Behavior Problems Among Adolescents Exposed to Family and Community Violence in Chile

• Author: Jorge Delva,Julie Ma,Andrew Grogan‐Kaylor
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12199
• Published date: 01 July 2016
• Date: 01 July 2016

J M Michigan State University

A G-K  J D University of Michigan

Behavior Problems Among Adolescents Exposed to

Family and Community Violence in Chile

Research that simultaneously examines the rela-

tionship of multiple types of family and com-

munity violence with adolescent outcomes is

limited in the previous research literature, par-

ticularly in Latin America. This study exam-

ines the relationship of adolescent exposure to

family and community violence—parental use of

corporal punishment, violence in the commu-

nity, intimate partner physical aggression—with

eight subscales of the YouthSelf Report among a

Chilean sample of 593 adolescent–mother pairs.

Results from multilevel models indicated a pos-

itive association between adolescent exposure

to violence in the family and community, and a

wide range of behavior problem outcomes, in

particular, aggression. With growing evidence

concerning the detrimental effect of violence on

adolescent well-being, these ndings emphasize

the need for a more comprehensive understand-

ing of the various kinds of violence adolescents

are exposed to within the family and commu-

nity and the concomitant need to reduce multiple

forms of violence.

The literature continues to highlight the per-

vasiveness of violence against children and

adolescents in the family and community

(Finkelhor, Turner, Shattuck, & Hamby, 2013;

School of Social Work, Michigan State University, 254

Baker Hall, East Lansing, MI 48864 (maju@msu.edu).

Key Words: Community violence, corporal punishment, inti-

mate partner physical aggression, youth behavior problems.

Pinheiro, 2006). Whether children experience

violence as victims or as witnesses, children

who are exposed to violence in the family and

community tend to also have lower levels of

well-being than their counterparts who are not

exposed to violence (Kennedy, Bybee, Sullivan,

& Greeson, 2010; Mrug, Loosier, & Windle,

2008). The United Nations Secretary-General’s

Study on Violence Against Children—a global

report documenting children’s exposure to vari-

ous forms of violence in 35 nations—estimated

that between 133 million and 275 million chil-

dren are exposed to violence in their family in

a given year (Pinheiro, 2006). Children’s expo-

sure to community violence is also projected to

be high and problematic across the globe (Krug,

Dahlberg, Mercy, Zwi, & Lozano, 2002).

In Chile, where the present study was con-

ducted, violence in the family and commu-

nity continues to be a public health concern,

despite substantial legislative progress in reduc-

ing violence by the enactment of a domes-

tic violence law in 2005 (Cruz, 2000; Has-

san et al., 2004; Oviedo & Rodríguez, 1999;

Zlotnick et al., 2006). Population-based esti-

mates show that between 25% and 31% of

Chilean women are victims of physical inti-

mate partner violence in their lifetimes (Ceballo,

Ramirez, Castillo, Caballero, & Lozoff, 2004;

Hassan et al., 2004). Also, parental corporal

punishment is considered a socially acceptable

method of child discipline in Chilean fami-

lies (Vargas et al., 1995). Estimates suggest that

20% of mothers and 10% of fathers hit their

children with their hands or an object (Ma,

502 Family Relations 65 (July 2016): 502–516

DOI:10.1111/fare.12199