Abstract
Rates of exposure to community violence (CV) are alarmingly high for youth in many countries, and associated with negative consequences. The present study examines the rates and consequences of exposure to community violence among Palestinian adolescents from Israel, age 14–18 years. Specifically, it examines whether exposure to community violence is indirectly related to academic achievement through internalizing and externalizing symptoms among adolescents; and whether the impact of internalizing and externalizing symptoms on academic achievements depends on parental levels of psychological well-being (PWB). A semi systematic random sample of 760 Palestinian adolescents in Israel, (320 boys, and 440 girls) completed a self-administration questionnaire. Most of the adolescents had witnessed community violence during the last year and during their lifetime; more than one third had directly experienced lifetime violence compared with 19.6% during the last year. Path analysis was used to examine a moderated mediation model, with internalizing and externalizing symptoms as a mediator of the relationship between exposure to CV and academic achievement, and PWB as a moderator of the path between internalizing/externalizing symptoms and academic achievement. Externalizing, but not internalizing, symptoms mediated the association between exposure to CV and academic achievement. Moreover, parental psychological well-being (PWB) moderated the relationship between externalizing symptoms and academic achievements. Findings highlight the importance of targeting adolescent externalizing symptoms and academic achievement following exposure to community violence. Study limitations, implications for practice, and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Highlights
-
Exposure to CV related to high levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms and low academic achievement.
-
Exposure to CV negatively impacts school achievement by triggering behavioral problems, violence, and aggression.
-
Parental psychological well-being moderated the relationship between externalizing symptoms and academic achievements.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abu Bakar, K. (2003). Social and educational welfare policy in the Arab sector in Israel. Israel Affairs, 9, 68–96.
Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for youth self-report and 1991 profile Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, London: Sage.
Aisenberg, E., & Ell, K. (2005). Contextualizing community violence and its effects. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20(7), 855–871. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260505276833.
Arbuckle, J. L. (2014). Amos (Version 23.0) [Computer Program]. Chicago: IBM SPSS.
Blum, J., Ireland, M., & Blum, R. W. (2003). Gender differences in juvenile violence: A report from Add Health. Journal of adolescent health, 32(3), 234–240.
Bradshaw, C. P., Goldweber, A., & Garbarino, J. (2013). Linking social-environmental risk factors with aggression in suburban adolescents: the role of social-cognitive mediators. Psychology in the Schools, 50, 433–450. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21690.
Borofsky, L. A., Kellerman, I., Baucom, B., Oliver, P. H., & Margolin, G. (2013). Community violence exposure and adolescents’ school engagement and academic achievement over time. Psychology of Violence, 3(4), 381–395. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034121.
Buka, S., Stichick, T., Birdthistle, I., & Earls, F. (2001). Exposure to violence: prevalence, risks, and consequences. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 71, 298–310. https://doi.org/10.1037/0002-9432.71.3.298.
Busby, D. R., Lambert, S. F., & Ialongo, N. S. (2013). Psychological symptoms linking exposure to community violence and academic functioning in African American adolescents. Journal of youth and adolescence, 42(2), 250–262. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9895-z.
Central Bureau of Statistics. (2008). http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/shnatone_new.htm?CYear=2008&Vol=59&CSubject=2.
Chaux, E., Arboleda, J., & Rincón, L. (2012). Community violence and reactive and proactive aggression: The mediating role of cognitive and emotional variables. Revista Colombiana de Psicología, 21, 233–251.
Chen, P., Voisin, D. R., & Jacobson, K. C. (2013). Community violence exposure and adolescent delinquency: Examining a spectrum of promotive factors. Youth & Society, 10, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X13475827.
Cooley-Strickland, M., Quille, T. J., Griffin, R. S., Stuart, E. A., Bradshaw, C. P., & Furr-Holden, D. (2009). Community violence and youth: affect, behavior, substance use, and academics. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 12(2), 127–156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-009-0051-6.
Dawson, J. F. (2014). Moderation in management research: what, why, when and how. Journal of Business and Psychology, 29, 1–19.
Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., Ormrod, R., & Hamby, S. L. (2009). Violence, abuse, and crime exposure in a national sample of children and youth. Pediatrics, 124(5), 1411–1423. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2009-0467.
Haj-Yahia, M. M., Leshem, B., & Guterman, N. B. (2011). Exposure to community violence among Arab youth in Israel: Rates and characteristics. Journal of Community Psychology, 39, 136–151. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.20423.
Haj-Yahia, M. M., Leshem, B., & Guterman, N. B. (2013). The rates and characteristics of the exposure of Palestinian youth to community violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28(11), 2223–2249. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260512475309.
Hammack, P. L., Richards, M. H., Luo, Z., Edlynn, E. S., & Roy, K. (2004). Social support factors as moderators of community violence exposure among inner-city African American young adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33(3), 450–462. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp3303_3.
Hardaway, C. R., Larkby, C. A., & Cornelius, M. D. (2014). Socioemotional adjustment as a mediator of the association between exposure to community violence and academic performance in low-income adolescents. Psychology of Violence, 4(3), 281–293. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036375.
Henrich, C. C., Schwab-Stone, M., Fanti, K., Jones, S. M., & Ruchkin, V. (2004). The association of community violence exposure with middle-school achievement: a prospective study. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 25(3), 327–348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2004.04.004.
IBM Corp. (2017). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 25.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.
Garbarino, J, Dubrow, N, Kostelny, K., & Pardo, C. 1992). Children in danger: coping with the consequences of community violence, Jossey-Bass Social and Behavioral Science Series. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Garber, J., & Flynn, C. (2001). Predictors of depressive cognitions in young adolescents. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 25, 353–376. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005530402239.
Garrido, E. F., Culhane, S. E., Raviv, T., & Taussing, H. (2010). Does community violence exposure predict trauma symptoms in a sample of maltreated youth in foster care? Violence and Victims, 25(6), 755–769. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.25.6.755.
Gharrah, R. (2015). Arab society in Israel (7): Population, society, economy. Jerusalem: Van Leer Institute.
Guajardo, N. R., Snyder, G., & Petersen, R. (2009). Relationships among parenting practices, parental stress, child behaviour, and children’s social-cognitive development. Infant and Child Development: An International Journal of Research and Practice, 18(1), 37–60. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.578.
Guterman, N. B., Cameron, M., & Staller, K. (2000). Definitional and measirement issues in the study of community violence among children and youths. Journal of Community Psychology, 28(6), 571–587. https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6629(200011)28:6<571::AID-JCOP3>3.0.CO;2-Q.
Guterman, N. B., Haj-Yahia, M. M., Vorhies, V., Ismayilova, L., & Leshem, B. (2010). Help-seeking and internal obstacles to receiving support in the wake of community violence exposure: the case of Arab and Jewish adolescents in Israel. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19, 687–696. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-010-9355-x.
Hamner, T., Latzman, R. D., & Chan, W. Y. (2015). Exposure to community violence, parental involvement, and aggression among immigrant adolescents. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(11), 3247–3257. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0128-4.
Huppert, F. A. (2009). Psychological well-being: evidence regarding its causes and consequences. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 1(2), 137–164. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-0854.2009.01008.x.
Jain, S., & Cohen, A. K. (2013). Behavioral adaptation among youth exposed to community violence: a longitudinal multidisciplinary study of family, peer and neighborhood-level protective factors. Prevention Science, 14(6), 606–617. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-012-0344-8.
Janosz, M., Archambault, I., Pagani, L. S., Pascal, S., Morin, A. J. S., & Bowen, F. (2008). Are there detrimental effects of witnessing school violence in early adolescence? Journal of Adolescent Health, 43, 600–608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2008.04.011.
Kataoka, S., Jaycox, L. H., Wong, M., Nadeem, E., Langley, A., Tang, L., & Stein, B. D. (2011). Effects on school outcomes in low-income minority youth: preliminary findings from a community-partnered study of a school-based trauma intervention. Ethnicity & Disease, 21, 71–77. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3287975/.
Kennedy, A. C., Bybee, D., Sullivan, C. M., & Greeson, M. (2009). The effects of community and family violence exposure on anxiety during middle childhood: the role of family social support as a moderator. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 38, 365–379. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374410902851713.
Kennedy, A. C., & Bennett, L. (2006). Urban adolescent mothers exposed to community, family, and partner violence: Is cumulative violence exposure a barrier to school performance and participation? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21(6), 750–773. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260506287314.
Krenichyn, K., Saegert, S., & Evans, G. W. (2001). Parents as moderators of psychological and physiological correlates of inner-city children’s exposure to violence. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 22(6), 581–602. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0193-3973(01)00095-8.
Lambert, S. F., Nylund-Gibson, K., Copeland-Linder, N., & Ialongo, N. S. (2010). Patterns of community violence exposure during adolescence. American Journal of Community Psychology, 46(3–4), 289–302. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9344-7.
Lambert, S. F., Boyd, R. C., Cammack, N. L., & Ialongo, N. S. (2012). Relationship proximity to victims of witnessed community violence: Associations with adolescent internalizing and externalizing behaviors. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 82(1), 1–9.
Lepore, S. J., & Kliewer, W. (2013). Violence exposure, sleep disturbance, and poor academic performance in middle school. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41(8), 1179–1189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-013-9709-0.
Leshem, B., Haj-Yahia, M. M., & Guterman, N. B. (2015). The role of family and teacher support in post-traumatic stress symptoms among Palestinian adolescents exposed to community violence. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25, 488–502. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0226-3.
Lewin, A. C., Stier, H., & Caspi-Dror, D. (2006). The place of opportunity: community and individual determinant of poverty among Jews and Arabs in Israel. Research in Social Stratification Mobility, 24, 177–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2006.04.002.
Macmillan, R., & Hagan, J. (2004). Violence in the transition to adulthood: adolescent victimization, education, and socioeconomic attainment in later life. Journal of research on adolescence, 14(2), 127–158. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2004.01402001.x.
Margolin, G., & Gordis, E. B. (2000). The effects of family and community violence on children. Annual Review of Psychology, 51(1), 445–479.
Mathews, T., Dempsey, M., & Overstreet, S. (2009). Effects of exposure to community violence on school functioning: The mediating role of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47(7), 586–591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2009.04.001.
O’Donnell, D. A., Schwab–Stone, M. E., & Muyeed, A. Z. (2002). Multidimensional resilience in urban children exposed to community violence. Child development, 73(4), 1265–1282.
Overstreet, S., & Braun, S. (1999). A preliminary examination of the relationship between exposure to community violence and academic functioning. School Psychology Quarterly, 14(4), 380.
Richters, J. E., & Martinez, P. (1993). The NIMH community violence project: 1. Children as victims of and witnesses to violence. Psychiatry, 56(1), 7–21.
Ryff, C. D. (2013). Psychological well-being revisited: advances in the science and practice of eudaimonia. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 83, 10–28. https://doi.org/10.1159/000353263.
Schraft, C. V., Kosson, D. S., & McBride, C. K. (2013). Exposure to violence within home and community environments and psychopathic tendencies in detained adolescents. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 40(9), 1027–1043. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854813486887.
Schwartz, D., & Gorman, A. H. (2003). Community violence exposure and children’s academic functioning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(1), 163–173. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.95.1.163.
Selig, J. P., & Preacher, K. J. (2008). Monte Carlo method for assessing mediation: an interactive tool for creating confidence intervals for indirect effects [Computer software]. http://quantpsy.org/.
Selner-O’Hagan, M. B., Kindlon, D. J., Buka, S. L., Raudenbush, S. W., & Earls, F. J. (1998). Assessing exposure to violence in urban youth. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Professions, 39, 215–224. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00315.
Shields, N., Fieseler, C., Gross, C., Hilburg, M., Koechig, N., Lynn, R., & Williams, B. (2010). Comparing the effects of victimization, witnessed violence, hearing about violence, and violent behavior on young adults. Journal of Applied Social Science, 4, 79–96. https://doi.org/10.1177/193672441000400107.
Shields, N., Nadasen, K., & Pierce, L. (2008). The effects of community violence on children in Cape Town, South Africa. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32(5), 589–601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.07.010.
Stein, B. D., Jaycox, L. H., Kataoka, S. H., Wong, M., Tu, W., Elliott, M. N., & Fink, A. (2003). A mental health intervention for schoolchildren exposed to violence: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 290(5), 603–611. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.290.5.603.
Straus, M. A. (2004). Manual for scoring the CTS2 and CTSPC. Durham: Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire.
Van Lier, P. A., Vitaro, F., Barker, E. D., Brendgen, M., Tremblay, R. E., & Boivin, M. (2012). Peer victimization, poor academic achievement, and the link between childhood externalizing and internalizing problems. Child Development, 83(5), 1775–1788. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01802.x.
Veit, C. T., & Ware, J. E. (1983). The structure of psychological distress and well-being in general populations. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51, 730–742. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.51.5.730.
Vermeiren, R., Schwab-Stone, M., Deboutte, D., Leckman, P. E., & Ruchkin, V. (2003). Violence exposure and substance use in adolescents: findings from three countries. Pediatrics, 111(3), 535–540. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.111.3.535.
Voisin, D. R., & Berringer, K. R. (2015). Interventions targeting exposure to community violence sequelae among youth: a commentary. Clinical Social Work Journal, 43(1), 98–108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-014-0506-1.
Voisin, D. R., Neilands, T. B., & Hunnicutt, S. (2011). Mechanisms linking violence exposure and school engagement among African American adolescents: examining the roles of psychological problem behaviors and gender. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 81(1), 61 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.2010.01072.x.
Vorhies-Klodnick, V., Guterman, N., HajYahia, M. M., & Leshem, B. (2011). Exploring adolescent community violence exposure and posttraumatic stress cross‐culturally in Israel. Journal of Community Psychology, 42(1), 47–60. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21593.
Voydanoff, P., & Donnelly, B. W. (1998). Parents’ risk and protective factors as predictors of parental well-being and behavior. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 344–355.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The author declares that she has no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Darawshy, N.AS. Israeli Palestinian Adolescents’ Exposure to Community Violence and their Academic Achievements: The Indirect Effects of Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms and Parental Psychological Well-Being. J Child Fam Stud 29, 3408–3419 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01841-y
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01841-y