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The mediating role of alienation in the development of maladjustment in youth exposed to community violence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2006

DEBORAH A. O'DONNELL ,
MARY E. SCHWAB-STONE  and
VLADISLAV RUCHKIN
DEBORAH A. O'DONNELL
Affiliation:
St. Mary's College of Maryland
MARY E. SCHWAB-STONE
Affiliation:
Yale University Medical School
VLADISLAV RUCHKIN
Affiliation:
Yale University Medical School
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Abstract

A study was conducted to determine predictors of high risk/delinquent behavior and psychoemotional maladjustment in 1,478 sixth and eighth graders who took part in a survey of high-risk and adaptive behaviors. The first goal was to determine the extent to which two distinct dimensions of alienation, normlessness, and isolation/self-estrangement mediated the emergence of maladjustment in youth exposed to community violence. The second goal was to distinguish between violence witnessing and violence victimization, and determine whether these subtypes of violence exposure may differentially affect the proposed mediational factors. The results indicated that normlessness partially mediated the relationship between violence exposure and high-risk/delinquent behavior and between violence exposure and psychoemotional maladjustment. Isolation/self-estrangement partially mediated the relation between violence exposure and psychoemotional maladjustment. Although witnessing of, and victimization by, violence were both significant predictors of normlessness, only violent victimization was significantly linked to isolation/self-estrangement. These results elucidate the mechanisms by which community violence exposure may exert negative influences on youth and suggest that there are distinct patterns of risk associated with different forms of exposure.This research was facilitated by the support of the William T. Grant Foundation and the Harris Program on Social Policy. The authors gratefully acknowledge the New Haven Public Schools, especially Superintendent Dr. Reginald Mayo and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Verdell Roberts. The authors thank Drs. Alan Kazdin, Joseph Mahoney, and Edward Zigler for their helpful feedback on earlier versions of this manuscript.

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 18 , Issue 1 , March 2006 , pp. 215 - 232
Copyright
© 2006 Cambridge University Press

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