Resiliency in Youth Who Have Been Exposed to Violence

Youth who have been victims of crime or are exposed to community violence are at high risk for developing conduct problems. However, not all youth who have been exposed to violence develop behavioral problems. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between resiliency factors such as sense of mastery, relatedness, emotional reactivity, relatedness to parents, friends, and teachers, and conduct problems in youth who have been exposed to violence in a general population of high school students. The independent variables are measured using the Children’s Report of Exposure to Violence, the Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents, and the Hemmingway Measure of Adolescent Connectedness. The Youth Self Report was utilized to measure the dependent variables in this study. A canonical correlation was used to analyze the data. The full canonical model was significant and accounted for 37% of the variance between canonical composites with two canonical roots emerging. The first root accounted for 79% of the overall variance between the canonical composites. Youth who have high exposure to violence and a high level of emotional reativity and a low connection to parents and teachers reported more aggressive behavior and rule breaking behavior. The second canonical root accounted for 21% of the overall variance between canonical composites. Youth who reported having a sense of connectedness to others also reported low emotional reactivity and aggressive behaviors but to a lesser extent.