DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/1SQ4-NM15
Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1053-6613
Defense Date
2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Albert D Farrell, PhD
Second Advisor
Terri Sullivan, PhD
Abstract
Community violence exposure is prevalent among youth residing in economically marginalized communities that have high rates of violence. Witnessing community violence has been concurrently associated with persistent adverse consequences. However, few studies have applied a developmental psychopathology framework and examined dynamic developmental processes between witnessing community violence and outcomes over time. Moreover, most prior studies have used analyses that assume that associations between witnessing violence and outcomes are the same for all adolescents, which is inconsistent with both developmental theories and theories specific to community violence exposure. The goal of this study was to apply a developmental psychopathological framework to (a) examine heterogeneity in changes in witnessing community violence across middle school, and (b) examine their associations with distress symptoms and aggression. I used three analyses that made different assumptions about the heterogeneity and functional form of change within a subgroup of adolescents residing in an economically marginalized community with high rates of violence. Participants were 1,323 youth (54.3% female, 17.5% Latine, 88.3% African American/Black) attending middle schools in neighborhoods with high percentages of residents below the federal poverty line and high rates of violence.
I used latent curve models to identify trajectories of witnessing community violence, distress symptoms, and physical aggression for the overall sample. For witnessing community violence, a piecewise model fit the data best and indicated that witnessing community violence decreased across middle school with the steepest decrease during the 6th grade. Additionally, there were significant drops in witnessing violence during the summer. For distress symptoms, a quadratic model fit the data best such that symptoms decreased across middle school and the rate of change decreased (i.e., decelerated) over time. For aggression, a piecewise model fit the data best and indicated that the frequency of physical aggression was stable during each school year and decreased significantly during the summer. Results of a growth mixture model (GMM) analysis using the parameters of the witnessing violence trajectory as latent class indicators suggested that there was heterogeneity in trajectories of witnessing violence that could be modeled by three distinct subgroups. Latent profile analysis, which allowed the functional form of change in witnessing violence to vary over time by examining patterns in frequency, produced similar subgroups to the GMM. Thus, the GMM, which constrained the functional form to be the same across subgroups and allowed within-group variability in parameters, was further evaluated for subgroup differences in distress symptoms and physical aggression.
Overall, frequencies of witnessing violence differed across subgroups, and subgroups with higher overall frequencies had greater decreases (i.e., slopes) in witnessing over time. The subgroups also differed in their overall levels of distress and aggression, but not in their rates of change (i.e., slopes) in these constructs. A rarely witnessing subgroup (22%) had the lowest levels of distress symptoms and frequencies of aggression across middle school. The frequent witnessing subgroup (33%) had the highest levels of distress symptoms and frequencies of physical aggression across middle school. Additionally, this subgroup had the largest decreases in witnessing violence and physical aggression frequencies during the summer. Finally, the moderate witnessing subgroup (45%) consistently reported levels of distress symptoms and frequency of physical aggression in between those reported by the other two subgroups. These findings suggest that there is heterogeneity in adolescents’ experiences of witnessing community violence exposure across time that can be modeled with the same functional form. These findings have implications for interventions and highlight the importance of early intervention.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
8-2-2023