Aggression Among High-Risk African American Young Adolescents: Impact of Relational Proximity to Perpetrators of Violence

Objective: Recurring exposure to violence fosters the notion that violence is normal and can achieve a desired goal, therefore enhancing the likelihood that youth will engage in aggressive behavior themselves. Research suggests that direct victimization or witnessing of violence perpetrated by a known person should increase youths' willingness to model such aggression, but very few studies simultaneously examine the unique contributions of multiple sources of perpetration. The current study examines the relative contributions of violence perpetrated by family, friends, and strangers toward the endorsement of normative beliefs about aggression and retaliation and subsequent aggressive behavior in a sample of high-risk, urban youth. It was hypothesized that this relation would be stronger amid closer relationships. Method: Cross-sectional and longitudinal path analyses were conducted using a sample of 240 African American seventh grade students from low-income, urban communities (59% female; M = 11.65 years), who completed surveys in seventh and eighth grades. Results: Family-perpetrated victimization positively predicted general beliefs supportive of aggression, whereas witnessing family- and stranger-perpetrated violence positively predicted beliefs supportive of retaliation. Contrary to expectations, higher levels of friend- and family-perpetrated victimization negatively predicted beliefs supportive of retaliation. Both types of beliefs were positively related to aggressive behavior cross-sectionally but not longitudinally. Conclusions: Results suggest that experiencing violence in closer relationships may be most important in acquiring harmful beliefs about aggression, with the family being the main context of development. Clinicians serving high-risk youth should assess violence frequency, type, and relationship to perpetrators, while utilizing a systems-approach to treatment and policy.