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Psychological symptoms linking exposure to community violence and academic functioning in African American adolescents.
J Youth Adolesc. 2013 Feb; 42(2):250-62.JY

Abstract

African American adolescents are exposed disproportionately to community violence, increasing their risk for emotional and behavioral symptoms that can detract from learning and undermine academic outcomes. The present study examined whether aggressive behavior and depressive and anxious symptoms mediated the association between exposure to community violence and academic functioning, and if the indirect effects of community violence on academic functioning differed for boys and girls, in a community sample of urban African American adolescents (N = 491; 46.6 % female). Structural equation modeling was used to examine the indirect effect of exposure to community violence in grade 6 on grade 8 academic functioning. Results revealed that aggression in grade 7 mediated the association between grade 6 exposure to community violence and grade 8 academic functioning. There were no indirect effects through depressive and anxious symptoms, and gender did not moderate the indirect effect. Findings highlight the importance of targeting aggressive behavior for youth exposed to community violence to not only improve their behavioral adjustment but also their academic functioning. Implications for future research are discussed.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Busby DR
Department of Psychology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA. drbusby@gwmail.gwu.edu
Lambert SF
No affiliation info available
Ialongo NS
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AdolescentAdolescent BehaviorAfrican AmericansAggressionCrime VictimsEducational StatusFemaleHumansInterpersonal RelationsJuvenile DelinquencyMaleResidence CharacteristicsSocial EnvironmentStudentsUnited StatesUrban Population

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

Language

eng

PubMed ID

23277294

Citation

Busby, Danielle R., et al. "Psychological Symptoms Linking Exposure to Community Violence and Academic Functioning in African American Adolescents." Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 42, no. 2, 2013, pp. 250-62.
Busby DR, Lambert SF, Ialongo NS. Psychological symptoms linking exposure to community violence and academic functioning in African American adolescents. J Youth Adolesc. 2013;42(2):250-62.
Busby, D. R., Lambert, S. F., & Ialongo, N. S. (2013). Psychological symptoms linking exposure to community violence and academic functioning in African American adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(2), 250-62. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9895-z
Busby DR, Lambert SF, Ialongo NS. Psychological Symptoms Linking Exposure to Community Violence and Academic Functioning in African American Adolescents. J Youth Adolesc. 2013;42(2):250-62. PubMed PMID: 23277294.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Psychological symptoms linking exposure to community violence and academic functioning in African American adolescents. AU - Busby,Danielle R, AU - Lambert,Sharon F, AU - Ialongo,Nicholas S, Y1 - 2013/01/01/ PY - 2012/08/03/received PY - 2012/12/18/accepted PY - 2013/1/2/entrez PY - 2013/1/2/pubmed PY - 2013/6/19/medline SP - 250 EP - 62 JF - Journal of youth and adolescence JO - J Youth Adolesc VL - 42 IS - 2 N2 - African American adolescents are exposed disproportionately to community violence, increasing their risk for emotional and behavioral symptoms that can detract from learning and undermine academic outcomes. The present study examined whether aggressive behavior and depressive and anxious symptoms mediated the association between exposure to community violence and academic functioning, and if the indirect effects of community violence on academic functioning differed for boys and girls, in a community sample of urban African American adolescents (N = 491; 46.6 % female). Structural equation modeling was used to examine the indirect effect of exposure to community violence in grade 6 on grade 8 academic functioning. Results revealed that aggression in grade 7 mediated the association between grade 6 exposure to community violence and grade 8 academic functioning. There were no indirect effects through depressive and anxious symptoms, and gender did not moderate the indirect effect. Findings highlight the importance of targeting aggressive behavior for youth exposed to community violence to not only improve their behavioral adjustment but also their academic functioning. Implications for future research are discussed. SN - 1573-6601 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/23277294/Psychological_symptoms_linking_exposure_to_community_violence_and_academic_functioning_in_African_American_adolescents_ L2 - https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9895-z DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -