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Affiliation
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Department of Public Health, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. |
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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: Childhood adversities (CAs) have been found to be associated with problem behaviors in adolescents; however, the mediators-that help build resilience and prevent some children who experience CAs from engaging in problem behaviors-await more exploration, including social integration. The aim of this study is to identify the association between CAs and adolescent problem behaviors, and to further examine the mediating role of social integration distinctly as psychological and structural integration.
METHODS: Data used were from the Taiwan Education Panel Survey, a core panel of 4,261 students (age 13) surveyed in 2001 and followed for three more waves until age 18. For psychological integration, an average score was calculated to represent adolescents' feelings about their school. Structural integration was constructed by several items about adolescents' school and extracurricular activities. We used structural equation modeling with diagonally weighted least squares method to examine the effect of CA on the primary outcome-adolescent problem behaviors via social integration.
RESULTS: The hypothesized structural equation model specifying the path from childhood adversity to adolescent problem behavior showed good fit. Respondents with one CA were indirectly linked to problem behaviors via psychological but not structural integration-the level of participation in school and non-school activities.
RESULTS of mediation analysis showed that psychological integration significantly mediated the paths from one CA to all six problem behaviors (all ps<0.05).
CONCLUSION: Only individuals with one CA are indirectly associated with problem behavior via psychological integration; individuals with two or more CAs had no significant paths to their problem behaviors. The contributions of social integration is crucial to an adolescent's development between CA and problem behaviors. To form supportive social relationships to achieve better health, we suggest that those adolescents who have been exposed to childhood adversities should be helped by joining more teams and activities, by getting more possibilities for social interaction, and by improving their communication skills. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Language: en |