Stressful events and individual beliefs as correlates of economic disadvantage and aggression among urban children.

Bibliographic Data

ID23366809
AuthorsNancy G Guerra (0000-0002-6033-0066, University of Michigan), L Rowell Huesmann (0000-0002-3653-5272, University of Michigan), Patrick H Tolan (0000-0001-5669-8442, University of Illinois Chicago), Richard Van Acker (University of Illinois Chicago), Leonard D Eron (University of Michigan)
Year1995
Volume63
Issue4
Pages518-528
Publication date1995-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-006X • E-ISSN: 1939-2117
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037/0022-006x.63.4.518
OpenAlexW4251837112
LanguageEN
Citations received71
References cited11

This study examined 3 factors that were hypothesized to increase risk for aggression among urban children: economic disadvantage, stressful events, and individual beliefs.Participants were 1,935 African American, Hispanic, and White elementary-school boys and girls assessed over a 2-year period.The relation between individual poverty and aggression was only significant for the White children, with significant interactions between individual and community poverty for the other 2 ethnic groups.With a linear structural model to predict aggression from the stress and beliefs variables, individual poverty predicted stress for African American children and predicted beliefs supporting aggression for Hispanic children.For all ethnic groups, both stress and beliefs contributed significantly to the synchronous prediction of aggression, and for the Hispanic children, the longitudinal predictions were also significant.The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for preventive interventions in multiethnic, inner-city communities.Violent crime rates in the United States in the early 1990s are the highest in several decades.This latest upswing is largely accounted for by a sharp increase in violence among youths under age 18.For example, during the 1980s, arrests for serious violent crimes rose about 5% for those over 18, compared with a 60% rise for those under age 18 (Uniform Crime Reports, 1992).This escalation has placed violence prevention at the forefront of scientific and public concern, leading to a proliferation of interventions for children and youths (for recent reviews see Guerra, Tolan, & Hammond, 1994

Aggression · Developmental psychology · Disadvantage · Clinical Psychology · Early Childhood Education and Development · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Social Psychology

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