Citation

Kingston B, Smokowski PR, MacFarland A, Evans CBR, Pampel F, Mercado MC, Vagi KJ, Spies EL. Youth Soc. 2021; 53(5): 784-810.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0044118X19900904

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Although research advocates for comprehensive cross-sector youth violence prevention efforts, mobilizing across sectors to translate scientific recommendations into practice has proven challenging. A unifying framework may provide a foundational step toward building a shared understanding of the risk and protective factors that impact youth violence. We conducted two empirical tests of the nurturing environment framework on youth violence across ethnic and geographically diverse rural and urban adolescent samples.

RESULTS show that overall the characteristics of nurturing environments are associated with lower levels of aggression and violence. In addition, minimizing exposure to socially toxic conditions had the strongest associations with lower aggression and violence.

FINDINGS were supported across both samples, suggesting that this framework may apply in urban and rural, economically disadvantaged contexts.

Language: en

Keywords

aggressive behavior/bullying; neighborhood context; violent behavior