Longitudinal Family Predictors of Adolescents

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Longitudinal Family Predictors of Adolescents
Experiences of Physical and Psychological
Aggression in Their Dating Relationships

• Phyllis Holditch Niolon, M.A.
• Gabriel P. Kuperminc, Ph.D.
• Georgia State University
• David C. Tate, Ph.D.
• Yale University School of Medicine
• Presented at the 2005 Biennial Conference of the
  Society for Research on Child Development,
  Atlanta, GA, April 7-10

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Acknowledgements

• Dissertation committee
• Joseph P. Allen, Ph.D, PI of VSTF
• Past graduate students, undergraduates, and staff
  of the Virginia Study for Teens and Families
• Wrenn Thompson, project coordinator of the KLIFF
  project

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Background

• Prevalence of adolescent dating aggression (ADA)
• Risk factors and correlates
• Limitations of current research
• Developmental psychopathology (Cicchetti, 1984)
• Autonomy and relatedness as a potentially
  relevant developmental process

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The Current Study

• Examines how mothers and adolescents
  negotiation of autonomy and relatedness with one
  another longitudinally predicts adolescent
  involvement with dating aggression.
• Examines gender, race/ethnicity, and risk as
  potential moderating factors

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Participants

• N88
• 55 Caucasian, 44 African-American
• 48 Female
• 33 At-risk
• Mean age at Time 1 15.8 (0.87)
• Mean age at Time 2 18.2 (1.11)
• Mean income31, 322 (19,747)

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Procedure

• Recruited from local high schools
• Consenting families brought in for two waves of
  data collection
• Participants compensated for their time
• Transportation and child care provided when
  necessary

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Variables

• Autonomy and Relatedness Variables (W1)
• Mothers Supporting and Inhibiting
• Adolescents Supporting and Inhibiting
• Aggression Variables (W2)
• Physical Perpetration and Victimization
• Psychological Perpetration and Victimization
• Demographic Variables (W1)

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Results

• Preliminary Analyses
• Few main effects of relatedness were consistent
  with hypotheses
• Autonomy findings were contrary to hypotheses and
  were predominantly characterized by interactions
  with gender, race/ethnicity, and risk

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Interaction of Gender with Maternal Autonomy
Support in Predicting Physical Perpetration
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Interaction of Gender with Maternal Autonomy
Support in Predicting Physical Victimization
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Interaction of Risk with Adolescent Autonomy
Support in Predicting Physical Perpetration
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Interaction of Race/Ethnicity with Adolescent
Autonomy Support in Predicting Psychological
Perpetration
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Implications

• Autonomy and relatedness predict ADA in distinct
  ways
• Importance of ecological and contextual factors
  in the role of autonomy in dating aggression
• Potential different meanings of/reasons for the
  use of aggression by moderators

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Strengths

• Theoretical framework--first study to examine
  autonomy and relatedness as predictors of ADA
• Multi-method, longitudinal design
• Highlights possibility of different pathways to
  aggression for different groups of adolescents
• Examines perpetration and victimization

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Limitations

• Small sample size, limited power
• Unable to examine the context of the dating
  relationships themselves
• Did not examine fathers role in AR negotiation
• Could not examine peer factors that may be more
  salient at this age

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Future Directions

• Examine potential differential pathways to ADA by
  gender, race/ethnicity and risk as markers of
  ecological context
• Incorporate the context of aggression within
  dating relationships
• Explore impact of autonomy and relatedness with
  peers

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Contact Information

• Phyllis Holditch Niolon
• pholditch_at_gsu.edu
• Gabe Kuperminc
• gkuperminc_at_gsu.edu
• Dave Tate
• david.tate_at_yale.edu

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Mothers Supporting Behaviors Negatively
Predicting ADA
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Mothers Inhibiting Behaviors Positively
Predicting ADA
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Adolescents Supporting Behaviors Negatively
Predicting ADA
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Adolescents Inhibiting Behaviors Positively
Predicting ADA