RT Article
T1 Violence Exposure in South African Adolescents: Differential and Cumulative Effects on Psychological Functioning
JF Journal of interpersonal violence
VO 36
IS 9/10
SP 4084
OP 4110
A1 Sui, Xincheng
A1 Massar, Karlijn
A1 Kessels, Loes T. E.
A1 Reddy, Priscilla S.
A1 Ruiter, Robert A. C.
A1 Sanders-Phillips, Kathy
A2 Massar, Karlijn
A2 Kessels, Loes T. E.
A2 Reddy, Priscilla S.
A2 Ruiter, Robert A. C.
A2 Sanders-Phillips, Kathy
LA English
YR 2021
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1755889542
AB This study examined the associations between different types of violence victimization and psychological functioning in South African adolescents. Both differential and cumulative effects of violence were investigated. A multi-ethnic (Black, White, people of mixed heritage, and people of Indian/Asian descent) sample of adolescents in secondary schools in the Western Cape Province (N = 1,574; boys = 46.5%, girls = 53.5%; Mage = 16 years) completed a survey on their experiences of exposure to violence (across different contexts and polyvictimization) and their levels of hopelessness, anxiety, depression, perceived stress, and suicidal ideation. The results showed that indirect and direct victimization in the community, and indirect political victimization were consistent predictors for adverse psychological functioning, whereas victimization in home and school contexts did not emerge to be significant. Polyvictimization had a consistent linear effect on psychological symptoms. Interventions in South Africa should focus on addressing the psychological effects of community and political victimization on adolescents. Adopting a holistic treatment approach would be useful to gain a comprehensive understanding of adolescents’ victimization experiences and maximize the impact of support to enhance their psychological functioning.
K1 community violence
K1 youth violence
K1 mental health and violence
K1 Violence Exposure
DO 10.1177/0886260518788363