The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 156, Issue 3 , Page 513, March 2010

Hispanic youth: violence and aggression ecological influences

Area Director, Community Solutions, Inc., Youth Services, Atlanta, Georgia

Article Outline

 

To the Editor:

The focus on social influences of Hispanic youth is intriguing because they are an underrepresented ethnic group in family therapy research literature.1 Although Ferguson et al report that their results cannot be generalized across ethnic groups, Szapocznik et al has facilitated 25 years of research specifically with antisocial delinquent Hispanic youth.1, 2

I wondered why the authors eliminated a review of school influence, considering that numerous research-based models of delinquency have concluded that poor school performance is a strong causal factor for antisocial behaviors in youth.3 Research has examined numerous risk factors associated with antisocial behavior of youth, supporting a view that the interaction of the youth and his or her social ecology, including the family, peers, school, neighborhood, and other community systems has the strongest relationships influencing antisocial delinquent behavior.4

Although the authors multivariate analysis included an equal number of female and male subjects, their conclusion ultimately left out any variance in male and female subjects, such as the influence of aggressive and violent behavior in their own dating relationships. Self-reports may not control for victim fear factors relevant to partner and guardian relationships; this is somewhat concerning. Reportedly, 33% of teens in the United States report some kind of abuse, and 12% of teens report physical abuse associated with intimate relationships.5 Demographic data of intimate relationship abuse in teens, school discipline reports, and juvenile offense statistics should be reviewed to control for minimizing of behaviors within self-reports.

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References 

  1. Ferguson CJ, San Miguel C, Hartley RD. A multivariate analysis of youth violence and aggression. the influence of family, peers, depression, and media violence. J Pediatr. 2009;156:904–908
  2. Szapocznik J, Williams RA, Santisteban DA, Coatsworth JD, Perez-Vidal A, Kurtines WM, et al. Brief strategic family therapy: twenty-five years of interplay among theory, research and practice in adolescent behavior problems and drug abuse. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2000;3:117–134
  3. Bronfenbrenner U. The ecology of human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 1979;
  4. Elliott DS, Huizinga D, Ageton SS. Explaining delinquency and drug use. Beverly Hills: Sage; 1985;
  5. Partner violence among adolescents in opposite-sex romantic relationships . findings from the national longitudinal study of adolescent health. Am J Public Health. 1985;91:1679–1685

PII: S0022-3476(09)01088-9

doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2009.11.003

The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 156, Issue 3 , Page 513, March 2010

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