AUTHOR=Ingram Katherine M. , Espelage Dorothy L. , Davis Jordan P. , Merrin Gabriel J. 

TITLE=Family Violence, Sibling, and Peer Aggression During Adolescence: Associations With Behavioral Health Outcomes

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00026

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00026

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<p>Bullying and sibling aggression can appear as similar behavior, though the latter is comparatively understudied. Aligned with the Theory of Intergenerational Transmission of Violence, research suggests that exposure to family violence increases an individual's risk for perpetrating violence in their own future relationships. Additionally, Problem Behavior Theory suggests that engaging in one problem behavior (e.g., bullying) increases the likelihood of engaging in other problem behavior (e.g., substance use). In Phase 1, this study of middle school students from the U.S. examined how exposure to family violence predicted membership in latent classes of bullying and sibling aggression perpetration (<italic>N</italic> = 894, sampled from four middle schools). In Phase 2, we used mixture modeling to understand how latent classes of family violence, sibling aggression, and bullying predict future substance use, mental health outcomes, and deviance behavior later in high school. Results yielded four profiles of peer and sibling aggression: <italic>high all</italic>, <italic>high sibling aggression</italic>, <italic>high peer aggression</italic>, and <italic>low all aggression</italic>. Youth who reported witnessing more family violence at home were significantly more likely to fall into the <italic>sibling aggression</italic> only and <italic>high all</italic> classes, compared to the <italic>low all</italic> class. Phase 2 results also yielded four classes: a <italic>high all</italic> class, a <italic>sibling aggression and family violence</italic> class, a <italic>peer aggression</italic> class, and a <italic>low all</italic> class. Individuals in the <italic>high all</italic> class were more likely to experience several unfavorable outcomes (substance use, depression, delinquency) compared to other classes. This study provides evidence for pathways from witnessing violence, to perpetrating aggression across multiple contexts, to developing other deleterious mental and behavioral health outcomes. These findings highlight the negative impact family violence can have on child development, providing support for a cross-contextual approach for programming aimed at developing relationships skills.</p>