Citation

Hurd NM, Zimmerman MA, Reischl TM. J. Early Adolesc. 2011; 31(2): 323-354.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0272431610363160

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The study investigated how role models’ behavior may positively or negatively influence African American early adolescents’ attitudes toward violence and violent behavior. Participants in this study included 331 African American seventh and eighth graders from low-income neighborhoods in an urban, Midwestern city. The study used a model developed and tested to assess the relationships between role model prosocial behavior, role model antisocial behavior, adolescents’ attitudes toward violence, and adolescents’ violent behavior. The model developed was assessed using structural equation modeling. Results revealed the following: (a) Role model prosocial behavior is indirectly related to less violent behavior through adolescents’ attitudes toward violence, (b) role model antisocial behavior is directly linked to increased violent behavior and indirectly linked to increased violent behavior through adolescents’ attitudes toward violence, and (c) role model antisocial behavior appear to have a stronger effect on African American early adolescents’ violent behavior than role model prosocial behavior. Possible explanations for study findings and implications are discussed.