Search

A substantial minority of adolescents experience and use dating violence in their sexual and/or romantic relationships. Limited attention has been paid to exploring theory-driven questions about use and experience of adolescent dating violence (ADV), restricting knowledge about promising prevention targets for diverse groups of youth. To address this gap, this paper investigates whether factors tied to power imbalances (bullying, risk of social marginalization) are associated with patterns of ADV victimization and perpetration in a large sample of Canadian mid-adolescents. We used data from the 2017/2018 Health-Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study, a nationally representative sample of Canadian youth. Our study was comprised of adolescents who were in grades 9 or 10, and who had dated in the past 12 months (N = 3779). We assessed multiple forms of ADV and bullying victimization and perpetration. We also included six variables assessing adolescents' risk of social marginalization: gender, race/ethnicity, immigration status, family structure, food insecurity, and family affluence. We used latent class analysis to explore the ways adolescents experience and use different forms of ADV, and then examined whether factors tied to power imbalances (bullying, social marginalization) were associated with classes of ADV. Three ADV classes emerged in our sample: uninvolved (65.7%), psychological and cyber victimization only (28.9%), and mutual violence (5.4%). Bullying was most strongly associated with the mutual violence class, suggesting a transformation of power from peer to romantic contexts. Social marginalization variables were associated with ADV patterns in different ways, highlighting the need to use a critical and anti-oppressive lens in ADV research and prevention initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to violence is recognized as a major health concern among adolescent populations. The evidence base that links religious involvement with risks for child violence is inconsistent. In a national analysis involving a weighted sample of 24,307 young people, we studied the perpetration of violence (fighting and bullying), as well as victimization by violence (bullying only), among young people who were affiliated with religious groups. One in four young Canadians reported involvement in such groups. Study findings confirmed some unique patterns among this group. First, these religiously involved children reported the same or greater levels of perpetration of violence than other children. Second, religiously involved children reported the same or greater levels of experiencing victimization from violence. Third, religious involvement appeared to protect against engagement in certain overt risk-taking behaviors, but not violence. These patterns were consistent even after adjustment for family, community, socioeconomic, and school-related determinants. If religious communities are to fulfill mandates that foster the protection and nurturing of children into healthy relationships, violence is best addressed using evidence-based strategies. Development of such effective preventive strategies requires the incorporation of contemporary evidence about the distribution, determinants, and possible effects of violence in such groups. Findings from our study suggest that a silence around the issue of violence may in fact be true in the context of some Canadian religious communities. Yet, if these communities make an intentional commitment to protecting children from violence and promoting healthy relationships, and are willing to learn from evidence-based practices that have shown to protect children from participating in and experiencing violent and victim behaviors, perhaps these disturbing trends could be reversed. This message is germane for all levels of leadership in Canadian religious communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth who experience peer victimization are at risk of developing mental health problems. However, little is known about the emotional causal mechanisms linking peer victimization with these negative outcomes. This study investigated whether shame mediated this relationship. At three time points (T1-T3), 396 10- to 13-year-olds completed measures of peer victimization, shame (characterological, bodily, and behavioral; shame proneness), and mental health (depression, social anxiety, and externalizing behavior). Three multiple mediation models tested the indirect effects of T1 victimization on T3 mental health through the four T2 shame-related variables. Analyses revealed indirect effects for the shame-related mediators on depression, social anxiety, and externalizing behaviors. Specifically, indirect positive effects for characterological and bodily shame on depression and social anxiety were found, with greater bodily shame linked to higher levels of social anxiety in girls but not boys. In addition, an indirect negative effect for behavioral shame on externalizing problems was found, with higher levels of externalizing problems in victimized boys but not in girls. Finally, an indirect positive effect for shame proneness and externalizing problems was found. To clarify the directionality, three additional mediation models were run with mental health symptoms as predictors of shame and subsequent victimization. Indirect effects for the shame-related mediators were found for all outcomes, specifically bodily shame and shame proneness as mediators between internalizing and externalizing symptoms and victimization. These three models were compared and contrasted with the hypothesized models. In sum, findings support the role of shame as an underlying emotional mechanism of peer victimization, and may guide intervention programs to address the mental health concerns of victimized youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the relation between relative deprivation (RD)—disparity in affluence between adolescents and their more affluent schoolmates—and involvement in bullying among 23,383 students (aged 9-19) in 413 schools that participated in the 2010 Canadian Health Behavior in School-Aged Children survey. Students reported family affluence and frequency of bullying victimization and perpetration during the previous 2 months. Using the Yitzhaki index of RD and multinomial logistic regression analysis, we found that RD positively related to three types of bullying victimization (physical, relational, and cyberbullying) and to two types of perpetration (relational and cyberbullying) after differences in absolute affluence were held constant. These findings suggest that RD uniquely contributes to risk of bullying involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]