What is it about?
Based on intersectionality theory, the present study examined the contribution of direct, indirect, and interactive effects of individual, family, peer, and contextual factors on violence against others among female Arab teenagers. The study is based on a sample of 193 at-risk teenagers aged 12–21 (M = 16.5), who completed questionnaires in their out-of-home care settings. Almost 60% of participants reported having perpetrated at least one moderate act of physical violence against others at least once during the preceding month. More than one-third (40%) had experienced at least one incident of sexual victimization during their lives. In addition, almost two-thirds (61%) reported experiencing at least one incident of ethnonational discrimination at least once during the past year. The findings also showed that the association between sexual victimization and moderate physical violence against others was mediated by the teenagers’ affiliation with delinquent peers and moderated by perceived ethnonational discrimination. Finally, for participants with medium or high levels of perceived ethnonational discrimination, the associations between sexual victimization and perpetration of moderate physical violence, and between sexual victimization and peer delinquency, were stronger than for participants with low perceived discrimination.
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Why is it important?
Examining the association between sexual victimization and violence perpetration is important, especially among at-risk teenagers in a conservative society, which expects victimized adolescents and young women to remain silent, given that silencing increases the risk of victims’ involvement in delinquency and antisocial behaviour. Intervention programs should be sensitive to the special situation of at-risk teenagers who experience marginalization consisting of several risk factors, including membership in an ethnonational minority and a traditional society in the context of a political conflict.
Perspectives
The present study advances the idea that perpetration of violence and antisocial behavior among female adolescents and young women might be addressed most effectively by intervention programs informed by intersectionality theory. These findings are helpful for practitioners working with girls who perpetrate violence. They should be aware that it would be difficult to change their behavior unless peer affiliation and perceived discrimination are addressed
Lana Jeries
University of Cambridge
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Female Arab teenagers’ involvement in antisocial behavior: Intersection of perceived ethnonational discrimination, sexual victimization, and affiliation with delinquent peers., American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, January 2022, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/ort0000597.
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