Resiliency and Promotive Factors in Polyvictimized Youth



 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal describes a plan to test risk and protective factors for youth polyvictimization and alcohol and drug (AOD) use using a multi-level modeling approach with data from a sample of urban adolescents. Studies investigating the factors associated with polyvictimization have often overlooked promotive factors that can protect youth against risks of victimization. Moreover, among the studies examining the effects of risk/protective factors on the relationship between adolescent victimization and AOD use, few have explored the mechanisms of an interactive process between risk and protective factors longitudinally. Finally, much of our understanding of youth polyvictimization is obtained through survey data; fewer researchers have used geo-spatial approaches to gain a richer understanding of the context in which youth experience victimization and its relationship to AOD outcomes. To address these gaps in the literature, we will examine patterns and consequences of victimization in a longitudinal sample of 600 adolescent/young adults aged 14-24 who received treatment in a Flint area emergency department. Using resiliency theory to identify trajectories promotive factors, we will examine what protects children from victimization (e.g. social integration and coping), as well as the AOD consequences associated with polyvictimization (e.g. binge drinking, illicit drug use). Growth curve modeling, spatial analyses and semi-parametric mixture modeling will be utilized in these analyses. Results from this secondary data analysis will inform our understanding of how adolescents experience victimization, identify individual and contextual pathways from polyvictimization to AOD use, and highlight factors that promote resiliency among youth exposed to violence.