Links Between Childhood Exposure to Violent Contexts and Risky Adolescent Health Behaviors

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.01.013

Journal of Adolescent Health

Volume 63, Issue 1, July 2018, Pages 94-101

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.01.013 Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

To assess whether childhood exposure to violent contexts is prospectively associated with risky adolescent health behavior and whether these associations are specific to different contexts of violence and different types of risky behavior.

Methods

Data come from 2,684 adolescents in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a population-based birth cohort study of children born between 1998 and 2000 in 20 large American cities. Using logistic regression models, we evaluate whether exposure to 6 indicators of community violence and 7 indicators of family violence at ages 5 and 9 is associated with risky sexual behavior, substance use, and obesity risk behavior at age 15.

Results

Controlling for a range of adolescent, parent, and neighborhood covariates, each additional point on the community violence scale is associated with 8% higher odds of risky sexual behavior but not substance use or obesity risk behavior. Alternatively, each additional point on the family violence scale is associated with 20% higher odds of substance use but not risky sexual behavior or obesity risk behavior.

Conclusions

Childhood exposure to violent contexts is associated with risky adolescent health behaviors, but the associations are context and behavior specific. After including covariates, we find no association between childhood exposure to violent contexts and obesity risk behavior.

Section snippets

Data

The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) is a population-based, birth cohort study of 4,898 children born between 1998 and 2000 in 20 large American cities (population over 200,000). Because FFCWS oversampled nonmarital births, the study includes a large and diverse sample of children from low-income families and neighborhoods. Sample recruitment is described in Reichman et al. [23]; subsequent data collection procedures are documented at //fragilefamilies.princeton.edu/documentation

Results

Results are reported in Table 2, Table 3 (all coefficients for Table 3 are available in Table A2).

Discussion

This study is the first to demonstrate a prospective link between exposure to violence and risky health behavior across domains. Using a diverse population-based sample, we find that childhood exposure to violent contexts is associated with higher levels of risky health behavior 6-10 years later at age 15. Controlling for child, family, and neighborhood characteristics, community violence (but not family violence) is associated with risky sexual behavior, whereas family violence (but not

Acknowledgments

Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers R01HD36916, R01HD39135, R01HD40421, and P2CHD047879 and a consortium of private foundations. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official view of the National Institutes of Health.

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Citation Excerpt :
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Weight status has been linked to adverse childhood experiences. Existing research, however, is limited to unidimensional assessments of cumulative risk and does not account for the complex nature of adversity experienced by children in high-risk settings. We fill existing gaps by assessing how four subtypes of adversity across two primary dimensions of threat and deprivation-based adversity are associated with changes in body mass index (BMI) across child ages 3 through 15 years.
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Positive and adverse social and relational experiences have concrete biologic impacts that shape child development, social and emotional skills, mental health, and overall well-being.5–8 Socially, children must have basic needs met, like food,9,10 safe housing,11 and neighborhoods free from violence12 and racism.13 Relationally, healthy development requires the presence of safe, stable, and nurturing relationships across all contexts where children learn, play, and grow.6,7,14

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: Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest or sources of financial support to declare.

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Original articleLinks Between Childhood Exposure to Violent Contexts and Risky Adolescent Health Behaviors

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Data

Results

Discussion

Acknowledgments

Lancet

Child Abuse Negl

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

Child Abuse Negl

Child Abuse Negl

Child Youth Serv Rev

Child Abuse Negl

An integrative approach to health

Demography

The effects of family and community violence on children

Annu Rev Psychol

Risk factors for and behavioral consequences of direct versus indirect exposure to violence

Am J Public Health

Exposure to violence predicting cortisol response during adolescence and early adulthood: Understanding moderating factors

J Youth Adolesc

Violence exposure across multiple contexts: Individual and joint effects on adjustment

Am J Orthopsychiatry

Prevalence and mental health correlates of witnessed parental and community violence in a national sample of adolescents

J Child Psychol Psychiatry

The acute effect of local homicides on children's cognitive performance

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

The effect of local violence on children's attention and impulse control

Am J Public Health

Collateral consequences of violence in disadvantaged neighborhoods

Soc Forces

“White box” epidemiology and the social neuroscience of health behaviors: The environmental affordances model

Soc Ment Health

Original article
Links Between Childhood Exposure to Violent Contexts and Risky Adolescent Health Behaviors