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Intervening Processes Between Youths’ Exposure to Community Violence and Internalizing Symptoms Over Time: The Roles of Social Support and Coping

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American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

The roles of social support and coping as intervening processes between exposure to community violence and internalizing symptoms were examined longitudinally among a community sample of 667 middle school students in the inner city. After controlling for potential confounders (e.g., social desirability, victimization and witnessing of family violence, guardian’s psychological symptomatology), internalizing symptoms at Year 2 were predicted by hypothesized changes over 1 year, such that increased community violence exposure, decreased guardian and peer support, and increased use of defensive and confrontational behavioral coping were related to more internalizing symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD, although some of these relations varied by gender. The relations between internalizing symptoms at Year 3 and increased changes in exposure to community violence over 2 years were moderated by social support and/or coping, such that decreased guardian support and increased use of defensive and confrontational coping were generally associated with more symptoms for boys exposed to community violence. Girls who witnessed increased community violence and who increased their use of defensive or confrontational coping experienced more internalizing symptoms. The findings underscore the importance of developmental and contextual considerations in the design and implementation of interventions.

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Notes

  1. There is a difference between the traditional buffering or protective-stabilizing hypothesis and the protective–reactive hypothesis that bears explicit mention. The protective-stabilizing hypothesis maintains that a protective factor buffers the stress-distress relation, regardless of stress level. The protective–reactive hypothesis specifies that buffering occurs only when stress is low. At high stress levels, the protective factor is ineffective and, therefore, distress increases as stress increases.

  2. Although Armsden and Greenberg refer to their instrument as measuring “attachment,” the instrument as used here measures the related construct of social support. Social support, which we believe accurately captures what Armsden and Greenberg measure, refers to the individual’s perception that his or her social relationships make functional provisions, such as emotional, informational, and tangible assistance (e.g., Cobb 1976; Cohen and Wills 1985). The two constructs are causally related with attachment affecting social support (see Uchino 2004, for a review).

  3. Cases that do not change over time (e.g., not victimized at Round 1 and Round 3) attenuate the magnitude of regression statistics.

  4. A sixth significant two-way interaction existed for the girls (victimization by peer support), as indicated in Table 4. It is disregarded because its interpretation is dictated by the significant three-way interaction that, by including victimization, encompasses the two-way interaction.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, MH056198, awarded to the second author. The study was facilitated by the New York City Board of Education and the cooperating schools. The participation of the guardians and children who were interviewed is greatly appreciated, as is the assistance provided by the study’s project director, Tanya Stockhammer, Ph.D.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, The City University of New York–The City College and Graduate Center, Convent Avenue and 138th Street, New York, NY, 10031, USA

    Margaret Rosario

  2. New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, USA

    Suzanne Salzinger & Richard S. Feldman

  3. Merck Pharmaceuticals, West Point, PA, USA

    Daisy S. Ng-Mak

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  1. Margaret Rosario
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  2. Suzanne Salzinger
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  3. Richard S. Feldman
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  4. Daisy S. Ng-Mak
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Correspondence to Margaret Rosario.

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Rosario, M., Salzinger, S., Feldman, R.S. et al. Intervening Processes Between Youths’ Exposure to Community Violence and Internalizing Symptoms Over Time: The Roles of Social Support and Coping. Am J Community Psychol 41, 43–62 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-007-9147-7

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