Acculturative Dissonance and Risks for Proactive and Reactive Aggression Among Latino/a Adolescents: Implications for Culturally Relevant Prevention and Interventions.
There is a dearth of studies concerning the functions of aggression among Latino/a youth despite the fact they are one of the fastest growing youth populations in the United States. We examined individual, peer, cultural, and community level indicators of reactive and proactive aggression and determined whether these relationships were moderated by acculturative dissonance (e.g., culturally specific family conflicts arising from the acculturation process) among a sample of Latino/a adolescents who were predominantly of Mexican heritage. Consistent with prior evidence, results revealed that peer delinquency was uniquely associated with proactive aggression, whereas impulsivity was uniquely associated with reactive aggression. Further, acculturative dissonance was uniquely associated with proactive but not reactive aggression. No moderating effects for acculturative dissonance were found, indicating that the significant risk factors in our study were associated with proactive and reactive aggression regardless of the level of acculturative dissonance experienced. Notably, acculturative dissonance was a unique risk factor for proactive aggression and thus may be an important target for prevention and interventions among Latino/a youth. Consequently, interventions designed to prevent culturally specific family conflicts and promote family functioning may be particularly useful in mitigating the risk of aggression intended to achieve social and material awards among in this population.
School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas, 1545 Lilac Lane, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA. awilliford@ku.edu.
Anne
A
Williford
Department of Clinical Child Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
Paula J
PJ
Fite
School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas, 1545 Lilac Lane, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA.
Michelle
M
Johnson-Motoyama
Department of Clinical Child Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
Andrew L
AL
Frazer
D000069:Acculturation; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D003073:Cognitive Dissonance; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology; D000069581:Exposure to Violence / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D015146:Midwestern United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D010287:Parent-Child Relations / Q000208:ethnology*; D010379:Peer Group; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012945:Social Values / Q000208:ethnology
Acculturative dissonance; Latino/a adolescents; Proactive aggression; Reactive aggression