Longitudinal Relations among Adolescent Risk Behavior, Family Cohesion, Violence Exposure, and Mental Health in a National Sample.

Longitudinal Relations among Adolescent Risk Behavior, Family Cohesion, Violence Exposure, and Mental Health in a National Sample. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2020 Aug 26;: Authors: Goodrum NM, Smith DW, Hanson RF, Moreland AD, Saunders BE, Kilpatrick DG Abstract Violence is a public health concern linked with mental health problems among adolescents, and risk behavior increases the likelihood of violence exposure. Family cohesion may attenuate the negative effects of risk behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine family cohesion as a moderator in the relation between risk behavior (substance use and delinquency) and violence exposure, and to explore longitudinal associations among cohesion, violence exposure, and subsequent mental health outcomes (PTSD and depression). Data were drawn from the National Survey of Adolescents-Replication, a nationally representative sample of 3604 adolescents, with data collected via structured phone interviews at three waves spanning a two-year period. Hypotheses were tested using longitudinal structural equation modeling. Findings revealed that high family cohesion attenuated the relation between risk behavior and subsequent violence exposure. Wave 2 violence exposure was associated with more Wave 3 mental health problems, but high family cohesion was related to fewer subsequent symptoms. Follow-up analyses revealed that family cohesion moderated the relation between risk behavior and experienc...
Source: Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: J Abnorm Child Psychol Source Type: research