Citation

Fitzpatrick KM. J. Adolesc. Health 1997; 21(3): 172-178.

Affiliation

Department of Sociology, University of Alabama at Birmingham 35294-3350, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S1054-139X(97)00047-5

PMID

9283938

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study examined the extent to which individual, family, and environmental factors discriminated between aggressive and nonaggressive African-American youth. METHODS: One hundred fifty African-American boys and girls from eight housing communities in a medium sized Alabama central city were surveyed. From this nonrandom sample, information was collected concerning respondents' demographics, family characteristics, exposure(s) to violence, questions pertaining to weapon possession, and a peer-nominated question on aggression. Multivariate analysis was employed to differentiate aggressive from nonaggressive youth. RESULTS: Discriminant function analysis found gender (males) and age (older) to be important discriminators between nonaggressive and aggressive youth. In addition, a significant amount of separation between these groups was accounted for by their varying degrees of exposure to violence, specifically as a witness to and victim of violence, and their possession of a weapon. CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide evidence that victimization and witnessing violence were significantly related to aggressive behavior among this sample of African-American youth. In addition, this study confirms the clinical significance of environment and its potential role in predicting physical health, mental health, and social and behavioral outcomes for youth.

Language: en