Weapon violence in adolescence: parent and school connectedness as protective factors

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we investigated weapon violence involving violence exposure and commission, as well as the protective roles of parent and school connectedness over time.

Adolescents from Add Health's core sample (N = 7033) were followed for one year over two waves of measurement.

Consistent with hypotheses, violence exposure and violence commission uniquely predicted each other over time. Also, adolescents who were more connected with their parents were less likely to commit weapon violence over time, and adolescents who were more connected to school were less likely to be exposed to weapon violence over time. However, neither domain of connectedness buffered adolescents from the effects of violence exposure on committing violence. Further, parent and school connectedness seemed to have more power as preventive rather than as mitigating factors in relation to weapon violence.

Further research using a broader array of violence measures may reveal additional processes through which protective factors can help sever the link between weapon violence exposure and commission.