Transactional processes of African American adolescents' family conflict and violent behavior and their effects on mental health during the transition to adulthood

Extensive research indicates family conflict increases risk of violent behavior during adolescence (Andreas & Watson, 2009). Furthermore, family conflict and violence exacerbate adolescents' mental health and make the transition to adulthood more difficult (Aisenberg & Herrenkohl, 2008). Thus, family conflict contributes to violent behavior during adolescence, which jeopardizes the mental health of youths transitioning into young adults. The preponderance of studies examining youth violence and family influences focus on unidirectional effects of family on youth. Testing reciprocal effects of adolescents' violent behavior and family conflict can further elucidate this process. Sameroff's (2009) transactional model of development proposes that a developmental process in an individual (e.g., violent behavior) is influenced by dynamic interactions with one's social context (family conflict). No study to our knowledge has examined transactional processes of adolescents' family conflict and violent behavior. Examining these processes and their effects on later mental health can inform interventions aiding at-risk youth from high-conflict homes in their transition to adulthood. Structural equation modeling was used to test a transactional model of violent behavior and family conflict across four years of high-school and their effects on mental health two years later. Six-hundred-and-eighty-one African American adolescents (49.2% male) from a high-risk urban community participated in interviews. Results indicate that more violent behavior in 9th grade contributed to more family conflict in 10th grade, violent behavior and family conflict in 10th grade elevated one another in 11th grade, and more violent behavior and family conflict in 12th grade predicted poorer mental health in early adulthood.