Multiple Risk Behaviors Among African American and Hispanic Boys

This study examined multiple risk behaviors (violence, delinquency, and substance use) among 240 African American and 262 Hispanic preadolescent boys from urban schools in the Midwest United States. Latent transition analysis allowed patterns of multivariate risk to emerge uniquely within and across these ethnic groups, highlighting patterns for subgroups that are overlooked by common aggregate statistics. Results revealed four risk classes for each ethnic group, with nuanced probabilities of endorsement and transition across classes and ethnic groups. Involvement with police and more severe use of substances were distinguishing factors of higher risk classes. African American boys showed a tendency to transition between risk classes over time, while Hispanic boys tended to exhibit stability. Personal involvement in school and community action among parents were highlighted as protective factors. Suggestions for prevention programming based on results include early timing, addressing criminal justice involvement, providing academic enrichment programs, and promoting community action among parents.

[1]  B. Reboussin,et al.  Neighborhood Environment and Urban African American Marijuana Use during High School , 2014, Journal of Urban Health.

[2]  K. Pasch,et al.  Cross-Gender Social Normative Effects for Violence in Middle School: Do Girls Carry a Social Multiplier Effect for At-Risk Boys? , 2014, Journal of youth and adolescence.

[3]  Katherine E. Masyn,et al.  Initiation and persistence of alcohol use in United States Black, Hispanic, and White male and female youth. , 2012, Addictive behaviors.

[4]  Hongling Xie,et al.  Developmental trajectories of aggression from late childhood through adolescence: similarities and differences across gender. , 2011, Aggressive behavior.

[5]  E. Tucker-Drob,et al.  Individual differences in the development of sensation seeking and impulsivity during adolescence: further evidence for a dual systems model. , 2011, Developmental psychology.

[6]  Wesley G. Jennings,et al.  Effects of Alcohol on Trajectories of Physical Aggression Among Urban Youth: An Application of Latent Trajectory Modeling , 2010, Journal of youth and adolescence.

[7]  Wesley G. Jennings,et al.  Sex Similarities/Differences in Trajectories of Delinquency among urban Chicago Youth: The Role of Delinquent Peers , 2010, American journal of criminal justice : AJCJ.

[8]  C. Ehlers,et al.  Age at regular drinking, clinical course, and heritability of alcohol dependence in the San Francisco family study: a gender analysis. , 2010, The American journal on addictions.

[9]  B. Luna,et al.  The maturation of incentive processing and cognitive control , 2009, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior.

[10]  E. Turkheimer,et al.  Racial differences in the associations of neighborhood disadvantage, exposure to violence, and criminal recidivism among female juvenile offenders. , 2009, Behavioral sciences & the law.

[11]  Roderick A. Rose,et al.  Acculturation and Aggression in Latino Adolescents: Modeling Longitudinal Trajectories from the Latino Acculturation and Health Project , 2009, Child psychiatry and human development.

[12]  Wesley G. Jennings,et al.  Trajectories of Delinquency among Puerto Rican Children and Adolescents at Two Sites , 2009, The Journal of research in crime and delinquency.

[13]  L. Steinberg.  A Social Neuroscience Perspective on Adolescent Risk-Taking. , 2008, Developmental review : DR.

[14]  B. Muthén,et al.  Performance of Factor Mixture Models as a Function of Model Size, Covariate Effects, and Class-Specific Parameters. , 2007 .

[15]  C. Bright,et al.  Understanding Race and Gender Differences in Delinquent Acts and Alcohol and Marijuana Use: A Developmental Analysis of Initiation , 2007 .

[16]  E. G. Horton,et al.  Racial Differences in the Effects of Age of Onset on Alcohol Consumption and Development of Alcohol-Related Problems Among Males from Mid-Adolescence to Young Adulthood , 2007, Journal of ethnicity in substance abuse.

[17]  A. Piquero,et al.  Neighborhood, race, and the economic consequences of incarceration in New York City, 1985-1996 , 2006 .

[18]  G. Canino,et al.  A study of disruptive behavior disorders in Puerto Rican youth: II. Baseline prevalence, comorbidity, and correlates in two sites. , 2006, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[19]  G. Canino,et al.  A study of disruptive behavior disorders in Puerto Rican youth: I. Background, design, and survey methods. , 2006, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[20]  T. Heeren,et al.  Age at drinking onset and alcohol dependence: age at onset, duration, and severity. , 2006, Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine.

[21]  C. Perry,et al.  Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Evaluation of a Home-Based Program for Alcohol Use Prevention among Urban Youth: The “Slick Tracy Home Team Program” , 2006, Journal of Primary Prevention.

[22]  Traci L Toomey,et al.  Brief report: the adaptation of Project Northland for urban youth. , 2004, Journal of pediatric psychology.

[23]  Thomas L. McNulty,et al.  EXPLAINING RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN SERIOUS ADOLESCENT VIOLENT BEHAVIOR , 2003 .

[24]  H. White,et al.  Longitudinal Effects of Age at Onset and First Drinking Situations on Problem Drinking , 2003, Substance use & misuse.

[25]  L. Chassin,et al.  Binge drinking trajectories from adolescence to emerging adulthood in a high-risk sample: predictors and substance abuse outcomes. , 2002, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[26]  L. I. Neal,et al.  Teachers' Reactions to African American Students' Movement Styles , 2001 .

[27]  David P. Farrington,et al.  Child Delinquents: Development, Intervention, and Service Needs , 2000 .

[28]  M. Hesselbrock,et al.  The clinical course of alcohol-related problems in alcohol dependent and nonalcohol dependent drinking women and men. , 1998, Journal of studies on alcohol.

[29]  Clifford C. Clogg,et al.  Handbook of statistical modeling for the social and behavioral sciences , 1995 .

[30]  Godfrey Fowler,et al.  THE STRATEGY OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE , 1992 .

[31]  S. Graham.  "Most of the subjects were White and middle class": Trends in published research on African Americans in selected APA journals, 1970–1989. , 1992 .

[32]  Craig K. Ewart.  Social action theory for a public health psychology. , 1991, The American psychologist.

[33]  Daudi Ajani ya Azibo.  Understanding the Proper and Improper Usage of the Comparative Research Framework , 1988 .

[34]  E. Labouvie.  Problem Behavior and Psychosocial Development; a Longitudinal Study of Youth , 1978 .

[35]  M. W. Edelman.  The State of America's Children , 2018 .

[36]  Patrick O'Malley,et al.  Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975-2018: Overview, key findings on adolescent drug use , 2015 .

[37]  T. Heeren,et al.  Age at Drinking Onset and Alcohol Dependence , 2006 .

[38]  John Hagan,et al.  The Many Colors of Crime: Inequalities of Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America , 2006 .

[39]  J. Stoltz.  Masculinity and School Violence: Addressing the Role of Male Gender Socialization , 2005 .

[40]  J. Vermunt.  Latent Class Models , 2004 .

[41]  D. Farrington,et al.  How can the relationship between race and violence be explained , 2003 .

[42]  Laurence Steinberg,et al.  Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention , 2003 .

[43]  D. Hay,et al.  Key issues in the development of aggression and violence from childhood to early adulthood. , 1997, Annual review of psychology.

[44]  P L Fidler,et al.  Latent transition analysis and how it can address prevention research questions. , 1994, NIDA research monograph.

[45]  L. Collins,et al.  Latent Class Models for Stage-Sequential Dynamic Latent Variables , 1992 .