Citation

Jeries-Loulou LJ, Khoury-Kassabri M. Am. J. Orthopsychiatry 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, American Orthopsychiatric Association, Publisher Wiley Blackwell)

DOI

10.1037/ort0000597

PMID

35025574

Abstract

Based on intersectionality theory, the present study examined the contribution of direct, indirect, and interactive effects of individual, family, peer, and contextual factors on violence against others among female Arab teenagers. The study is based on a sample of 193 at-risk teenagers aged 12-21 (M = 16.5), who completed questionnaires in their out-of-home care settings. Almost 60% of participants reported having perpetrated at least one moderate act of physical violence against others at least once during the preceding month. More than one-third (40%) had experienced at least one incident of sexual victimization during their lives. In addition, almost two-thirds (61%) reported experiencing at least one incident of ethnonational discrimination at least once during the past year. The findings also showed that the association between sexual victimization and moderate physical violence against others was mediated by the teenagers' affiliation with delinquent peers and moderated by perceived ethnonational discrimination. Finally, for participants with medium or high levels of perceived ethnonational discrimination, the associations between sexual victimization and perpetration of moderate physical violence, and between sexual victimization and peer delinquency, were stronger than for participants with low perceived discrimination. Examining the association between sexual victimization and violence perpetration is important, especially among at-risk teenagers in a conservative society, which expects victimized adolescents and young women to remain silent, given that silencing increases the risk of victims' involvement in delinquency and antisocial behavior. Intervention programs should be sensitive to the special situation of at-risk teenagers who experience marginalization consisting of several risk factors, including membership in an ethnonational minority and a traditional society in the context of a political conflict. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Language: en