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Interparental Aggression and Antisocial Behavior Among African American Youth: A Simultaneous Test of Competing Explanations

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Abstract

Interparental aggression has long been implicated as a cause of child and adolescent antisocial behavior. Four theoretical explanations (viz., an aggressogenic cognition model, general strain theory, an emotional security model, and a spillover model) have been proposed to account for this deleterious effect. To gain a better understanding of the mechanism whereby interparental aggression promotes antisocial behavior, this study tests the competing explanations simultaneously using longitudinal data from a sample of 508 African American families with a child aged 12–14 (53.5% are girls). Using path analysis, the results support both the general strain theory and the emotional security model for girls. The results also show weak support for the spillover model. Whereas, for boys, all of the four explanations were supported, though the support for the spillover model is weak. Thus, the findings suggest that the mechanisms whereby interparental aggression fosters antisocial behavior may differ by gender. Implications and limitations of the current research are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (MH48165, MH62669) and the Center for Disease Control (029136-02). Additional funding for this project was provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. An earlier version of this paper was presented in the 2010 annual meeting of American Sociological Association in Atlanta, GA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Georgia, 419 Baldwin Hall, Athens, GA, 30602-1611, USA

    Xiaoli Su

  2. Department of Sociology, University of Georgia, 116 Baldwin Hall, Athens, GA, 30602-1611, USA

    Ronald L. Simons

  3. Department of Family and Child Development, University of Georgia, Dawson Hall, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Leslie G. Simons

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  1. Xiaoli Su
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  2. Ronald L. Simons
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  3. Leslie G. Simons
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Correspondence to Xiaoli Su.

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Su, X., Simons, R.L. & Simons, L.G. Interparental Aggression and Antisocial Behavior Among African American Youth: A Simultaneous Test of Competing Explanations. J Youth Adolescence 40, 1489–1502 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-011-9673-3

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