Violence-related behaviors among Dominican adolescents: examining the influence of alcohol and marijuana use.
This study identified the predictors of youth violence and violent victimization among a sample of Dominican adolescents (N=155) attending high school in a northeastern urban community. As part of a broader community-based needs assessment, students participated in an evaluation of a substance abuse prevention program funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Correlations, principal components, multiple imputation, and stepwise regression analyses were systematically employed to develop a parsimonious model for predicting violence-related behaviors among Dominican youth. Findings suggest that early onset of alcohol and marijuana use was associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in violence-related behaviors or being the victim of a violent act. In addition, students who reported a lowered sense of safety were more likely to be involved in acts of violence. However, adolescents who reported depressive symptoms were less inclined to become involved in violence-related behaviors. Implications for culturally-tailored violence and substance abuse prevention programming efforts are discussed.
Reid
Robert J
RJ
Department of Family and Child Studies, College of Education and Human Servises, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ 07043, USA. reidr@mail.montclair.edu
Garcia-Reid
Pauline
P
Klein
Erika
E
McDougall
Andrew
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000208:ethnology*; D004293:Dominican Republic / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000208:ethnology*; D009511:New England / Q000453:epidemiology; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control