Witnessing Intimate Partner Violence Across Contexts: Mental Health, Delinquency, and Dating Violence Outcomes Among Mexican Heritage Youth. 2022

Lela Rankin Williams, and Heidi Adams Rueda
Arizona State University, Tucson, USA.

Immigrant Mexican American (MA) youth are at greater risk for violence exposure due to risk factors associated with migration-postmigration processes and as they settle into urban U.S. communities marked by crime and poverty. Less is known about the contexts of this exposure. Specifically, what are the ecological contexts in which youth witness intimate partner violence (IPV), how do these experiences differ by immigration generational status, and what is the impact on youth's externalizing and internalizing behaviors? MA adolescents (N = 279; 15-17 years, M = 16.17, SD = 0.81) from the Southwest United States participated in an online survey. Over half of adolescents had witnessed at least one incidence of IPV in the prior 2 weeks, usually involving their peers. Adolescents who had spent more time in the United States were more likely to witness violence and rated it as more severe than more recently immigrated youth. A cross-sectional path model revealed that witnessing IPV was associated with internalizing and externalizing problems. However, the associations between witnessing IPV and dating violence perpetration and victimization were mediated through acceptance of dating violence norms. Each successive generation may be more likely to witness violence across a range of ecological contexts. Witnessing violence may be central to a host of negative outcomes, including deviancy, poor mental health, and dating violence. However, preventive interventions can help youth to challenge violence norms within intimate partnerships as well as to cope with violence in their homes, peer groups, and communities.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008603 Mental Health Emotional, psychological, and social well-being of an individual or group. Mental Hygiene,Health, Mental,Hygiene, Mental
D003430 Cross-Sectional Studies Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time. Disease Frequency Surveys,Prevalence Studies,Analysis, Cross-Sectional,Cross Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Survey,Surveys, Disease Frequency,Analyses, Cross Sectional,Analyses, Cross-Sectional,Analysis, Cross Sectional,Cross Sectional Analyses,Cross Sectional Studies,Cross Sectional Survey,Cross-Sectional Analyses,Cross-Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Study,Cross-Sectional Surveys,Disease Frequency Survey,Prevalence Study,Studies, Cross-Sectional,Studies, Prevalence,Study, Cross-Sectional,Study, Prevalence,Survey, Cross-Sectional,Survey, Disease Frequency,Surveys, Cross-Sectional
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000066511 Intimate Partner Violence A pattern of assaultive and coercive behavior by an individual against their partner or spouse that may include physical injury, psychological abuse, sexual assault, progressive isolation, stalking, deprivation, intimidation, and reproductive coercion. Dating Violence,Intimate Partner Abuse,Abuse, Intimate Partner,Partner Abuse, Intimate,Partner Violence, Intimate,Violence, Dating,Violence, Intimate Partner
D000069581 Exposure to Violence Experience of and exposure to VIOLENCE. Violence Exposure,Violence, Exposure to
D000293 Adolescent A person 13 to 18 years of age. Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D014481 United States A country in NORTH AMERICA between CANADA and MEXICO.
D019548 Crime Victims Individuals subjected to and adversely affected by criminal activity. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994) Victimization,Crime Victim,Victim, Crime,Victims, Crime

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