Citation

Goebert DA, Chang JY, Chung-Do J, Else IR, Hamagami F, Helm S, Kinkade K, Sugimoto-Matsuda JJ. Matern. Child Health J. 2012; 16(1): 188-196.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, John A. Burns School of Medicine, 1356 Lusitana Street, 4th Floor, Honolulu, Hawai'i, HI, 96813, USA, GoebertD@dop.hawaii.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10995-010-0726-0

PMID

21132358

Abstract

This study assesses the relative fit of risk/protective and social ecological models of youth violence among predominantly Asian and Pacific Islander students. Data from a 2007 survey of two multi-ethnic high schools in Hawai'i were used. The survey assessed interpersonal youth violence, suicidality and risk and protective factors. Two models of youth violence (risk/protective and social ecological) were tested using structural equation modeling. We found good fits for the risk/protective model (χ(2) = 369.42, df = 77, P < .0001; CFI = .580; RMSEA = .066) and the ecological model (χ(2) = 1763.65, df = 292, P < .0001; CFI = .636; RMSEA = .076). The risk/protective model showed the importance of coping skills. However, the ecological model allowed examination of the interconnectivity among factors. Peer exposure to violence had no direct influence on individuals and peer influence was fully mediated by school climate. Furthermore, family factors directly contributed to peer exposure, community, and individual risk/protection. These findings have significant implications for intervention and prevention efforts and for the promotion of positive, competent, and healthy youth development. While few family and school-based programs have been developed and evaluated for adolescents, they have the greatest potential for success.

Language: en