141st APHA Annual Meeting

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280413
Longitudinal association of physical dating violence perpetration with weapons, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse: Trajectories from middle to high school

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Lusine Nahapetyan, MPH , Health Promotion and Behavior, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Pamela Orpinas, PhD , Health Promotion and Behavior, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Xiao Song, PHD , Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Background: The Healthy Teens Longitudinal Study followed a cohort of adolescents from Grades 6-12. Across middle and high school, we observed two trajectories of physical dating violence perpetration (PDVP): Low and Increasing. Using Problem Behavior Theory (PBT), this presentation examines whether adolescents in these two trajectories differ longitudinally on other problem behaviors: weapon-carrying, threats with a weapon, suicidal ideation and attempts, and substance abuse. Methods: The sample consisted of 558 randomly-selected students (52% males; 49% White, 36% Black, 12% Latino) who reported dating at least twice during the seven assessments. Students completed a self-reported, computer-based survey each spring from Grades 6-12. To examine significant differences by PDVP trajectory, we used Chi-square test and Generalized Estimating Equations modeling. Results: Across most grades, significantly more students in Increasing than Low PDVP group carried a weapon, threatened someone with a weapon, and reported suicidal ideation and attempts. Adolescents in the Increasing PDVP also had higher trajectories of alcohol use, binge drinking, and marijuana use than adolescents in the Low PDVP. All differences were already significant in Grade 6. The difference in the rate of change (slope) between groups was not significant. Conclusion: This longitudinal study highlights that these problem behaviors—physical dating violence, weapon carrying/threats, marijuana and alcohol use, and suicidal ideation/attempts–cluster together as early as in middle school and the clustering persists over time, as supported by PBT. The combination of these behaviors poses a great public health concern. Further research should examine underlying shared risk factors.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Public health or related education
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the prevalence of carrying a weapon and threatening someone with a weapon among adolescents following Low and Increasing Physical Dating Violence Perpetration trajectories from Grade 6 to Grade 12. Describe the prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempts among adolescents following Low and Increasing Physical Dating Violence Perpetration trajectories from Grade 9 to Grade 12. Discuss the association between trajectories of physical dating violence and substance abuse from Grade 6 to Grade 12.

Keywords: Violence, Adolescents

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been working as a research assistant for three years on a longitudinal study examining the different levels of risk and protective factors that influence the developmental trajectories of children and young adolescents from middle to high school in relation to aggression toward peers, delinquency, dating violence, weapon carrying, suicide thoughts and attempts, drug and alcohol use, school dropout. Among my research interests are modeling of developmental trajectories of violent behaviors among adolescents.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.