TY - JOUR
T1 - Palestinian adolescents' exposure to community violence and internalizing and externalizing symptoms
T2 - Parental factors as mediators
AU - Ali-Saleh Darawshy, Neveen
AU - Haj-Yahia, Muhammad M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2018/12
Y1 - 2018/12
N2 - Background: In this study, we examined the associations of parents' and adolescents' exposure to community violence (CV) with externalizing and internalizing symptoms among adolescents aged 14–18, and the mediating role of some parental factors in these relationships. The study was based on the secondary trauma perspective in explaining parents' exposure to CV and its implications on their offspring. Method: Self-administered questionnaires were filled out by a semi-systematic random sample of 760 Palestinian parent-adolescent dyads from Israel. Results: The findings revealed that most of the Palestinian adolescents had witnessed CV, and more than one-third of them directly experienced such violence during their lifetime. Most of the parents had also witnessed such violence, and almost half of them directly experienced such violence during their lifetime. For parents and adolescents, greater exposure to CV was associated with more internalizing and externalizing symptoms among adolescents. Additionally, results of path analysis indicate that parental stress mediated the correlation between the adolescents' direct experience with CV and internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and it mediated the correlation of the parents' direct experience with CV and internalizing and externalizing symptoms among their adolescent offspring. Conclusions: The strengths and limitations of the study and their implications for future research are discussed. The implications of the results for prevention and intervention are also discussed.
AB - Background: In this study, we examined the associations of parents' and adolescents' exposure to community violence (CV) with externalizing and internalizing symptoms among adolescents aged 14–18, and the mediating role of some parental factors in these relationships. The study was based on the secondary trauma perspective in explaining parents' exposure to CV and its implications on their offspring. Method: Self-administered questionnaires were filled out by a semi-systematic random sample of 760 Palestinian parent-adolescent dyads from Israel. Results: The findings revealed that most of the Palestinian adolescents had witnessed CV, and more than one-third of them directly experienced such violence during their lifetime. Most of the parents had also witnessed such violence, and almost half of them directly experienced such violence during their lifetime. For parents and adolescents, greater exposure to CV was associated with more internalizing and externalizing symptoms among adolescents. Additionally, results of path analysis indicate that parental stress mediated the correlation between the adolescents' direct experience with CV and internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and it mediated the correlation of the parents' direct experience with CV and internalizing and externalizing symptoms among their adolescent offspring. Conclusions: The strengths and limitations of the study and their implications for future research are discussed. The implications of the results for prevention and intervention are also discussed.
KW - Directly experiencing community violence
KW - Internalizing and externalizing symptoms
KW - Palestinian adolescents
KW - Parental monitoring
KW - Parental stress
KW - Witnessing community violence
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85056650776&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.11.017
DO - 10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.11.017
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AN - SCOPUS:85056650776
SN - 0190-7409
VL - 95
SP - 397
EP - 406
JO - Children and Youth Services Review
JF - Children and Youth Services Review
ER -