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The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress
Published on: July 4, 2013
Witnessed violence and youth behavior problems: a multi-informant study
Terri Lewis1, Jonathan Kotch, Richard Thompson
1University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27599-8030, USA. ucctll@mail.cscc.unc.edu
The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
|October 19, 2010
Summary
Witnessing violence impacts youth behavior, but reports vary. Using multiple sources, like caregivers and youth, is crucial for accurately assessing witnessed violence and its effects on child behavior problems.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Witnessed violence negatively affects youth behavior and mental health.
- Previous research often relies on single-informant data, leading to inconsistencies between caregiver and youth reports.
- Discrepancies exist in reporting witnessed violence and behavioral issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between witnessed violence and externalizing/internalizing behaviors in youth.
- To incorporate a multisource analytic approach using both caregiver and youth data.
- To address methodological limitations in understanding the impact of witnessed violence.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from 875 caregivers and 812 youth from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN).
- Employed a multisource analytic approach to analyze the data.
- Compared reports from caregivers and youth regarding witnessed violence and behavior problems.
Main Results:
- Youth reported higher rates of witnessed violence than caregivers.
- Caregivers reported more externalizing and internalizing behavior problems than youth.
- The information source significantly influenced the association between witnessed violence and internalizing behaviors.
Conclusions:
- Findings underscore the importance of using multiple informants (caregivers and youth) in research.
- Multisource analytic techniques are essential for accurately assessing the impact of witnessed violence on youth behavior.
- Addressing informant discrepancies is key to understanding youth behavioral problems.
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