Direct and mediated associations between religious coping, spirituality, and youth violence in El Salvador.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the direct and mediated relationships between religious coping, spirituality, social developmental factors, and violence among high-risk and gang-involved youth in a high-crime, Latin American country. METHODS: Using a community sample of 290 high-risk and gang-involved youth in San Salvador, El Salvador, structural equation modeling was employed to examine the relationships between religious coping, spirituality, social developmental factors (e.g., antisocial bond and antisocial beliefs), and violence. RESULTS: Religious coping (ß = - 0.14, P < 0.05) and spirituality (ß = - 0.20, P < 0.01) were both significantly associated with antisocial bond. Antisocial bond, in turn, was directly associated with violence (ß = 0.70, P < 0.001) and was associated with antisocial beliefs (ß = 0.54, P < 0.001); however, the path from antisocial beliefs to violence was not statistically significant. No direct paths were identified from religiosity and spirituality to violence. The goodness-of-fit statistics (root mean square error of approximation, 0.034; comparative fit index, 0.974; and Tucker-Lewis index, 0.966) suggest that the final model had acceptable fit. CONCLUSIONS: This study is among the first to shed light on the relationship between religiosity, spirituality, and youth violence in the Latin American context. Elevated levels of religious coping and spirituality are associated with less antisocial bonding, which, in turn, is associated with lower levels of violent behavior among high-risk and gang-involved Salvadoran youth. Study findings suggest that religious coping and spirituality are indirectly protective for youth violence among this high-risk population.

Direct and mediated associations between religious coping, spirituality, and youth violence in El Salvador / Asociaciones directas y mediadas entre el afrontamiento religioso, la espiritualidad y la violencia juvenil en El Salvador

OBJECTIVE: To examine the direct and mediated relationships between religious coping, spirituality, social developmental factors, and violence among high-risk and gang-involved youth in a high-crime, Latin American country. METHODS: Using a community sample of 290 high-risk and gang-involved youth in San Salvador, El Salvador, structural equation modeling was employed to examine the relationships between religious coping, spirituality, social developmental factors (e.g., antisocial bond and antisocial beliefs), and violence. RESULTS: Religious coping (β = - 0.14, P < 0.05) and spirituality (β = - 0.20, P < 0.01) were both significantly associated with antisocial bond. Antisocial bond, in turn, was directly associated with violence (β = 0.70, P < 0.001) and was associated with antisocial beliefs (β = 0.54, P < 0.001); however, the path from antisocial beliefs to violence was not statistically significant. No direct paths were identified from religiosity and spirituality to violence. The goodness-of-fit statistics (root mean square error of approximation, 0.034; comparative fit index, 0.974; and Tucker-Lewis index, 0.966) suggest that the final model had acceptable fit. CONCLUSIONS: This study is among the first to shed light on the relationship between religiosity, spirituality, and youth violence in the Latin American context. Elevated levels of religious coping and spirituality are associated with less antisocial bonding, which, in turn, is associated with lower levels of violent behavior among high-risk and gang-involved Salvadoran youth. Study findings suggest that religious coping and spirituality are indirectly protective for youth violence among this high-risk population.

OBJETIVO: Analizar las relaciones directas y mediadas entre el afrontamiento religioso, la espiritualidad, los factores de desarrollo social, y la violencia en jóvenes de alto riesgo y pertenecientes a pandillas de un país latinoamericano con una alta incidencia de criminalidad. MÉTODOS: Se seleccionó una muestra de la comunidad de 290 jóvenes de alto riesgo y pertenecientes a pandillas de San Salvador (El Salvador). Mediante el modelado de ecuaciones estructurales se analizaron las relaciones entre el afrontamiento religioso, la espiritualidad, los factores de desarrollo social (por ejemplo, el vínculo antisocial y las creencias antisociales), y la violencia. RESULTADOS: El afrontamiento religioso (β = - 0,14, P < 0,05) y la espiritualidad (β = - 0,20, P < 0,01) se asociaron ambos significativamente con el vínculo antisocial. El vínculo antisocial, a su vez, se asoció directamente con la violencia (β = 0,70, P < 0,001) y también se asoció con las creencias antisociales (β = 0,54, P < 0,001); sin embargo, la vía de las creencias antisociales a la violencia no fue estadísticamente significativa. No se identificaron vías directas de la religiosidad y la espiritualidad a la violencia. La prueba estadística de bondad de ajuste (error de aproximación cuadrático medio, 0,034; índice de ajuste comparativo, 0,974; índice de Tucker-Lewis, 0,966) indica que el modelo final mostraba un ajuste aceptable. CONCLUSIONES: Este estudio es uno de los primeros en clarificar la relación entre la religiosidad, la espiritualidad y la violencia juvenil en el entorno latinoamericano. Los niveles elevados de afrontamiento religioso y espiritualidad se asocian con vínculos menos antisociales que, a su vez, se asocian con menores niveles de comportamiento violento entre los jóvenes salvadoreños de alto riesgo y pertenecientes a pandillas. Los resultados de este estudio indican que el afrontamiento religioso y la espiritualidad son protectores indirectos de la violencia juvenil en esta población de alto riesgo.

Religious coping, spirituality, and substance use and abuse among youth in high-risk communities in San Salvador, El Salvador.

Little is known about the relationship between religious coping, spirituality, and substance use in developing nations such as El Salvador. Collected in 2011, the sample consists of 290 high-risk and gang-involved adolescents (11-17 years) and young adults (18-25 years) in San Salvador, El Salvador. Structural equation modeling and logistic regression are employed to examine the associations between the Measure of Religious Coping (RCOPE), the Intrinsic Spirituality Scale, and substance use and abuse. Results suggest that spirituality and, to a far lesser degree, religious coping may serve to protect for substance use and abuse among this high-risk population of Salvadoran youth.

Assessing empathy in Salvadoran high-risk and gang-involved adolescents and young adults: a Spanish validation of the basic empathy scale.

Empathy is considered a key construct in the empirical study of high-risk adolescent and young adult delinquency, crime, and violence. This study examined the psychometric properties and criterion-related validity of a Spanish adaptation of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES), which is an important measure designed to capture both affective and cognitive empathy that has been validated in multiple languages but not in Spanish. The study's sample consisted of 208 high-risk and gang-involved adolescents and young adults in the Greater San Salvador Metropolitan Area. The original BES was reduced from its 20-item design to a more culturally appropriate 7-item design. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis and criterion-related validity analysis indicate that the adapted BES is a valid and reliable multidimensional measure of empathy for high-risk Salvadoran adolescents and young adults. Consistent with previous findings, females reported lower levels of empathy than males and delinquent/violent respondents reported lower levels of empathy than their nonoffender counterparts.