In studies in the United States , community violence is linked with children ’ s adjustment problems (

Although relations between political violence and child adjustment are well documented, longitudinal research is needed to adequately address the many questions remaining about the contexts and developmental trajectories underlying the effects on children in areas of political violence. The study examined the relations between sectarian and nonsectarian community violence and adolescent adjustment problems over 4 consecutive years. Participants included 999 mother–child dyads (482 boys, 517 girls), M ages 1⁄4 12.18 (SD 1⁄4 1.82), 13.24 (SD 1⁄4 1.83), 13.61 (SD 1⁄4 1.99), and 14.66 (SD 1⁄4 1.96) years, respectively, living in socially deprived neighborhoods in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a context of historical and ongoing political violence. In examining trajectories of adjustment problems, including youth experience with both sectarian and nonsectarian antisocial behaviors, sectarian antisocial behavior significantly predicted more adjustment problems across the 4 years of the study. Experiencing sectarian antisocial behavior was related to increased adolescent adjustment problems, and this relationship was accentuated in neighborhoods characterized by higher crime rates. The discussion considers the implications for further validating the distinction between sectarian and nonsectarian violence, including consideration of neighborhood crime levels, from the child’s perspective in a setting of political violence. There is increasing concern worldwide with regard to the adjustment of children exposed to political violence (Feerick & Prinz, 2003). Research has documented the risk for psychopathology in children growing up in contexts of political violence (Belsky, 2008; Garbarino & Kostelny, 1996; Qouta, Punamäki, & El Sarraj, 2008; Sagi-Schwartz, 2008). Longitudinal research is rare, with few studies examining trajectories of relations over multiple time points. Addressing these gaps in the research on political violence and child adjustment, the present study examines relations between sectarian and nonsectarian antisocial behavior (SAB and NAB) and youth adjustment over 4 consecutive years in Belfast, Northern Ireland, an area that has experienced protracted political violence. The field of developmental psychopathology emphasizes studying relations between specific social contexts and risks for child maladjustment (Cicchetti & Cohen, 1995; Cummings, Davies, & Campbell, 2000). Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) social ecological model of hierarchically nested ecosystems provides a framework for conceptualizing the social ecology of political violence from the child’s perspective, including the effects of violence in the community (Cicchetti & Lynch, 1993; Elliott, Wilson, Huizinga, & Sampson, 1996; Lynch & Cicchetti, 1998; Salzinger, Feldman, Stockhammer, & Hood, 2002). From a developmental psychopathology perspective, longitudinal studies that differentiate the effects of specific contexts of community violence (e.g., sectarian vs. nonsectarian) on child adjustment significantly contribute to understanding risks for the development of psychopathology (Cummings, Goeke-Morey, Schermerhorn, Merrilees, & Cairns, 2009; Dubow, Huessmann, & Boxer, 2009). The field of developmental psychopathology is also concerned with studying at-risk developmental stages and ages (Cicchetti, 2006); this study focuses on preadolescence and adolescence, periods during which youths are at heightened risk for being victims, witnesses, or perpetrators of sectarian violence (Shirlow & Murtagh, 2006). A growing body of research indicates that children’s development is affected by neighborhood characteristics (Elliot et al., 1996; Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000; Parente & Mahoney, 2009; Sampson, Morenoff, & Raudenbush, 2005; Shinn & Toohey, 2003). Neighborhoods are geographically relatively small, bounded, and symbolically influenced spaces, meaningful to residents, and relatively stable over time (Ward, 2010). Moreover, the impact of neighborhood on adjustment is arguably more important for less mobile and higher risk groups (e.g., economically and socially deprived groups, the young, and the elderly; Ward, 2010). The present study focuses on youths and families living in socially deprived neighborhoods, with most residents sharing a common ethnic identity within neighborhoods. Address correspondence and reprint requests to: E. Mark Cummings, Department of Psychology, 204 Brownson Hall, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556; E-mail: edward.m.cummings.10@nd.edu. This research was supported by NICHD Grant R01 HD046933 (to E.M.C.). We thank the many families in Northern Ireland who participated in the project. We also express our appreciation to the project staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Ulster. Development and Psychopathology 25 (2013), 615–627 # Cambridge University Press 2013 doi:10.1017/S0954579413000059

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