Pathways From Family Violence to Adolescent Violence: Examining the Mediating Mechanisms

Spencer D Li; Ruoshan Xiong; Min Liang; Xiaohua Zhang; Wei Tang

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.611006

Pathways From Family Violence to Adolescent Violence: Examining the Mediating Mechanisms

Front Psychol. 2021 Feb 9:12:611006. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.611006. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Spencer D Li¹, Ruoshan Xiong², Min Liang¹, Xiaohua Zhang³, Wei Tang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China.
² Department of Social Work, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
³ Faculty of Law and Sociology, Nanning Normal University, Nanning, China.
⁴ Social Work, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Purpose: Past research has documented a significant relationship between family violence and adolescent violence. However, much is unknown about the processes through which this association occurs, especially in the non-Western cultural context. To address this gap, we propose an integrated model encompassing multiple pathways that connect family violence to adolescent violence. Specifically, this study investigates how family violence is related to adolescent violence through violent peer association, normative beliefs about violence, and negative emotions.

Method: We tested the model using the two-wave survey data collected from a probability sample of more than 1,100 adolescents residing in one of the largest metropolitan areas in China in 2015 to 2016.

Results and conclusions: The results indicated that family violence predicted adolescent violence perpetration. Violent peer association, normative beliefs, and negative emotions, however, mediated much of the relationship between family violence and adolescent violence.

Keywords: China; family violence; intergenerational transmission; mediation; youth violence.