conducted in two rural North Carolina counties, spanned grades 8 to 12. Random coefficient analyses were used to examine prospective lagged effects of each type of dating abuse on each outcome and to examine sex and grade as moderators of lagged effects. RESULTS: Consequences varied by type of dating abuse experienced and sex. For both boys and girls, psychological victimization predicted increased alcohol use and physical victimization predicted increased cigarette use. For girls, physical victimization predicted increased marijuana use, and psychological victimization predicted increased internalizing symptoms; the latter effect was only marginally significant for boys. Physical victimization marginally predicted decreases in the number of close friends for boys. Neither type of victimization predicted increased family conflict or decreased academic aspirations or grades, nor was there evidence that consequences varied by grade. CONCLUSIONS: Although causation cannot be concluded with longitudinal designs, our findings suggest that being victimized by a dating partner may result in detrimental consequences for adolescents. The findings demonstrate the importance of identifying and implementing evidence-based interventions for preventing dating abuse, including efforts to prevent psychological abuse specifically.

Longitudinal predictors of serious physical and sexual dating violence victimization during adolescence.

BACKGROUND: This study identifies potentially modifiable risk factors for the onset of and chronic victimization from serious physical and sexual dating violence. METHODS: One thousand two hundred ninety-one 8th and 9th graders from a county in North Carolina were assessed annually for 5 and 4 years, respectively. RESULTS: For males, having been hit by an adult with the intention of harm, having low self-esteem, and having been in a physical fight with a peer predicted onset of serious physical dating violence victimization. Those variables, plus having a friend who has been a victim of dating violence, alcohol use, and being white, predicted chronic victimization for males. For females, onset of serious physical dating violence victimization was predicted by having been hit by an adult; that variable, plus living in a single-parent household, predicted chronic victimization from serious physical violence. Also for females, onset of sexual violence victimization was predicted by having a friend who has been the victim of dating violence and being depressed; those variables and gender stereotyping predicted chronic victimization from sexual dating violence. CONCLUSIONS: The findings identify high-risk groups and risk factors to target for intervention and have implications for approaches to delivering dating violence prevention programs.